It was no secret from the beginning of this journey that this entire process would NOT be cheap and filled with LOTS of questions! I knew that there were expenses, fees, and deposits along the way, but it wasn't until after Blizzard and Brian left that my mom and I began to fully understand all the expenses and ask Brian more questions.
One of the things that I thought I understood was that once I matched with a dog after the meet and greet( Blizzard), then I had a year to raise the funds necessary for her. Sadly, I was wrong about this and learned that AZ Goldens does NOT hold or reserve ANY specific dog for any client! This means that if I choose to start the contract to get Blizzard as a fully trained service dog, then Blizzard will remain available to any client that may match with her and if they raise the funds faster than me for her, I would loose Blizzard. Upon completion of raising the funds, I would instead be offered to match with a dog that is available at that time and start the meet and greet process over again. In other words, Blizzard is NOT the 100% guarantee of mine like I had thought!
My other option is to do the Green Dog program with Blizzard. This program means that I would take Blizzard with basic training ONLY and continue on with her training until she would have the proper training to certify as a fully trained service dog. This is a cheaper option since it doesn't require so much of AZ Goldens training and time, however it would mean that a lot more training would fall on me! LOTS to think about!
My mom and I decided to take some time to pray about the situation, ask more questions, and go over the programs more before we make any further decisions.
I have never been one to give up easily, so I just looked at this as a bump along the way and still believe that Blizzard will be my service dog one day soon whether fully trained or green dog programed? Thanks for being on this journey with me and please check back for further updates.
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