Life. Unleashed. Canine Companions for Independence provides highly-trained assistance dogs for children and adults with disabilities, free of charge. The most advanced technology capable of transforming the lives of people with disabilities has a cold nose and a warm heart!

-The Canine Companions for Independence Website

Anna & Emily: Two Girls, One Tale

This past year my family and I have been raising a Canine Companion for Independence puppy, Anna. She's a black lab. She's adorable. And someday, she'll hopefully help someone in a wheelchair to get dressed, turn on and off lights, grab a dropped set of keys, and open doors, etc. Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) breeds, trains and places labs and retrievers with people who need a working dog to help make life more abundant and joyful. We're among a large and lucky group of people around the nation who raises the pups for about a year: exposing them to public places, teaching them a series of commands, potty training them, and just plain loving them.

Though Anna has chewed one of Emily's favorite toys and the speaker for her brother Ben's iPod, we have grown quite attached to Anna. We like tossing the Frisbee with her in the front yard. We like snuggling with her after she has had a bath. We relish putting on her yellow cape with blue trim - her working garb - and taking her into Starbucks or Einstein's or the post office. We get a kick out of the fact that Anna has become a star of sorts in our neighborhood. Everyone knows her and has hopes for her life of service and companionship.

In just a few short weeks my husband, three kids and I will be driving Anna to Ohio (to the North Central Regional Center) where we'll turn Anna in to her professional trainers. Even as I type those words, I feel a knot forming in my stomach and a catch gripping the front of my throat. It's going to be hard to say goodbye. I can imagine how quiet our house is going to be when we return from that trip. I tear up just thinking about Anna leaving behind her favorite blanket and chew toys and the five of us, who've grown to love her so much.

Last week, Emily and I took Anna to a local Canine Companions for Independence event, Ruff and Buff. There, Anna socialized with other dogs, participated in some training activities, took a walk with other pups, and had her blood drawn from a local veterinarian volunteer. The blood draw was for a study CCI conducts annually to help reduce the anxiety in dogs transitioning from puppy raisers' homes back to the regional centers. In the car on the way home from the training, Emily asked, "Momma, why did they take the blood from Anna? Are we going to get to keep that to remember her after she goes to Ohio?"

I started laughing. I probably would've started crying, without the laughter. "Oh, Em, that's so sweet," I said. "But, no, the blood is going to be used by CCI for a test to help Anna with the transition she is about to make."

"Oh," Emily said. I could tell by her voice that she was hoping for more of an answer.

"You know, Em," I said catching a glimpse of Emily with her little arm draped around Anna's huge Labrador head in the back seat. "You know that it's going to be hard for us to say goodbye to Anna. And, guess what, Honey. It's going to be hard for Anna to say goodbye to us, too. She is going to be leaving all of the sights and sounds and smells and the schedule that she is used to. She is going to be leaving the house and the walks and the people that she knows and loves."

Gottcha Day: A Goodbye and A Hello

In an epiphanal moment I was taken back ot November 20, 2005 when my husband, Bryan, and I took our daughter Emily into our arms for the first time. Emily, then Ling XuRan, was wearing a jade green jump suit, lacy white bobby socks on her tiny feet, and a homemade beaded necklace of multi-colors strung on a hot pink strand of nylon string. Her Ai's (the auntie caregivers at the Social Welfare Institution) were tenderly and excitedly trying to tell us all about XuRan in rapid well-intentioned Mandarin.

"Emily?" I asked in a careful voice, shaking off my daydream and trying to catch Em's eyes in the rearview, "Is there anyone else in our family - other than Anna - who has had to leave everything she has known in order to enter a new life with new people who love her?"

Emily was quiet for a couple seconds. She leaned her cheek on Anna's head. I think she might've even given the sleeping dog a kiss on her soft warm ear. "I have," Emily whispered. "When I was in China and I was one, and I could walk."

"That's right," I said. "Before you came to America, you had a special bed in China and a home with a foster mommy who loved you so much that she taught you to walk and she made a very beautiful necklace for you. Remember that necklace?"

I could see my daughter nodding. "You knew Chinese words and tastes and smells. Kange was your favorite food and rice milk was your favorite thing to drink." Emily was petting Anna, now, while taking in all of my words with care that's often lost in coloring or the next creative idea for outside play with neighborhood friends.

"Anna and I are special," Emily said.

"Yes you are, Em," I heartily agreed. "both of you have had special journeys. Both of you have had to say difficult Goodbyes and long awaited Hellos. Both of you have been loved by different groups of people, different families. Both of you have memories of good things that will be with you for the rest of your lives. both of you have a path in your life that only you can walk. And, both of you are missed by one family and treasured, every day, by another."

