Happy Anniversary, Chase

Today is one year since Chase and I graduated from Guide Dogs for the Blind.  We’ve had a few adventures here and there.  Here’s a small sampling:

·        Airplane flights to Milwaukee and Southern California

·        Three trips to Giants games at AT&T Park (one all by ourselves, negotiating crowds like slalom skiers)

·        One round-trip ferry ride between Oakland’s Jack London Square and AT&T Park

·        One trip to Stanford Stadium to see the Cardinal defeat UCLA

·        Daily BART rides to and from KTVU until I retired in late April

·        Three weddings and a funeral

·        Guests of our friend, Diane Dwyer, at a fundraising luncheon for Guide Dogs for the Blind

·        Puppy raiser Fun Day 2014 at Guide Dogs for the Blind (see picture) – the same event at which we graduated last year

Here are some things I have learned along the way:

·        Chase exchanges saliva for treats.  So when we work and I hand him his reward, I needed something other than my pant leg upon which to wipe my hand.  That’s a football towel from a sporting goods store you see hanging on my belt.

·        All my ideas about what I’d do if a dog attacked Chase were quixotic.  When it happened, it happened so fast, all those great plans went out the window.  Fortunately, Chase’s physical injuries were minor and his psychological wounds apparently nonexistent.

·        A 65 pound guide dog fits comfortably under the seat in front of you.  And after he cleans up all the peanuts within reach on the floor, he goes to sleep until the flight is nearly over.

·        Airports now have relieving areas for dogs

·        The sounders on walk/don’t walk signals indicate compass direction as well as when it’s safe to cross.  Tweeting is east/west.  Cuckoo is north/south. 

·        Guide dogs do not know when they’re supposed to cross.  They wait for us to tell them.  Guide dog handlers with no vision at all have to listen to the flow of traffic to know when it’s safe to cross.

·        Most people know not to pet a guide dog without asking.  An amazing number of people don’t seem to know that.

·        A lot of people don’t seem to know that “over there” is not a helpful or useful direction to give to a blind or visually impaired person.

·        Guide dogs are remarkably individual.  This conclusion comes from reading stories people share on forums for guide dog users.  Like people, the dogs all have their own personalities, quirks and failings.  They are not robots.

·        You fall in love with your guide dog, even if you think you’re not that kind of person.