Recovering . . .

Well, today has been all about getting settled back into the daily routine after our trip.  First thing we did this morning was take Cura for a short run.  It was about half the distance as normal because it was rather warm this morning and it had been a week since Cura had any real exercise.  For the most part, our time has been spent stuck in a car or a hotel room.

I think the one thing that struck me about the past week is how well Cura has fallen into her Service Dog role.  Last July, only about three and a half months after Cura came home, we also went on a trip for about the same length of time.  She did very well on that trip despite the fact that she had recently entered an entirely new life.  Both of us were so new to the whole experience.  Since that time, both my and Cura's confidence have improved and we have both become much more comfortable with each other as well as the challenges that can face a Service Dog Team.

The differences between that trip and this one were relatively minor, but they made the entire time feel much more relaxed.  Cura was much more comfortable about riding in a car and entering areas where the smells, sights, and sounds were different than what she was used to experiencing.  She settled right down in the hotel room (as soon as I figured out where to put her bed so that she was most comfortable).  She ate every meal she was given, apart from the night of the terrible thunder storm -- which I was not surprised by, at all! 

Just these little things made the trip much more relaxed for both of us.  Sometimes I wonder if anyone else notices the differences or if it is just an internal thing -- but even if others do notice, it is hard to express the reality of the change that I feel with Cura at my side.  She makes all the difference in the world.