I wanted to share a recent experience. It’s something that happens to guide dog handlers more often than we’d like to admit. It’s also something that I personally consider unnecessary and find the cultural stigma of some foreign populations attached to coming into contact with a service dog fearing uncleanliness frustrating, especially after recent statements from religious leaders that helping someone with a service dog is a good deed and outweighs the risk of saliva contact.

. Maybe this is ignorant on my part and maybe I should be more tolerant but when one has to face ignorance each and every day, when one must greet each day saying, “wow, I hope my disability is only a mild problem today,” it is even harder to find tolerance for others who claim not to want to help a person like me because of religious beliefs.

Ah, well, onto the story.

One morning in May, I called a local taxi company for an appointment. I called with extra time because I knew from prior incidents that I might need the time just in case the driver refused me due to my guide dog. I gave myself 45 minutes to go 3 miles in the same city. I told the dispatcher not to send me a driver who would refuse me, as I’d had the experience of being refused because of my dog once already and he was also the same dispatcher on the day it happened last year. He assured me he would send a driver who would not refuse me.

 

In a point of digression and fact, I do not need to disclose my disability to request the same service as my peers without a disability. By Federal law outlined in the ADA I am to receive equal access to all modes of public transportation with my service dog. It sure sounds good on paper, but in reality it’s a crap shoot with the taxi services and is a chronic problem with shared ride services like Uber and Lift. I disclosed because I thought it would avoid the possibility of a ride refusal.

 

Well, back to my story. I waited 15 minutes. He didn’t show. I called dispatch. He spoke to the driver while I was on the phone. Then, as luck had it, my friend got off the bus, came over and watched the whole situation unfold. I am grateful that fate and circumstance put a witness where I needed one. She told me the car number when the driver would not. She told me how he idled two blocks away when the dispatcher told him to come get me. She told me when the car came; he crept up to where c I stood as if he didn’t want me to notice he was there. She heard him say he e couldn’t take me because my dog was too big. And then, after the dispatcher told him he had to take me, he changed his excuse to, “I’m allergic, I can’t take her,”

 

By then I was mad and had to hold back from yelling at him to go back to his country because he isn’t helping anyone here.

 

I then called his boss, who called the police and the driver has since been issued a summons and is due to appear in court. This is his first summons, but, I wonder, will it be his last?

 

I am all for fighting the good fight and mostly step up and do my share. I do my best to be fair and unbiased. I am also getting burned out. I am tired of fighting, of the anxiety I feel when I call a taxi, knowing my chances of this happening again is a fifty-fifty shot. I wonder if it will ever get better. Since I don’t have a crystal ball and no friends named Nostradamus, I guess I will have to put on my big girl panties and suck it up. Drivers with road rage ain’t got nothin’ on me, in my world it’s called refusal rage. I am hoping it doesn’t happen again, but it will and I hope I can keep a lid on it and not resort to nasty language for next time. It really bothers me and I am ashamed when I lose control like that. I also wish there was a way to get these drivers to understand what it is like, have them walk in my shoes; maybe then attitudes will change for the better.

 

 

 

I wanted to share a recent experience. It’s something that happens to guide dog handlers more often than we’d like to admit. It’s also something that I personally consider unnecessary and find the cultural stigma of some foreign populations attached to coming into contact with a service dog fearing uncleanliness frustrating, especially after recent statements from religious leaders that helping someone with a service dog is a good deed and outweighs the risk of saliva contact.

. Maybe this is ignorant on my part and maybe I should be more tolerant but when one has to face ignorance each and every day, when one must greet each day saying, “wow, I hope my disability is only a mild problem today,” it is even harder to find tolerance for others who claim not to want to help a person like me because of religious beliefs.

Ah, well, onto the story.

One morning in May, I called a local taxi company for an appointment. I called with extra time because I knew from prior incidents that I might need the time just in case the driver refused me due to my guide dog. I gave myself 45 minutes to go 3 miles in the same city. I told the dispatcher not to send me a driver who would refuse me, as I’d had the experience of being refused because of my dog once already and he was also the same dispatcher on the day it happened last year. He assured me he would send a driver who would not refuse me.

 

In a point of digression and fact, I do not need to disclose my disability to request the same service as my peers without a disability. By Federal law outlined in the ADA I am to receive equal access to all modes of public transportation with my service dog. It sure sounds good on paper, but in reality it’s a crap shoot with the taxi services and is a chronic problem with shared ride services like Uber and Lift. I disclosed because I thought it would avoid the possibility of a ride refusal.

