Special Thanks To Our Veterans!
We are a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization
Joshua & Dondi
Jeremy & Ditto
Update from Jeremy & Ditto
July 5, 2009
Hello,
Here is a recent picture of Ditto....it's my favorite!
I wanted to say that Ditto has changed my life.  The day this picture was
taken, I took my daughters to a local trout stream that has a shady area for
them to swim.  The night before I told my daughters that I wanted to have a
father/daughter day and they got very excited.  That morning at 6 a.m. I got
out of bed and went into the kitchen and there my daughters were making
a picnic lunch for all of us.  Elvis (our other dog) has been my alarm clock
for years and makes sure I get up about that time every day.  Ditto helps me
get ready.  He makes getting ready faster and less frustrating and really he
kinda makes it fun!

Things have changed since receiving Ditto.  I have made friends, gone to
little league baseball games and plan to keep going to sporting events.  My
wife, Melissa, said that since receiving Ditto she now sees that life is much
more normal and happy.  We can and have done everything a normal
family does together with little or no stress.  I have a friend who owns a
house at mission beach and invited us for the forth of July.  I have not seen
fireworks in years and haven't been to the beach since 2005.  The girls
played, my wife laughed and I talked with friends.  Ditto was by my side the
whole time.  We had a great day!  I was nervous about the fireworks and
wasn't sure how Ditto would react either.  The first one went off and Ditto,
who was lying down, didn't jump or bark, but he slowly got up and stretched
and then sniffed my hand, gave it a kiss and then "visited".  I watched my
wife and daughters enjoy the fireworks and Ditto just "visited" with me and
when the fireworks ended he once again lied down and yawned.

I guess the point is that I have been thinking about what occurred all day
and it is nothing less than a miracle!!  I have never doubted his ability to
help me get the phone, pick things up and be a good dog in public but
what I found amazing is that I really believe he sensed the trigger in my
head, gave me that "kiss" to tell me he was there and it would be okay, and
stayed with me so I could stay in the moment and enjoy seeing my wife
and daughters as they sat in the sand watching the fireworks and see the
smiles on their faces.  When he sensed that I was at ease once again he
lied down, flopped over and yawned as if to tell me "see....that wasn't so
hard!"

Thank you for allowing me to have Ditto!  He and Elvis get along well, even
though they have some brother moments at times, they get along and don't
fight.  They sometimes tell each other that it's 'MY time with dad' or 'I don't
want to play right now'.  Ditto doesn't use most of what he was taught, but
we do practice each and every command every couple of days and Ditto
gets really excited!  He loves those moments!  When we leave the house he
kinda sets up his own program now which works well and I think it's funny to
watch.  I say "let's go" and point to the door.  He grabs his pack, which has
his leash in it, and I open the door.  He then goes 'through", drops, "waits" for
me to get through the door onto the front deck, then he puts his pack in my
lap and trots into the fenced yard and "better hurries".  By that time I have
his leash ready and he does the "lap" command.  I dress him and off we go
to my truck where he jumps in.

I guess what's funny about this is that he came up with this on his own, but
it's perfectly acceptable.  He gets his own pack and while I am getting it
and his leash ready, he goes to the bathroom, because he knows we are
going somewhere.  He comes back and does "lap" even though I didn't
ask, and I dress him.  Then he does the "front" command, because our
driveway is narrow and I open his door and he gets in the car.  Now if we go
somewhere and take my wife's car, he still waits for the command "car" and
when we get where we are going, no matter what vehicle, he still waits for
permission to come or get out of the car.  

Well, this has been a long email, but I wanted you to see the picture and
hear what has happened.  He and Charles Sgt. Major Acosta's seeing eye
dog, have become regular friends.  We usually sit next to each other and
they both lie down in front of us, lean against each other with their heads
looking at us while we talk.  I think they have their own conversation about
us as we talk about them....it's funny!
                                                    Take Care,
                                                             Jeremy Weissmiller
Miles & Dusty
Update On Miles
June 28,2009

"Miles received Dusty in early
May and it has been a GREAT
success.  Those two are
attached at the hip and I have
seen a good change in Miles".

From: Rick Yount
Assistancedog.org
Jeremy & Ditto