Dynamic Duo: Lincoln & Smoochy

10/13/2026

A lot has happened since our last update!

Smoochy had her biggest and last Miracle League game of the season! She is the unofficial team mascot for the Giants, and is very loved on by everybody there.

Smoochy embarked with us to the 24 in 24, a fun event that benefits the wish foundation Lincoln is in. Smoochy did amazing, and we received so many great comments about her! It was fun to have her tag along.

Last week Smoochy had her first vet appointment, and she did incredible! We found out the poor girl had a double ear infection, but treatment has been started. Hopefully our girl feels better soon!

This past Sunday Smoochy went bowling with us, and she slept the whole time. No shocker there 😂 After bowling we walked around downtown for a little bit, and having her was amazing! Instead of being stuck in his wheelchair, Lincoln got to walk around and explore!

We are loving having her as apart of our family! Her bond with Lincoln is coming along so well! I can tell they are both loving each other so much. It’s been beautiful to watch their bond grow! Lincoln loves playing tug with her, but he also just loves stealing her toys and hiding them behind his back 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank you again to everybody for the support ❤️

10/09/2026

When you know she’s not going to move, but want to keep a hold on the leash anyway…

09/30/2026

Long post! If you don’t read it all, at least read the paragraph starting with “Sunday”

Wow what a weekend and start of the week it has been! We got home Friday night at 9PM and quickly introduced the cats to Smoochy. They…. Were apprehensive, avoidant, and overall… unbothered by her presence in the house which was honestly best case scenario!

With instruction from 4-Paws, we have kept her on leash at home. The intent being that we need to be able to correct behavior in the home that we don’t want. For example, we don’t want her in the basement, since it’s messy and where the cats food and litter is. So every time she starts to walk down, we correct and bring her up. Every time she stands at the top without actually walking down, we reward. This is much easier to do when she is on leash.

Jump into Saturday and we have Lincoln’s “final” miracle league game which was actually the first of three to come over the following 6 days. Smoochy was an instant hit at the ball park, but seemingly unbothered by the distractions! Official mascot of the Lake County Miracle League Giants!

Sunday probably had the coolest, most impactful moment we’ve had with Smoochy thus far. Every time we go shopping, Lincoln has to go in the wheelchair. He’s simply too big for the carts, and the walker is a bit too cumbersome and he refuses to use it properly in stores. However we tried Costco with him walking on Smoochy. And it was such a success. He walked the entire store. But having Smoochy gave him the freedom to let go and explore the store and the food offerings without being strapped into a wheelchair or walker. She was right there for him when he fell to help him back up, and matched his pace. Literally zero issues on the outing and it was so cool seeing Lincoln walking an entire store, much less the gargantuan Costco!

Monday was a lazy day for Smoochy… until it wasn’t. With Lincoln in school Smoochy more or less had an off day until our SECOND Miracle league game of the week!

Today was similar but with Smoochy’s first PT session rather than Miracle League, and to be honest, I think PT kicked her butt more than baseball did!

Thanks for everyone following along! Enjoy our weekend in Photos!

09/27/2026

Smoochy made her big debut yesterday! Tomorrow night? Under the lights! Come on out and see her (and Lincoln) play! (Final final game on Thursday though for the amp’t up spectacular!)

09/26/2026

The conclusion! Day 10! Graduation Day
With the superlative of most likely to give smooches…. None other than our very own Smoochy! Which she lives up to the name and award. She’s a licker, with an unusually strong affinity for toes!

For those of you that joined the livestream, THANK YOU! It was a wonderful ceremony. 8 dogs graduated today, and these 8 dogs will change the lives of far more than 8 people. Heck, they already have! Smoochy’s fosters, trainers, our family.

Graduation was a far more emotional affair than expected frankly. We had the opportunity to speak about what having Smoochy means to us, and with seizure alert being a main task, Smoochy could very well be a life saver for Lincoln. Literally.

Over the last 20 months, she has spent all of her time with her volunteer fosters and 4-Paws trainers. And suddenly, just like that, she’s gone from them. After months and months of being together… they are ripped away. So what is happy for our family, can be a sad and emotional experience for others. So yeah, definitely an emotional afternoon.

At this point, we are home back up north! Some kerfuffles with Smoochy’s kennel, so sleeping tonight may not go as planned. But I think I’ll do another post tomorrow just about home life and readjustments.

Final thoughts: Thank you to everyone. We wouldn’t be here with our you. I know we say that a lot, but words simply don’t convey that gratitude enough!

Enjoy the photos!

09/25/2026

In about 20 minutes, the graduation will be live streamed on 4-Paws page! Will start at 3 and last about an hour. We are going second, so tune in early!!

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EYeXUjrjB/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Enriching the lives of people with disabilities by placing life-changing service dogs.

09/25/2026

Day 9: training day 8!

I deeply apologize for my tardiness on today’s update post…. I… simply forgot.