 

Well, back to my story. I waited 15 minutes. He didn’t show. I called dispatch. He spoke to the driver while I was on the phone. Then, as luck had it, my friend got off the bus, came over and watched the whole situation unfold. I am grateful that fate and circumstance put a witness where I needed one. She told me the car number when the driver would not. She told me how he idled two blocks away when the dispatcher told him to come get me. She told me when the car came; he crept up to where c I stood as if he didn’t want me to notice he was there. She heard him say he e couldn’t take me because my dog was too big. And then, after the dispatcher told him he had to take me, he changed his excuse to, “I’m allergic, I can’t take her,”

 

By then I was mad and had to hold back from yelling at him to go back to his country because he isn’t helping anyone here.

 

I then called his boss, who called the police and the driver has since been issued a summons and is due to appear in court. This is his first summons, but, I wonder, will it be his last?

 

I am all for fighting the good fight and mostly step up and do my share. I do my best to be fair and unbiased. I am also getting burned out. I am tired of fighting, of the anxiety I feel when I call a taxi, knowing my chances of this happening again is a fifty-fifty shot. I wonder if it will ever get better. Since I don’t have a crystal ball and no friends named Nostradamus, I guess I will have to put on my big girl panties and suck it up. Drivers with road rage ain’t got nothin’ on me, in my world it’s called refusal rage. I am hoping it doesn’t happen again, but it will and I hope I can keep a lid on it and not resort to nasty language for next time. It really bothers me and I am ashamed when I lose control like that. I also wish there was a way to get these drivers to understand what it is like, have them walk in my shoes; maybe then attitudes will change for the better.

 

 

 

 

 

Second Dog Update

 

He’s large and silly

Goes to work with

A sniff and a bound

Guiding me around

 

He greets folks with a lick

So far no one’s gotten ticked

Off and grossed out.

 

Yes, folks, it’s been a month since Bailey and I were reunited after I left training with pneumonia. So far, we are working well together and he’s learning my routes and I’m learning his personality. He and Verona are getting along well and even Nikka has accepted him, evidenced by play-bowing with him a few weeks ago. We were stunned. Nikka must be getting mellow with age, as she hasn’t done that with any other dog besides Verona.

 

Titan the cat and Bailey have worked out their relationship, too. Bailey shows restraint and I am very proud of him.

 

The inconvenience of working a yellow lab is all on the outside; you guessed it, light colored hair. Being someone who wears black and dark colors, this is not fun. I am slowly changing my work wardrobe to khaki pants, light blue pants, pastels and other light colored clothing. I’m also on the lookout for a purse sized lint/hair remover. He is a heavy shedder and brushing him, adding fish oil to his diet and doing an hour brushing on weekends has helped but he’s still dropping hair as if he’s a golden retriever. Ugh.

 

I also got a memory photo book from his puppy raiser and first Mommy, Pat Bailey Weber. OMG, I wish I could see those pictures. My sister spent a while describing them and it brought tears to my eyes. He is loved and benefitted from such a great life and because of it; he is so good with me. I am forever grateful to Pat, and to Carol, who raised Verona.

 

We took our first overnight trip up to Albany. He was phenomenal on the platform, in the station, and around the hotel. He only like to relieve on pavement, and I am so glad, it’s so much easier when traveling. Just find the parking lot and get ‘er done.

 

Future plans include some long weekends upstate, the NY Renaissance fair, and a trip to the lake. I can’t wait to clip on the long line and watch him swim.  He’s gotten a hold on my heart and every day the bond grows. Maybe I’ll write a poem about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was on Facebook the other day and saw a post from another dog guide user stating that her life doesn’t center on the whims of her dog guide. I wasn’t sure she was being facetious or not. I was admittedly, a little concerned about the statement. Do folks really think there is nothing else? Do I somehow turn off people just by posting about my dogs on social media? Do my friends and co-workers secretly roll their eyes, hoping I’ll shut up?

 

I don’t know; but if some folks do occasionally swivel their orbs to the heavens in a tired, world weary gesture, here are some non-dog guide highlights.

 

I married my husband, raised my children, and obtained my graduate degree without the assistance of a guide dog. I run my home with my human family, who assist me in caring for our canine family.

I work full-time for the VA and volunteer for a number of philanthropic and advocacy organizations without the use of my guide dog, however, my dog does take me to meetings as well as inspire me to volunteer for a few of these organizations.

