As you may have heard, I have been attending Dog Obedience Training School near Austin, Texas.  Thank you very much for your support to make this trip possible.  My last four weeks have been very busy.  I knew I wouldn’t be having much free time when on the first day I was handed a stack of books, videos, and CDs and was told I had to learn them by memory.  Each day I got up early to feed and take care of my dogs before class.  I was given four dogs plus my own to train and care for.  These were dogs from a local rescue group that needed training before they could be adopted out.  I spent the majority of the day training these dogs, teaching obedience classes once a week, and learning about various aspects of the dog training business.  Our class size was very small so I could tailor it to my needs and ask any questions I wanted.  This was very beneficial.  After class I fed and walked my dogs again before going home.  While in Austin I stayed with a wonderful couple who lived not to far away from the school.  They were very nice to let me stay with them and were wonderful cooks!  Thank you Paul & Helen!  However, that was just the beginning of my evening.  I usually had a substantial amount of homework that needed to be completed before the next day.  This could be anything from watching a video in preparation for the obedience class I had to teach, to one of the many projects due before the end of the class.  All this was leading up to the final test.  I had to score well on this test before I could pass the class.  Thankfully, with a great deal of prayer, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I graduated (along with Butterscotch.)  I am now a certified dog trainer!  This means a lot for the ranch, as we can now move forward on our dog program.  Each residential youth that stays here will receive a dog and they are responsible for all its care and training.  They will learn more about themselves and gain responsibility, patience, and love as they work with their dog.  This also gives us as a staff one more way in which to share the love of Christ through one of God’s creations.