A Kyo Update

Some of you will remember Kyo and his short stay with Mr. K and I. If you don't know him, or need a reminder, read

this post
He has been gone from us for almost five months now and I had not heard from PAALS in a few months. I was beginning to wonder how he was doing and whether or not they would be keeping him in the program. Usually, I volunteer with PAALS and would often see Kyo, or get an update because I was around, but with us moving, getting out to the PAALS location has become even more difficult. I sent an email last week to inquire about him, but didn't hear anything back. This concerned me, but yesterday J phoned me with some good news.
Kyo was temperament tested over the weekend. Dogs are temperament tested when they first enter the program, if they are a donation, and all of the dogs in training are temperament tested at about a year and a half years of age. We're not entirely sure how old Kyo is, but he under went his year and a half old test over the weekend. According to J she was "pleasantly surprised" by him and he passed. This means Kyo will move on to advanced training. Advanced training means that his skills will become more specialised and he will gain public access. Watch out SC, there will be a Moose in your malls. :) (For those of you who don't know, Kyo's nickname was Moose when he was with us).
J says that there are a few things he still needs to work on, but hopefully with time and maturity, he will outgrow his bad habits, or be willing to be trained out of them. She told me yesterday that he went counter surfing in a mall. I nearly bust a gut laughing: that sounds like our Moose. She said that they have never experienced anything like that before. If nothing, at least he's been a learning experience for the PAALS trainers. :) J also said that he still has a hard time calming himself down once he gets worked up. Both of these issues we had with him as well, but as she said, perhaps with time and maturity he will improve. I can only hope and pray that this works out for him. Even if he doesn't become a service dog, I will just be glad to know he had that chance and I will feel better knowing that PAALS will find him the perfect family if he doesn't graduate.
So, here's to Mr. Moose and his hopeful future as a service dog. :)