UPDATE, UPDATE: Si Homme is a full time service dog but also loves spending time on the farm. He has really grown into his full size as a Great Pyrenees. He is well socialized with humans and public spaces. His favorite places are the feed store, church and spending time working along side Gary, one of our handlers who is a veteran with traumatic brain injury.  We can't wait to see what big adventures are in store for Si Homme as a service dog. 

Andy "Si Homme" is a Great Pyrenees that was first found as a stray in El Dorado, Kansas. We were contacted by Great Pyrenees Rescue of Missouri and they wanted to know if we would be interested in fostering Andy. We had one space available on our ranch as we never take more than five dogs in training at one time. We felt that we could provide Andy with a temporary residence until he could be matched with a good home. It was initially believed that Andy was only close to a year old. But after his first vet visit it was clear that Andy was a little over 1 year old. Andy from the beginning took right to our ranch. He loved the companionship of our other Great Pyrenees and our Great Dane. He also quickly bonded with Gary. During this time, we lost our cat of 16 years, Lulu. It left a deep wound in our hearts and Andy was quick to provide much needed emotional support to Gary who is a wounded veteran himself. We began to consider whether Andy might be a good fit for our ranch with our forever home Pyrenees that live their days out here. After about a week, Gary asked Ara and Joleen if Andy could be adopted. We inquired and found out that the Great Pyrenees Rescue of Missouri agreed that Andy would be a great fit for our ranch. Andy quickly adapted to the ranch and has treated it like it was always his home. We are so happy to have Andy as a permanent part of the TBI family and look forward to many years of great training with him. One important note, many of our dogs are named with very special people in mind and Andy is no different. He was named for Adrian "Si Homme" Carbonneau, Gary's father who was a Sargent in the U.S. Army as a combat wounded field medic and translator (French) in World War 2 who received both a purple heart for his actions at the Battle of Kassel (1945) and his subsequent survival as a POW by the Nazis. He lost his leg and was terribly wounded but never lost his spirit and will to live. His patriotism was beyond reproach and he passed away with full military honors in 2010.