I could not hold back the tears as I imagined saying goodbye to Anna, but more importantly as I thought of the foster family and birth family in China who I still pray for every day. I would give anything to be able to tell them that Emily is loved, that she is beautiful and smart and strong-willed . . . and happy and well-cared-for and companioned by sometimes annoying, yet good older brothers. I wish I could send them pictures from her birthday parties and all of the papers on which she has drawn pictures of black dogs and written words that matter most to her: Mommy, Daddy, Ben, Ayden, Anna, Love, Emily. I wish I could give them assurances and peace and gratitude.

I thought about Anna's blood which Emily thought we were going to keep. And, I wondered (I hoped, really) that something as warm and life-giving and organic as the blood in their veins would let Emily's China Family know that she is O.K., that she is loved. And, that she and her new family loves all of them, too.

"Mom," Emily said, "you promised we could get milkshakes on the way home."

"You're right," I said. At that precise moment, I noticed the bright red and white sign pointing out our favorite spot to grab chocolate shakes. I put on my blinker, turned in and ordered both of us large ones with extra whipped cream and three cherries. From our booth, we could see Anna in the front window of our VW. Her sad eyes kept us in sight at all times, her pink tongue centered in a broad smile was waiting to lick Emily's chocolaty cheek. Em and I smiled back at Anna. My daughter and I sipped our cold sweet shakes in silence. We didn't need any more words, just each other's company and the profoundly life-changing story we've shared.

Back to School with CCI

Did you know that there are school and office essentials available at CCI's online gift shop?Your new favorite pens, portfolios and mouse pads will show your support of CCI and are small reminders of how your support is changing lives daily.Start shopping now and receive a free bookmark with all orders!

CALLING

Anna and I just got back from a local church where I dropped off my materials for a future speaking gig. The ladies in the church office were dying, ooooing and ahhhing over Anna. When I told them that she's a working dog in training the oooos and ahhhhs got louder, longer. "She has a higher calling on her life," I told them.

I've been telling that to Anna, too. I kiss her soft ears and snuggle into her scruffy neck and say, "You have a higher calling on your life, Girl." She sighs, snuggles closer to me and inevitably starts snoring.

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Today, as I carried Anna down the church steps, I thought about Anna's potential calling: helping someone turn on lights, put on a coat, grab the phone: a life of companionship, a life of service, of working. I began to wonder if this calling would feel at all glorious or special or ordained to Anna. I wondered if she'd ever resent being a working dog, if she'd ever wish she could've just been a lazy ol' pet like our beloved black and white Shihtzu, Sammy.

I've been thinking a lot about callings in my own life lately. What is my life's calling? What is a calling? What is God calling me to do with the next few years of my life now that all of my kids are almost all in full time school? Will God use me and all of my gifts? Will I get a chance to make a difference to follow a calling instead of just bringing home the bacon? Do I get to choose my calling, or does the call choose me?

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Going to seminary seems to be the next step for me. I'll take this step in the fall as a way of beginning to answer (or continuing to ask) some of these questions. Recently during a visit to a Chicago seminary, a group of potential students and I discussed the meaning of The Call. A facilitator listed the following words on a white board:

I want you!, Trepidation, Opposite of what you might expect, Hear, Hope!, Hopes, Process, Compulsion, Certainty/Uncertainty, God's dreams, Purpose, Intuitive, ALL, Gifts, Action, Illumination, More than a job, Integration, Surrender, Grace, Hear & Here

As we listed and dreamed, I imagined serving God and changing the world with a glorious higher calling, furthering God's purpose and design. Being hands and feet of the divine in a world where God has no hands and feet.

Anna is helping me realize that a higher calling - like the one I've been imagining lately - might look a little different than I've perceived. After all, Jesus was one for turning things on end: the rich he said are poor, the weak are strong. Life and Light and Resurrection come through, because of, during death. And, so, higher callings - in Christ's economy - may be what I perceive as lower, more humble, servile positions . . . as places in my life where I let go instead of trying harder, places where I stoop down to kiss a road-rashed knee, places where friends need listening ears or prayer, places where I am still and quiet and waiting for words, listening for the call of the moment.

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Right now I'm trying to live in this place of surrender, doing what God has for me to do today: loving my kids and husband, being here at home organizing and wiping things, creating a sacred space where family and friends can gather for meals and talks and games and stories. To me, Anna's life looks like a uniquely purposeful, called life. It seems as if she has a Higher Calling on her head. But, to her - perhaps - it just feels like she has to be more obedient, more available, more selfless than other dogs. Maybe she resents a call to serve more loyally, to avail herself to the needs of others. When I look into her big brown eyes - eyes that want to please me and love me unconditionally - I realize that Anna has already surrendered to her call. And, I'm just beginning.

"When you are invited, take the lowest place,
so that when your host comes, he will say to you,
"Friend, move up to a better place."
Then you will be honored in the presence of all."

-Luke 14:10

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INTRODUCING ANNA!

On Friday, March 19th, Emily and I drove to the General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to pick up our first Canine Companions for Independence puppy: Anna!