 

I write more than a few stories and poems with subjects other than my dog guide.

Just like being blind is only part of the whole, being a handler is also a part of who I am and how I cope with my disability. Is owning a guide dog a burden? Honestly, there times it is annoying, like when it’s minus 3 out and the doggie needs to go out. Other than that, I’d say the unconditional love from our canines vastly outweighs any blustery day. But this is just my opinion. Do I, at times, over identify with being a guide dog user? Yes. It’s akin to being a proud parent, at least for me. It’s also much more positive then over identifying in a negative sense or being in denial about my blindness.

 

Okay, I think y’all get the idea and folks who know me personally know, by this point I am being a little snarky. I’ll end this with a quote by Andy Rooney (I think) “most dogs are better people than most of the people I know.”

 

Dog Blogumentary Part 7: Graduation
Hello readers, it’s the Sunday after our official graduation and we are doing great. Bailey is snoozing in his crate, a half chewed Budda bone lying next to him. This morning we went out in the cold (when is it going to get warm?) and practiced obedience and targeting the relief area and the path back to the building in harness. He did great. My recuperation is still a work in progress. Today I am fatigued and aches and pains are plentiful. Sigh.

Yesterday, though, I was energetic and ready for a full day of emotions and excitement. Our action instructor picked us up and drove us to the Yorktown facility. We got to let the dogs in the class play in the community run. Wow, it was interesting. The instructors were alert and ready for anything. The dogs were like pogo sticks and racehorses; running, jumping, wrestling, and doing it with complete abandon. After that, we went to lunch, leaving our dogs in the rooms to rest before the big event. At 1:30 we were ready to go, were escorted into Alumni Hall for the ceremony and Bailey and the dog next to him taunted one another and we had to practically wrestle them into position under the chairs. Then, Mr. Houdini tried wriggling out of his harness but didn’t make it all the way, thankfully. We met his raiser, one of the regional managers for Guiding Eyes’ puppy raising areas in Maine, for whom he was named. We got some pictures and talked about Bailey, his personality and how he responds, etc. I learned he is a strong swimmer, has been riding in cars and boats and travels well. He prefers his crate/kennel and is socially excitable with people but can quiet down with firm direction and handling. Nothing I didn’t already figure out while training with him. I also discovered he prefers to return a ball when the person sits down in a chair rather than standing up. He needs to work on his off-leash recall. This is all very workable and he is not even 2 yet – his birthday is April 25th.

Thank you, Guiding Eyes, Pat Weber, and all the people involved in Bailey’s development. This is my second dog and he is as different as I needed him to be. He and Verona get along very well, he tolerates Nikka as if he has known her for years and he and our cat are learning to give one another the personal space a cat desires for peaceful cohabitation. Thanks for reading and enjoy the upcoming holidays.

He is sweet, yellow

A big fluffy fellow

 

Toasted darker

On ears and tail tip

Gives a nibble and a lick

Golden eyes

Better than cash

He comes with a snow nose

And personality to last

 

It’s Bailey

 

 

Hello again, readers, this blog entry will spread over a few days which I will call reunion week. It will begin with preparing for Bailey’s return as well as his introduction to the Chiappetta pets and humans, then it will wrap up with graduation. So, get out the tissues and be ready for a long post.

Monday, March 23: This morning was good. I felt much better and feel like whatever has had its hold upon my chest is slowly leaving. The doctor gave me a checkup and sent me home with a note stating I was ready for work and training once again. I left the office so much happier than I’ve been in days. I was depressed, moping around like I lost my favorite toy. It was like getting my sea legs back, and now I’m feeling even better.

 

I got home and contacted Guiding Eyes. An hour later, the instructor called me and we agreed that Mr. B will come to work on Wednesday around noon time. We’ll get started a bit around there and then go home and introduce him to Verona, Nikka, Titan and April. Jerry will be working and not get to say hello until later that night. The rest of the week will get planned out with the instructor depending on what I need to catch up on, etc.

 

Saturday will mean a lot of excitement and, yes, tears. They will be for me, the warm and appreciative kind; I can’t wait to finally get to be with Bailey again. I can’t wait to meet his puppy raiser, for whom he was named. So, I’ve been puttering around, getting food bins arranged, grooming tools and supplies organized and thinking about how good it will feel to hold that harness handle.

