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After being told I would never be able to have children, I am now a stay-at-home Mommy to Maddie who happens to have Down Syndrome. I've been married 16 years to my best friend, having the time of my life. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our little journey through life.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Maddie + Belle= Best Buddies

This budding, new friendship is such a joy to sit back and watch.

Since the beginning, we have always had intentions of training Belle to be a service or therapy dog for Maddie.  

For the first few months I found myself a wee bit overwhelmed working to potty train both dog and child, and as a result, much of the obedience training took a back seat.
With things going better in the potty training areas for both dependents, we are now able to focus on obedience training for Belle, step one of therapy training.

I have been really surprised however, how innately things have come to Belle.

Several weeks ago Maddie fell asleep on the couch.  
We went to bed and left her to sleep on the couch. 
At some point in the night, she began coughing with allergies and drainage.
I heard Belle in her kennel whimpering.
She only does that when she's sick and needs to go outside.
"Oh no, I wonder what she ate this time."
I got up to let her outside, thinking she would bolt for the door.  
Instead she came out of her kennel and headed straight for the couch.
With her tail straight out, she leaned over and smelled Maddie.  
I said, "See Belle, she's ok."
Satisfied, Belle went back into her kennel for the rest of the night.

Then, few weeks ago Maddie wanted Belle to sleep with her in her bedroom.
Maddie still needs one of us to be in there with her when she falls asleep, so it was the three of us on her little twin size mattress.
It worked out OK, since Belle stayed at the foot of the bed.

Maddie was particularly restless that night, rolling and tossing and turning.
She couldn't keep her legs still, and Belle went over and just laid right on top of her.
Before long, Maddie settled down and fell asleep.
It's like Belle was her weighted blanket for the night!

When Maddie talks about Belle she says they are best friends.
And she often says, "aw look Mom, she loves me!"
And I say, "yes she does.  She loves you very much."

Her only vice, so far, is the trash can!

She's a goofy little opportunist waiting for a tasty treat!

We really need to get a trash can with a lid. 😜


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