Anna and Emily seconds after we received her from cargo at General Mitchell.

The ride was 'long and boring' according to Emily. But, 'the puppy was worth it.' She is ADORABLE, DOCILE, SOOOO SOFT. When you hold her she goes all limp. I call her the Lump of Love. She is so chilled that she let Emily hold her in her lap for the entire one hour and forty minute ride home.
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Emily and I created a scavenger hunt for Ben and Ayden, who were delighted to find Anna as The Prize at the end! After school the entire neighborhood came to our yard to welcome the little one who has a high call on her life.

Ben and Anna.

Ayden and Anna.

Emily hefting the 13 pound lump!

We are looking forward to the many adventures with this darling CCI puppy that we'll be raising. And, we can't wait to share the stories of our journey here with you. Thanks for reading. Please visit Raising Love again soon.

With Love and Eager Anticipation,
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Sally & Anna

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for the entire Miller Clan
Bryan, Sally, Ben, Ayden, Emily & Sammy

with Anna

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"The dog was created specially for children. He is the god of frolic." - Henry Ward Beecher

An E-mail from Suzanne

Suzanne Slilcen has one of the coolest jobs I've ever heard of. She's the Puppy Program Manager at CCI. I've been getting to know her a bit over the last few months. At the beginning of March, I received the following e-mail from her:

Hello Sally,

I am emailing to see if you and your family are ready to begin puppy raising? We have puppies available.

If you decide you would like to raise a female, we could ship her to you next week sometime.

Just so you know her name is Anna and she is black. Her birth date is January 1, 2010. She weights 13lbs and is super cute.

I look forward to speaking with you!

Suzanne Sliclen Puppy Program Manager

As soon as I opened this mail, I began to cry. Anna. Anna. Anna. What a sweet name. I thought, Isn't that a biblical name? Quickly I grabbed the nearest bible and found the prophetess Anna in Luke's gospel, chapter two.

This Anna was an ancient widow who spent most of her time at the temple fasting and praying. When Mary and Joe when to the temple to have Jesus circumcised, Anna burst in on the well-know, often-preached-about blessing from Simeon. She began to sing praises to God for this baby. And, 'spoke about the child' to all who were gathered there.

I couldn't help but think that, perhaps, in some similar ways our little black puppy, Anna would be soon telling us about Jesus in her wiggly, woolly, puppyish ways. Anna. What a beautiful name.

I read the long-awaited e-mail again. January 1, 2010, her birthday. I read it again and again. It couldn't be a coincidence, I thought, that this pup was born on the same date as our oldest child, Ben: perhaps our first word of prophecy from Anna.

A shared birthday, the voice of a prophetess. As dialed the phone to tell Suzanne, Yes! I wondered what other surprises, serendipities and messages this puppy would bring into our life.

Canine Companions for Independence

A few years ago my family and I were eating bagels at Einsteins in Wheaton when a woman entered the establishment with a black puppy wearing a gold and blue trimmed cape. My children were instantly drawn to the pup. I approached the woman and asked her if we could pet her dog.

"She's not my dog," the kind stranger replied. "She belongs to Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) an organization that breeds, trains and provides working dogs for people with disabilities. She turned to the mellow black lab mixed breed and asked her to sit. The dog immediately obeyed. The woman nodded toward my kids. And, like water in a stream, they rushed the pup and began vigorously petting her. She sat demurely, pink tongue hanging low, unaffected by their hyperactivity; but, clearly enjoying the rub-down.

While my kids fawned over the dog, the woman and I began a long impassioned discussion. "I'm a Puppy Raiser (PR) for CCI," she said. "I'll have this pup for a year to 18 months, then I'll turn her back in to CCI where she may get further, professional, training and potentially be placed as a working dog. I potty-trained her, socialized her, brought her to the vet and obedience school and taught her a bevy of commands."

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Loving dogs and loving the concept of dogs ministering to people, I was immediately hooked. I sat on the edge of my chair, ignored my Asiago bagel (which, for me, is a feat to remember) and fired questions at her. The woman, whose name I wish I could remember now, answered each of my queries and gave me a Canine Companions brochure.

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I held on to that brochure for over a year as if it were my life's totem. I brought my boys and my mom to a Puppy Graduation in Ohio (where pups are placed with their permanent companions), applied to CCI to be a puppy raiser, volunteered as a gift wrapper at a CCI event during Advent last year, and then waited and waited. Today, almost exactly three years after meeting the Puppy Raiser in Einsteins and as I type these very words, I have an adorable CCI puppy, Anna, fast asleep in her crate after a long walk we took to the park.

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Maybe we'll go to Einsteins one of these days when she's a little older. And, maybe, just maybe, we'll see the PR who inspired this journey as she lingers over a bagel and a cup of coffee. If we do see her, I can't wait to say, Thanks and to let her pet Anna!

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