 

He’s back. Our reunion was wonderful; he nibbled my chin and licked my face. We settled the office and went out for a walk. It was great, we took off where we left off. Got a cramp halfway through it but Bailey slowed down and accommodated me. This, to me, is amazing. Verona, as good as she was, only had one speed. This boy, well, he has two speeds and I really like this about him. He is also patient when I need a breather.

 

We got home and the animal reunion was intense but good. However Titan decided he didn’t want to be introduced and Bailey barked and that was that. Nikka and Verona were good and now, a few hours later, as I write this, mostly they are all settled. Titan and Bailey will work it out just like Nikka and Titan did.

 

So, will write another post after graduation. Thanks for reading.

 

working and playing together

 

Friday we learned how to work a route with another team. It was fun and rewarding. Bailey took me around a bunch of spilled tomatoes on the ground on the sidewalk as we passed the food bank. Thanks to that accidental opportunity I learned more of his body language and corrected myself and learned how he problem solves. Good stuff. Next. We got to know one another even more in a private play session. We worked on recall “come” and treating him when he returned the toy or just came to me. We do need to work on this, though. I then went to Pet Smart and found the toys he preferred. A wubba, a canvas tug toy and a nuylabone that looks like a crazy wish bone. Since I felt really horrible when we returned from our morning trip, I skipped the Saturday session and stayed in bed. Today I caught up today with backing up and a mini-traffic check with a shopping cart indoors. This helped me understand how he moves and gave me some much needed practice on following him even when it’s really awkward. What a good boy.

 

Today was bootie time. Also another potentially awkward task. We did okay, will need to practice  putting them on. But he walks very nicely in them.

 

One thing I really wanted to write about is how much the students here help one another. Sharing the student experience has helped me tremendously. I have heard a lot of second dog stories, good and not so good. I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I went into it with no expectations, only a positive frame of mind and this has suited me well thus far. Now that I’m one week into this experience I think I’d like to describe it like this: it’s like a first dog only better. It’s just as demanding physically (maybe even more so since I’ve aged 6 years) and mentally and emotions run high, too. There is, however, a level of adjustment unique to already having been a handler. The struggle with the equipment, while still a little awkward, isn’t as intimidating. The husbandry part is familiar and grooming and the dog-centric knowledge is comforting, too. The movements are like an ever so familiar dance and it feels good when it happens so quickly, unlike the first time. Knowing what to do helps the transition.

 

There is a woman in our class that is here for her first dog at an age when most folks wouldn’t even consider it; I’ve grown a fondness for her. She is experiencing much of what I did the first time. The doubts, tears and questioning if she’ll ever get how to turn, pivot and learn all the skills. It is overwhelming at first — that is a fact. I keep saying  to her that I want to be the first one to congratulate her on graduation and that her doubts are normal and healthy. If she wants it badly enough, she will do it and be there with us on graduation day. Today I watched her and the instructor practice her turns and I recalled how I had to do that, too. I assured her, later, after dinner, that her goals of increasing her independence and working on being more active are worthwhile and achievable. She will have a loyal and steady partner at her side to work with her and that is the best part of it, doing it together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Solo Trip

Morning Obedience was good; my new partner responded well with only a few blips, which were amusing and not at all frustrating. It helps that the instructor has a great sense of humor and that the dog is a big goofball.

 

So, after this routine, we pack up, put on the harness and drive to downtown White Plains for training walks. It didn’t help that I woke up with a migraine and it took half the morning and some powerful medication to keep it at a level where I could work my dog. I did it, though, and the morning walk went as planned with the training lead and the afternoon walk went even better without the training lead. I like this dog’s pace, pull, and size. It felt wonderful to be out and walking again in a way that makes me feel like I’m flying, like I can see again. Altruistic, perhaps but this is how I feel when my dog is doing its job and we are in sync. We did have a few challenges other than the usual distractions but I think they will resolve themselves once we figure one another out. I can say he is more strong-willed than Verona. He is a different dog, after all.

 

As the bonding process progresses and I give over the trust and affection to him, he, too, is learning to accept me. How long this will take and the exact point in which I will know can’t be predicted but I will do my best to do everything in my power to encourage it.

 

Tonight we got to know one another a little better by some grooming time. He seemed to like it and became very happy when I brushed him and when we were done; he seemed to say, okay, you passed this test, too.

