[nagdu] What a day !!

Linda Gwizdak linda.gwizdak at cox.net
Wed Aug 26 18:51:09 UTC 2009


Hi Mardi,
I had to crack up about the lizard. My Mom's cat's favorite thing to do is 
to bring a live gecko into the house to freak out my Mom! The cat will play 
with the lizard and it goes into feigned death mode until my Dad picks it up 
and puts it back outside. Sometimes the lizard doesn't go into feigned death 
and runs under the couch or somewhere hard to get to.

Hey, maybe you need to move here to San diego.  The bus drivers don't seem 
to bother the guide dogs or any other service dog.  Seems like we are more 
enlightened about service animals here than you have there in Tuscon. 
(grin!)

Cheers,

Linda and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mardi Hadfield" <wolfsinger.lakota at gmail.com>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 1:09 PM
Subject: [nagdu] What a day !!


> Hi every one,  Last Tuesday was a very Stressful day for me and Shaman.  I
> left the house mid morning to go and pay a bill. After crossing my street
> and proceeding down the side walk, Shaman suddenly pulled to the left and
> nearly pulled the handle out of my hand.I knew we were still on a side 
> walk
> and not near any driveways or curbs so I wondered what he was doing. A man
> walking towards us on the sidewalk informed me that my dog had just chased 
> a
> rather large lizard. The lizard got away. The guy was laughing. 
> Embarrassed,
> I gave a leash and verbal correction and proceeded on.I thought we were
> passed the lizard chasing phase, but I guess the size of this particular
> lizard was just too much to resist. Shaman is still young and new at being 
> a
> guide dog and some times he does get distracted. Lizards Ha! When we got 
> to
> the very busy intersection of Grant and Oracle, we had to wait for the 
> light
> to change. When the light did change, a large trailer truck made a right
> turn in front of us so we had to wait. Suddenly Shaman began dancing 
> around
> nervously and then backed up, actually he ran backwards,so I reversed my
> wheelchair fast. I knew we were still on the curb,but I also knew that
> Shaman does not run backwards unless there is a problem. The back wheels 
> of
> the trailer ran up over the curb where we both had been just moments 
> before!
> We could have been hurt or even killed.  Shaman might get distracted on
> occasion but when it really counts, he is right on target! I spent so much
> time praising and hugging him that we had to wait for the light to change
> again. We finally got on our bus and went down town to the bus station to
> transfer to our second bus. I guess I did not move fast enough because the
> driver grabbed the harness handle and started to pull my dog back. I am so
> annoyed by this. I hate it when people do this. I told the driver not to
> touch my dog." The dog works for me,not any one else." " He has to follow 
> my
> instructions and can't do that when some one is pulling him in the 
> opposite
> direction." "I don't need help."  "I know what I am doing and so does the
> dog!" He responded that he was only trying to help. I told him, that" if I
> need help, I will ask for it."  "Please don't assume that every blind 
> person
> is not capable of doing things for themselves." I paid my bill and started
> for home. When I got on the second bus, this lady with a walker refused to
> move it and her feet so I could pass her. This elderly gentleman had to 
> lift
> his feet and his heavy oxygen tank so I could pass and get into the
> wheelchair bay. I thanked him and settled down for the ride home. Every
> thing went fine for a while.Then the lady with the heavy wheeled walker
> decided to put it up on her lap for some reason. She did not want to do 
> that
> when I was trying to get on the bus.  Then she dropped the walker on 
> Shaman.
> Poor Shaman just sat there. He is such a good dog and puts up with so 
> much.
> She started petting my dog and asking him if he was ok. I told her to get
> that thing off my dog and to leave him alone. I, will see if he is ok.
> Luckily,the walker did not hit Shaman's head, just his body. Then this 
> lady
> proceeds to tell me that I need to brush my dog because he has mats on his
> hind end. By this time I am almost ready to explode! This !@##! lady drops
> her walker on my dog and then tells me I need to brush my dog because he 
> has
> mats? Why can't people mind there own business! Shaman is combed and 
> brushed
> every day because he is a long haired dog and I want him to look his best
> and to prevent mats. There is not a mat on him! He enjoys being groomed 
> and
> I enjoy grooming him. I always run a slicker brush over his coat before I
> put his harness on when we go out. The hair on his hips grows in a 
> cowlick,
> so the hair curls in a circle. Brushing, even wetting the hair does not
> change the way it grows. There are no mats on this dog...... I told this
> woman to mind her own business. When she got off the bus she ran over the
> elderly gentleman's foot as he was trying to move out of her way. Her 
> walker
> got caught on is oxygen tank and pulled it down on top of his other foot.
> That poor man! Her walker is a lethal weapon!  I was so glad to get home 
> and
> so was Shaman. What a day !!!    Mardi and Shaman, and Nala,retired
>
> -- 
> http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
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