Gayle and D'Vine's Unconditional Grace Believe it or not I had only seen Papillon’s in pictures but after narrowing down the search I decided that a Papillon was right for me. Luckily, I found Niki and Grace joined our family in April of 2005 at the age of 15 weeks. Grace didn't plan to be a service dog but she fell right into the task. After taking her to obedience classes to learn the basic commands the trainer asked if I would consider training her to be a service dog. I was thrilled as I wasn't aware I could teach one by myself. Grace loves to fetch so training her to retrieve keys and other objects was simple. If I drop anything on the floor and ask her to "give" she picks it up, puts her feet up on my knees and hands it to me. She can retrieve keys, paper, the telephone, pens & pencils and anything else that she can carry. She will also take something from me and carry it to someone else. Grace can open and close drawers and cabinets - I haven't taught her how to open the refrigerator yet because I think she might help herself. Grace even helps with the laundry! If I accidentally drop a sock or something on the floor she'll pick it up and give it to me. The other day I was doing laundry and dropped a washcloth out of the washer. I told Grace to give it to me but she ignored me. When I asked her again she looked at me, picked up the washcloth and put it in the dryer! At that point I knew she was smarter than me! She knew the washcloth was wet and that she only gives me dry clothes. In order for Grace to be certified as a service dog she needs to get her rally title, canine good citizenship, and we may do obedience as well. She has been practicing rally now for several weeks and we're looking forward to a show to see how she (and I) does. Grace goes everywhere with me, restaurants, the VA, church and the grocery store. She is very well behaved and can "place" on her mat for a couple of hours without making a sound! Grace is unquestionably a miracle dog and I'm so grateful to have her to help me. She is so joyful and full of mischief and loves just being a dog when she isn't working. When some of my friends watch her helping me they ask if I would consider renting her out. Most service dogs don't start training until they are a year old. Grace is only 8 months old and still learning. What a blessing she is! Photos by Gayletta