 

Tomorrow, more walks and more positive reinforcement like treats and praise, and also corrections. Each day the ratio of corrections and praise will shift and corrections will lessen until they are only necessary when there is an extreme circumstance occurring. An example would be, let’s say, a dog distraction or a temptation of food on the floor, etc. Practicing daily obedience will help reinforce positive outcomes, too.

 

The rest of the week will build the trust and routine and help us and the other students in class create a successful human/dog relationship. Not sure if it is an exact science but it doesn’t matter as long as I am getting the opportunity to work toward getting to know my dog better.

 

 

Dog Day and wiggly Yellow Labradors

Tuesday early morning:

Okay, folks, before I announce my new partner, I want to describe a little bit more about things during guide dog class. The first thing I’d like to say is that life here for the next ten days for me and the other students in residence is structured. We get up at 6 a.m.; meet the instructors for morning obedience practice and other instruction depending on the day. Prior to getting our dogs, we learned about the equipment and practiced with simulated dogs either acted out by the instructors or on a stuffed, life-sized dog. Today, for instance, we got up, met for instruction, then drove to White Plains, took one training walk, half with the instructor being the dog, then an actual dog taking us back to the training lounge. This is called the Juno walk; when the instructors pretend to be the dog and the test drive when the actual dog takes you along a short route. I huffed and puffed up the hill but even though I had to stop twice, it felt great to be moving again.

 

So, tomorrow morning I will know if the dog I met will be my buddy. There could be a change or the dog could be matched with me. I won’t know until Tuesday afternoon. So, come the morning my life will change and a dog will be meeting me. Will it be the wiggly, yellow, male Labrador who walked me up that hill and back to the lounge? Only time will tell.

 

Tuesday Afternoon

Yes, folks, it’s a male yellow Labrador. I can’t reveal his name to promote bonding and until we know for sure the match is a solid one. He is larger than Verona, different as cheese and chalk and that’s totally fine, I wanted that. A dog too similar would confuse me more, lol. Right now he’s lying down at my feet and hasn’t whined for his trainer in at least 20 minutes. This is good. I am growing a fondness for him already.   Our first training walk along a quiet street on campus was great and I can’t wait until my stamina returns and we can walk until our hearts’ content. Verona was so slow, I hadn’t realized I was walking at a snail’s pace until now.

 

Stay tuned for more adventures, when I may possibly reveal Mr. Wiggley’s real name. Until then, woof!

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year to all who read this blog. Thanks for reading and letting me know how much these words are appreciated. Whenever I receive a message from one of my blog readers, I’m thrilled, so keep them coming.

 

No resolutions for this lady, just a continuation of doing the best I can now and in the future. 2015 has a lot of good things in store for me, including vacations and planning for   community events and making presentations.  Perhaps the most challenging and exciting of these is going back to Guiding Eyes for the Blind to train with a new dog. Yes, folks, it’s really happening – Verona is now 8 and is retiring. We have a party scheduled for her on February 13^th at my job and she is only working part-time now anyway.  I’ve even been adjusting to my other mobility tool, Stick Stickley, aka, the white cane. For a temporary way of getting around, its fine, but I wouldn’t want it replacing working with a dog guide.

 

I do feel a little guilty about retiring Verona but I also know that guilt is unfounded and unrealistic and maybe even comes from doubting myself and the decision itself. One thing I’ve learned from this is that our animals rely on us to make these decisions for them. It’s part of the partnership and commitment of sharing our lives and trust. Whether it’s making the decision to let them go due to age or illness, or fostering or re-homing them, or retiring a working dog and relying on a younger, more active dog, we are charged with making the tough decisions and ultimately living with those decisions.

 

Much soul searching has been going on since late last year when I noticed Verona’s pace slowing, her hesitation going  up and down steps, and her lack of stamina during the summer months.  With some assistance from Guiding Eyes we did what we could to see if there was any possible way to increase her pace but in the end, we decided it was time to retire her and I submitted the re-training paperwork in September 2014.  Class begins on March 8 and I will be staying on campus until the 21^{st. I am in the accelerated training program and will have 2/1 instruction. O}nce home, I will receive one on one instruction for 5 days of home instruction. I don’t think I’ll need five days  of home follow-up but I’m glad it’s there for me if I need it.

Will I get a male or female, black or yellow? Don’t know yet but I’m thinking a lot about it and wonder if my witchy intuition will allow me a peek at the possibilities, maybe in a dream or premonition? Hmmm, never know. All I know right now is that I am looking forward to it and know I’ve done right by my loving, loyal, sweet girl, Verona.