This
past week marked one month since Chase and I graduated from Guide Dogs for the
Blind. He had ten weeks training. I had two.
I suppose that pretty much answers the question about who is better
trained.
We
have settled into that routine I told you earlier we needed to develop. I get up at six and get ready for work. Then I feed, water and relieve Chase. He sits tied down to the table leg in the
kitchen while I eat breakfast and make my lunch for work. Then I brush his fur and his teeth (with
different brushes).
We
spend a little time in the home office.
I check my email. He checks the
backs of his eyelids. Then it’s booties
on, harness on, lock the door and head to BART.
We ride to MacArthur station and changed to the Fremont train, and get
off at Lake Merritt station.
A
ride up the escalator, a rapid walk to the fare gate and another escalator ride
follow. Then it’s straight down Oak
Street to the Embarcadero, in the gate at KTVU and a walk to the back
door.
At
work, I put down my bag at my desk and take off Chase’s booties. I grab his water bowl and take him into the
restroom to water him. I take paper
towels and mop up the water he spreads all over when he drinks and take him
outside to do what he does outside.
On
the way back in, I grab his bed from his locker. (Yes, he has a locker.) I put it down next to
my desk and take Chase’s harness off of him. I tether him to the desk and he lies
down. I go and wash the dog saliva off
my hands from giving him kibble at every up and down curb on the way to work.
At
mid-day we go out and walk along the Oakland Estuary. At the end of the days we reverse much of the
process.
Conversations
on BART are also kind of routine now.
“What a beautiful dog.”
“Thank
you.”
“Is
she a Labrador retriever?”
“Yes,
he is a full bred Lab.”
“How
old is he?”
“He’ll
be two in November.”
“Oh
look. He has cute little tennis
shoes! What are those for?”
“They
protect his back feet on the escalators.”
“He
doesn’t need them for his front feet?”
“No. They told me that because he can see his
front feet, they’re not prone to injury the way his back feet are.”
I
also initiate some interactions. On the
way home, I often get on crowded Pittsburg-Bay Point trains. I have learned to say in a semi-loud voice, “Would
there be a seat available for me and my guide dog?” Someone will say, “Yes. There’s a seat over there.” We call this unclear on the concept. Telling a visually impaired or blind person “Over
there” is a little less than semi-helpful.
I
have also had to call the toll-free help line at Guide Dogs a couple of
times. Once was for what you can see in
the video below
Chase
would just stop at one point along the sidewalk near our house. And he did it in only one direction. I would tell him "Forward" and he would back up. I thought he might be afraid of something so
I had Patti take video and emailed the YouTube URL to the helpline person. She said, “No his tail’s wagging. I think he just doesn’t know what he’s
supposed to do.” She suggested a couple
things. The first and most simple was
just to take his leash and lead him forward at that point, while praising him a
lot. It worked. He doesn’t stop there anymore.