therealljidol Season 10-Week 5: Fear is the Heart of Love

[baxaphobia]

I picked up the phone, placed my finger over the entry in my contacts for The Seeing Eye. I then locked my phone and put it away

Comments

[adoptedwriter]

So happy for you!

[baxaphobia]

Thanks so much! Hugs!

[majesticzaichik]

I hope Esther will be ok. You know you made the right decision about getting a new dog. I hope it will be a mostly smooth process transitioning Yale.

[baxaphobia]

So far so good. Smile. Thanks so much for your comment!

[dmousey]

Do you get to keep Esther? And hurray for Yale! How does one go about acquiring a seeing eye dog? Through the state? Fed? Or private means? Just curious. If you've posted about this in the past, I'll look it up.

I loved this entry. Thank you, hugs and peace - D

[baxaphobia]

Alll guide dog schools are private non profit in the US. Other countries are different. First one should have good orientation and mobility skills...using a cane and such. Then as for The Seeing Eye, you send in an application. If you are a new applicant then usually a field rep from the school comes out to evaluate you and does an pretend walk, using the harness and pretending they are a dog. That is called a "Juno walk". After that, if the instructor finds that you have the skills and the ability to care for the dog, and if your lifestyle will allow for sufficient work for the dog, then a class is scheduled. You have to undergo a medical exam and submit the medical info to the school as well. It might take a while for a good match to happen as everything is taken into consideration before one goes into class. I needed a steady and fairly slow dog and my preference was a golden. I would have accepted any dog tht worked for me but I'm very happy I got my golden. And yes, I get to keep Esther. She'll be a great house princess. Any

[halfshellvenus]

I'm sorry there was such worry over the reaction to retiring Esther early. I would have said that in waiting longer, the major "toughing it out" would have been done by Esther, using those sore feet in repeated attempts to see if her condition would go away, only to have the problem return. It just seems very inconsiderate to the dog, though it's a huge inconvenience as well to the person who is waiting for a fully functional companion and can't do all that they wish to.

But I would hope the trainer's first thought would be whether that was the right thing for the dog, or whether this particular animal was just physically ill-suited to the work.

I'm glad it all worked out, and that you have a promising new guide in the making and a beloved pet who will enjoy being part of your family.

[baxaphobia]

I imagine there are those who, at the least little thing, are ready to throw in the towel and want a new dog. But that certainly isn't the case with me and I think most knew that. One of the vets (who is fairly new) was the one who really thought I should try more. But instructors who knew me were insistant that this was a necessary retirement and admissions and training made it happen. It's almost time to go home and I'm glad of that. It's been a good run but I want to get back to normal life!
Thanks for reading and your thoughtful comments!

[az_starshine]

Great post!

[baxaphobia]

Thanks so much!