It’s been a little over a year since our daughter Riley met her autism service dog Jingle for the first time. Riley,ever the germ-o-phobe, didn’t quite know what to do the first day at 4 Paws for Ability when Jingle slobbered on her hand.

“She took some getting used to, but now she’s a total love bug,” Riley says, adding…”She really likes me.”

Actually, much to her parents’ surprise, Riley got over the fear of dog germs the very first day. Jingle slept in Riley’s bed that night and has done so every night since.

“She helps me feel calmer, and she’s cute and she has the softest fur a dog could have,” says Riley, beaming at Jingle.

Riley’s dad Todd says he can’t believe it’s been only a year. “It feels like we’ve had Jingle forever, she’s such a part of the family. To think Jingle wasn’t even born when we started our fund raising, it’s pretty unbelievable.”

Jingle’s birthday was Nov. 7th, and she turned two. Riley showered her with new bones, treats and lots of kisses.

Rileys’ message for Natalie and other kids who are waiting for their service dogs is,

“Your service dog will be a fun experience for you and the dog will really like you. Jingle is more than just a regular friend, I feel like she’s my best friend.”

-For more about Riley’s experiences with Jingle, you can read her mom’s blog posts at Full Soul Ahead!

Now you can help another girl get her canine partner.

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Meet Loopy, one of our newest pack members.  No, he’s not a stuffed wolf in stuffed sheep’s clothing, he is exactly as he seems.

Back in the days that I hawked my artsy metalstuff at the local street festivals, I would inevitably come home with other artists’ work.  Sometimes there were straight trades – my work for yours – and sometimes a little cash or beer or a promise scribbled on the back of a homemade business card was added to sweeten the deal.  Slow shows = lots of time to wander away from the booth = coming home with more cool art than cool cash on Sunday evening.  The funniest trades were the accidental serendipitous ones that went like this:

Hey, I like your geegaws – these are really neato – and you look familiar.  Oh, I remember, you bought one of my whimididdles yesterday!  Well here’s your money back, because I must have one of your geegaws – these are the best ever!

What does any of this have to do with Loopy?

Loopy is the King of a specialty yarn store called The Loopy Ewe .  His kingly duties include overseeing everything, of course, and greeting, probably some guarding, and color consulting.  And yes, he was rescued by his current shepherds.  For the record:  I don’t knit, but I live with someone who does.  I learned to crochet 70′s rainbow yarn into a circle when I was a child, and made thumb and nosewarmers for the entire family one year, but my yarn arts ended with god’s eyes after I discovered counted cross stitch at age 8.  All that to say that

Loopy’s people bought a tag for him and I went straight to their website and blew the $ on this yarn for thick socks.

Maybe Loopy’s tag should say something like Slick Salessheep instead.

Tagline:  King of the Shop