Anyway, today was testing day! Written and command portion early in the day and then a public outing test this afternoon. Smoochy passed with flying colors! With that passing, she received her official certification from 4Paws that her and Lincoln are a service dog team. Celebrated the big event with a dinner at a brewery that was a sneaky surprise of quality. If you’re ever in the Springboro area of Ohio I have to recommend Warped Wing Brewery.

Tomorrow is the final day. Graduation! This will be live streamed…. Somewhere… once I find out check the comments. I think it’s just on the 4Paws page as a Live. It starts at 3 and lasts about an hour!

After that… we go home. But the journey is literally just beginning. Such a transition for the family over the past week and even greater over the next few months as we relax back into daily routine with work and school and evening activities. We will be documenting all of that as well! Probably not every day, but updates will not end with tomorrows graduation!

Thank you to absolutely everyone that has followed, supported, liked, commented, shared. We quite literally… would not be here without you. Enjoy the photos!

09/23/2026

Day 8: Training day 7.

Starting off: Apologies for the lack of photos from today. I’m just a guy. Not a content creator 😭

Can’t believe it’s been so long. Already. Today marks 1 full week with Smoochy in our 24 hour care, and she’s fitting right in. She hates to be alone and follows someone everywhere, usually Hannah or I, but more and more she’s been seeking out Lincoln which makes our hearts so happy. Both boys are enamored with her (to be fair we all are)

Training today consisted of review, as we are more or less done learning new things in terms of commands and hands on stuff. Went out a lot of important information though, namely introduction into the school. So far, we have had no pushback on Smoochy going to school with Lincoln. The school actually reached out to us asking how they can best prepare. So so thankful for Lincoln’s school, the principal, his one-on-one, and everyone else that’s helping facilitate this transition. We were advised to wait 3 months, so the target is in the new year, Smoochy will slow transition into going to school with him.

Had a public outing today with Smoochy’s Advance Trainer (shoutout Megan for the amazing work she’s done with Smoochy over the past 6+ months). Smoochy struggles the most it seems when there are other people in the group that she loves, and she wants to be checking in on everyone in the group rather than focused attention on just the handler. Once it’s just the handler and Smoochy and Lincoln? She’s glued to our side and adjusts her pace for Lincoln in perfect harmony. It just takes consistency, time, and practice for her to know the handler and Lincoln are the focal point, regardless of who the handler is or who else is there.

Evening ended with a VERY chill evening at the RMH and lots of bonding, play, and a bit of task training.

As always, questions in the comments if you have any! Tomorrow is “test day”, followed by graduation on Friday so stay tuned for those updates!

09/23/2026

Day 7: Training day 6.

We split up today. Gave the boys a break for today and took them to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patt AFB. Preston has been obsessed with airplanes lately (no denying that’s my son I guess!) Boys had a great time but got absolutely exhausted! Got to see my favorite plane in the world though, F-117 Nighthawk. Preston loved pointing and showing me everything and Lincoln walked damn near the whole thing without a mobility device. Great time for the guys. Spent the afternoon building a Lego Technic airplane with Preston with working ailerons, elevators, and flat-4 propeller engine. He now knows about the 3 main aircraft movement axes (Roll, Pitch, Yaw)

Training was play date day. Hannah learned how to introduce Smoochy to other dogs. As we return back home, damn near all of our friends have dogs and since Smoochy will be going everywhere, we have to know how to appropriately and safely introduce. So Smoochy had a play date with a classmate today, Juniper! Both Smoochy and Juniper did great and had fun playing in the play yard!

Ended with a lowkey evening at the RMH!

09/22/2026

Day 6: Training day 5!

Today’s classroom instruction was solely review and recap of commands and practicing what we’ve been learning for the past 4 days of training. Working on extended commands. For example, when we put Smoochy in a “down” command, she should stay there indefinitely. Whether we stay around her or not. Regardless of distractions. She shouldn’t move until we “free” her. People calling her name, people petting her, treats being offered just out of reach. All of these are situations where she should not move. And she didn’t. She did great!

The afternoon was a public outing with a bit more struggles. Smoochy has definitely bonded with Hannah quicker than she has with me (which makes sense, Hannah is the primary handler and has done every single training segment with her, while I’ve done some off site childcare). But we did the public outing with me handling her. 90% of the time, she did everything I asked and needed her to do, but she realllly wanted to be next to Hannah and Lincoln. Apparently this extremely normal and expected in a two handler system and she should work that out as she gets bonded with me more.

Ended the night at my parents picking up Preston. This was the first time that we had her off leash in a wide open yard. Apparently she can run! She’s so calm and gentle (and tired) that it was so cool seeing an energetic side of her.

Finally I wanna talk about a piece of equipment. I’ve gotten a few questions about some of the equipment that you all have seen her in in the photos over the past few days, and wanted to help explain one specific part: the gentle leader. The tan strap over her snout. This is a piece of equipment that slips over her nose, and then has a second part that clips around her neck like a collar. The snout portion goes behind the mouth, and below the eyes. It does not restrict her mouth, and is not a muzzle, but helps easily guide her head as we are walking around.

If you have any questions about any of this process or equipment or anything, please feel free to ask!!