The First Reaction: Assistance Dog Blog Carnival

Yes, it is time for the Assistance Dog Blog Carnival again!  I always look forward to these because they always make me think and I feel like every time, I write a post I wouldn't have otherwise.  This time it is being hosted by The Trouble Is... and the topic is Reactions.
Since I was just partnered with my new service dog, Coleman, our reactions are fresh in my mind.  Last Sunday marked the one month mark for mine and Coleman's partnership.  As I write this, he is laying on the bed with me, making sure that as much of his as possible is touching me.  If we're in the bed together, he always wants to be touching me, which I love.
The morning I woke up, knowing I might be meeting my new partner, I was excited and nervous and overwhelmed all at once.  Training started in the afternoon, so we had the morning to deal with before things started.  Honestly, I remember very little from that morning.  It was also my birthday and my dad found a florist halfway across the country in the small town CARES is based in that would deliver flowers to my hotel.  I remember the lady knocking on the door and opening it to a bunch of gorgeous, hot pink (my favorite color) flowers.  I know I got dressed, got ready and everything but I don't remember.

We got there and class started.  They gave us our notebooks and schedule for the week then said that we were going to meet our dogs!  I know they did a short lecture before they brought the dogs in but I don't remember.  All of my emotions that I had before were quadrupled.  Would he be a boy (this was how irrational part of me was.  They assured me I would be getting a male poodle like I preferred)?  Would he really be a poodle?  Would he like me?  What if we didn't click? 
I heard M come in and refused to turn around.  Once the first dog got the the corner of my eye, I say flat, blond hair.  my heart skipped a beat and sank for a second, then M turned toward my classmate and handed the leash to him.  He was a handsome English Lab and he wasn't mine.  They introduced J to his new handler then M left again.
I heard Mom make a noise and I knew M was back with my new partner.  Once again, I didn't turn around and this time I stared straight ahead until M and my new dog were right there.  I looked over and there he was.  M handed me his leash and said that his name was Coleman.

(For those using screen readers, I am having a lot of trouble with alt tags so I'm having to do descriptions as part of the entry.  This photo shows the back of my wheelchair, which is all black.  There is a white handicap symbol sticker but instead of the wheel being round, it is shaped like the bottom of a heart.  There are pink spots on either side of the symbol.  You can't see my face because the arm of my chair is up and the controls are blocking my fave.  You can see a crystal flower in my red hair and I'm wearing a red shirt.  M is wearing a green shirt with light green stripes on the sleeve and blue jeans.  She is standing, my chair is pulled up to a folding table with beige top.  Cole, a cream standard poodle is standing and reaching his face up to mine.  He is wearing a light tan colored harness that has a card in the pocket with writing on it)
My reaction on first meeting Cole was complex.  On one level, I was relieved that he was, in fact, a male Standard Poodle.  I thought he was gorgeous but a bit skinny.  And I was absolutely in love with him.  It was like a sign of relief that it was all real:  I really did have a new partner and he really was a poodle and he really was mine.  I wasn't as emotional at that moment as I expected.  I was surprised that he was such a serious dog, since poodles usually have so much personality.  I was amazed at how much I loved him from the first.
We got a few minutes to get to know our new partners then it was time to start learning their commands.  Cole was very responsive to me from the get go and it further made me relax.  I was beginning to get that feeling back that I had when Dixie and I were partners.  It is this feeling that I almost can't describe.  Like I know I'm not alone, that I have someone always there for me, someone who can help me be the independent person I am on the inside.
At lunch break, Coleman came back to the hotel with us.  That's when I saw his true personality and I think I saw how perfect for me he was.  I took off the harness and this totally new dog came out of it!  He had that wonderful, goofy, happy poodle personality that I so love.  He was playing around the room, coming up to me for attention (but being polite) and just showing that this was who he really was.  We went back to training for a bit more and he went back in to his working mode.  Everything went well and then we were off to Pizza Hut (after the dogs got a break and ate dinner).  He did great there and continued to show that he was a great working dog.
I think the crowning part of my reaction came that night.  He showed more of his true personality and when Mom went out and bought him a toy, he showed how much he loved to play fetch.  Finally it was time for bed.  He already knew that he had a place up there as I had invited him up several times and he had his new blanket on the bed.  The lights were off and he was laying on the bed.  I laid down and started to read, which I do every night.  All of a sudden I felt something touch my back.  Then there was a larger part of me being leaned against.  Coleman was snuggled up against me and he let out this big sign and fell asleep.  I knew, really knew, at that point that this was my dog and we were the perfect partners for each other.