Tales Of A Handler and her Dog

It is July 4^th, 2017, and I was up by 5 AM. The first thought that crossed my mind was how this would be the second to last morning I would wake up without a dog. All my life, up until now, my only responsibility was myself. I have not had to wake up to take a dog for a walk. In 24 hours, all that will change for a long time! We were instructed to meet in the multipurpose room by 6 AM to learn the obedience commands we would be using with our new four-legged friends. We would begin to get into the habit of waking up early in time to parc, feed and parc by 6 AM. Obviously yours truly would need an hour to get ready for the day. After mastering the obedience commands, I trailed the walls making my way to breakfast. Still getting used to not using a cane. My entire life, I used it indoors even if I knew the layout of the building. My teachers would for sure have a heart attack if they saw me without my canes. But there I was at Guiding Eyes, going against what school has been enforcing for 12 years of my life.

   After breakfast, we piled into the vans and headed to White Plains training lounge. Upon arriving, we all sat in the living room and got acquainted to Mary Beth, who was a training assistant at the time. Today everyone would go on test runs with their potential puppies. Some would test walk one dog, while others may have multiple options. I had already done a test walk with a yellow lab prior to arriving at Guiding Eyes. So today I would be trying out a different dog. The trainers would not reveal the dog’s names. All we would get are sex, breed, and colors. I would be trying out a black female lab. I was patiently waiting by the van waiting for them to bring Booboo over. Booboo is the fake name for all the dogs because one of the trainers said they were all her booboos. So, we went with it. Deanna came up to me with the female black lab and introduced me to her as booboo. I was a little surprise at how small Booboo was. I assumed that all Guide Dogs were big. But clearly, I was wrong especially when I had to practically sit on the ground just to pet this small bundle of wiggling energy. I was handed her leash and cued her to heel so I can position us into ready. I picked up the harness, was instructed on how to hold the leash under two of my fingers. Thinking back to that moment, I remember how complicated it sounded, whereas these days it is so natural. I gave the forward command and off we went! Deanna was walking on our left side with a training leash attached to insure we had a smooth walk. They just wanted to get a grasp on my pace. I remember thinking, “this dog is way too fast.” Did my feet ever touch the sidewalk? We did a short route. We just did one street crossing and circled a block. I was not aware of the rout we were on. I was just thinking about how I am going to transfer all my trust to this dog or the yellow lab from before. This was it. It was truly happening. I was there, on the sidewalk somewhere in White Plains, walking what may or may not be my future guide dog. It was definitely a hot summer day. I could smell freshly mowed grass in the air. I remember thinking how fast this dog was moving even in this ridiculous heat! I was worried that I might fall, and everyone would point and laugh.

At the end of our short rout, Deanna and Miranda asked me how I felt. I was honest with them and told them that I felt like she was too fast. I already knew that was what they wanted to hear but I did not say that for that reason. I genuinely felt like this dog was too fast. The yellow lab was a lot slower, and I was more comfortable with that…

The trainers want to hear you say the dog is too fast because you can always slow a dog down, but it is a bit harder to get them to speed up. I went back to the lounge and socialized with my classmates. We all shared our experiences and tried to make guesses of who we would get. We had lunch, then headed back to Guiding Eyes campus. That night we had a lecture followed by dinner and some downtime. The class was evenly divided. There were five of us ranging from 18 to 25, while the other five were older. During downtime, we hung out in the lounge and played games. I was super tired, but I had a lot of excited energy. I knew if I went to bed faster, the day would end faster, and the next day would come faster, and I would find out who my new partner in crime would be faster! Like, where was this fast forward button in life when you need it! The final thought before I slipped into dreamland was how this would be my final night without a dog. Tomorrow could not get here fast enough! Would my new dog like me? Would I break them, Ruin their training? Would it be the black female lab or the yellow male? I was conflicted about which dog I wanted to be matched with. On one hand, I wanted a female black lab so I can put pink bows on her. On the other hand, I felt a lot more comfortable and confident walking with the yellow lab. I am sure the trainers would make the right decision.

