Wednesday, August 15, 2012

In the dog we should trust.

Sometimes, when we go out to a somewhat familiar place, I start
to worry about the route and whether or not I remember how to get
there. When it is a totally familiar place, I do not give it a
second thought. The other day, I went to a location I have only
been to a few times. It involved traveling on one bus and
arriving at a transit station. Every transit station here is
somewhat different. Sometimes you just walk out doors on to the
street. Sometimes you have to climb a flight of stairs or
descend one, or climb and descend one. Sometimes, you turn left.
Sometimes right. Sometimes through doors. Sometimes not. I
thought while on the bus, that I could not remember how to exit
this station. Did I go up or down? Turn left or right? I got a
little worried. When we exited the bus, my guide dog spun left
and walked confidently forward. "Okay," I thought, "at least one
of us seems to know where she is going." The next thing I knew
her two front feet were placed on a bottom step. Tail wagging
furiously. "Okay. Forward." And up the stairs we went. I was
still thinking, "Okay. But what do we do now? How can I direct
my dog from here?" We reached the top and my dog turned right and
the next thing I knew, I felt outside air on my face, heard
birds, and there we were outside of the station. Lots of kibble
and praise. Guide dog trainers always remind us to trust our
dogs. It's an experience like this that really increases the
bonding between guide dog and blind person.

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