On July 3^rd, 2017, I practically leapt out of my bed, eager to get to Guiding Eyes’ campus located in Yorktown, New York. Obviously, my suitcase has been packed for about a week. My mom has taken me on a shopping spree since my birthday was coming up in a week. All the clothes in my suitcase had price tags on them. I wanted to embark on this new journey with my new partner in crime, while sporting a new wardrobe. I had just graduated from High School, and I was going to start my freshman year at Farmingdale State College. I have been looking forward to this day since I learned about guide dogs when I was 10 years-old, thanks to my mobility instructor at the time, Ms. Sherryl.

     I finished getting ready, ate breakfast made by my mom and waited for my access a ride to pick me up and take me to my boyfriend’s house, Erick, who was also attending the same class. His mom was driving us to Guiding Eyes because they lived about 45 minutes away. My ride showed up eventually, and my mom grabbed my suitcase and walked me to the car. It was not the first time I was going away from home, but it was the first time I would be returning without a cane.

    We arrived at the campus around noon. Miranda came out to meet us and introduced herself as the class supervisor. She led us to our rooms which were right next to each other. A few minutes later, Deanna, (who introduced herself as my trainer) showed up to my room and gave me orientation. All rooms are the same with a full-size bed, a nightstand on one side of the bed, the dog’s crate on the other side. A long dresser, with the TV sat in front of the bed. A mini fridge was on one side with a desk next to it. There was a door that led to the “parking area” (which is where we take the dogs to due their business). Park is what GEB uses to refer to bathroom time. On the opposite side of the room, was the door that led to the hallway. On that side of the room, you also have two closets, a bathroom with a toilet and a bathtub. The bathroom sink with a counter and a cabinet was across the bathroom.

   After my room orientation, Deanna gave Erick and myself orientation to the rest of the building. We did orientation without our canes. It was a clever idea to get into the habit of not using our canes because we will be heeling our dogs everywhere soon! This was a bit unnerving at first because I had gone to a school for the blind where you would get scolded if you were not using your cane. I mean who wanted to go to health services where they would offer Tylenol and a letter to your parent explaining the poor choices you made.

She showed us the big multipurpose room where lectures, playtime and graduation ceremonies are held. There were two floors that we would use. Downstairs is where the multipurpose room, all the bedrooms, laundry room, grooming room, nurse station, some offices and the lounge with coffeemakers, drinks and snacks were located. Upstairs, you had the dining room, kitchen, a few common areas and a small fitness area with a treadmill that I found myself using not as much as I said I would!

   We met the rest of our classmates at dinner. We introduced ourselves and had a breakdown of what the next two weeks were going to bring. We had a lecture after dinner that consisted of learning the guide dog equipment. They handed us our stiff leather leashes so we can break them in before dog day, in two days. We learned how to put on the slip collar, which honestly took me awhile to figure out. I was so scared about ruining my new dog’s equipment or just ruining my training in general. These are some of the anxieties I endured as a first-time handler. I knew this was what I wanted. This was the highlight for me in 2017. I had a lot going on that year from prom, to graduating from High School, to attending another high school graduation ceremony at my hospital for current and former cancer patients, to starting college in a few months. The Guide Dog training topped everything else. I was fully enlisting my trust to a four-legged animal. I was getting a new pair of eyes after 13 years. By the end of the night, I still did not know a thing about my perspective guide dog. Was it going to be a female or male? Black or yellow? Big or small? Would they like me? Would they even want to guide me? What if I break them? What if I fall? Yes, my biggest fear was falling… it is totally not a big deal now, but it was for me back then. Would I be able to trust them? All these questions kept swimming around in my head those two nights prior to dog day. If I am being honest, they were on my mind since I was accepted to the July 2017 class. Two weeks prior to attending Guiding Eyes, two instructors did a home visit. Since I was local, they brought out a big, yellow male Labrador who was a potential match. I remembered feeling like I was floating while holding onto his harness. He had a gentle pull. I felt comfortable and safe by letting him guide me. I was positive he was going to be my match. They told me that the other dog they had in mind was a female black lab. I thought to myself, “but this yellow cuteness is perfect”. … We had such a magical walk! The very next day, I would get a chance to walk with the black lab. I was very curious about her.