[nagdu] Four years ago!

Tamara Smith-Kinney tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Tue Feb 17 19:48:01 UTC 2009


Jen,

Lovely.  Thanks for sharing!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jen
Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2009 7:29 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] Four years ago!

  
Where does the time go? I still cannot believe Nixon and I are still
together! Four years ago at the Boring, Oregon campus of Guide Dogs for the
Blind, I received Nixon.
 
This was a banner year for both of us. He walked beside me across the stage
to receive my two college diplomas. He worked five days a week during my
last semester of college, sleeping on his fleece rug chewing on his nylabone
or drinking water. He alerted me to a fire alarm and helped me realize that
my hearing was getting worse when I couldn't hear it (he almost escaped when
it bothered him, but learned if he went crazy, I know the fire alarm is
going off!). We traveled to Portland to attend the GDB alumni reunion and to
visit his puppy raisers. He was at my side at my first two job interviews
and computer testing. We have have learned the bus routes of down town
Prince George to continue the road of independence for me. He sat at my side
as I learned to sew, and watched from afar while I learn to cook during the
summer months. 
 
Nixon has surpassed Bronze's milestone when he was still my guide. Bronze
only worked 3 1/2 years, so this year is so special for Nixon and I. Nixon
and I have a strong bond and great guide work relationship. He is intuned to
me quite well. He does have a stubborn streak in him, which requires
encouragement frm me, "No, not today Nixon, we are going the other
direction." He can be quite insistent! In the last year, our confidence
boosted and his guide pace picked up a notch to the point we'd be leaving
anyone I am with behind in the dust! He has an amazing sweet and gentle pull
that doesn't hurt my bad shoulder, sometimes it gets a bit sore; however, he
will slow down to the point of sensing my mood when it is appropriate to
take the initiative on speed. His tail is always up like a question mark,
ears perked up, nose down, to guide the way. As I praise, the tail wags more
strongly as we continue on our journey.
 
Feb 15th, 2005, is an unforgettable day. After lunch, we all sat in the
lecture room awaiting for the instructors to finish going over the details
of what we need to do once we receive our dogs. We were on pins and needles
awaiting to find out the name/breed/gender of dog we'd be matched up with. I
was second to last to hear about my dog. "Jen, you will receive a male
yellow lab named Nixon." When I heard the name, I spelled it back to them,
to make sure I heard my instructor right, "N-I-C..." "No, Jen, it is
N-I-X-O-N." She spelled it out fingerspelling it. I knew the name suited
very well, compared to my dislike to Bronze's name when I first heard it.
The wait began. We were all sent to our rooms to await for one of the
instructors to fetch us to go into the instructor's office, so we could meet
our dog, and get the dog stats as well. The wait seemed like forever as each
student received their dog. There were nine of us new students in the class
(although 3 went home before graduation). My turn finally came. My nerves
were shot as the questions rolled in my mind, "Will I like my new dog? Will
I be able to bond with my new dog?" I was emotional all day! Candace, one of
the instructors, took me sighted guide to the office. I sat on the couch and
gave my camera to one of my instructors. I wanted to have pictures taken of
the moment, as I didn't do this with Bronze, which I regret today since your
first dog is always a moment to cherish even if the dog was a mismatch.
Erin, my main instructor, sat in front of me, and all of a sudden, as I sat
down, a second later, all was quiet, I looked around trying with my limited
vision to find my new dog. I knew I'd see the dog being yellow. Then my eyes
locked on Nixon's brown eyes as he approached me. I gasped in surprise and
said, "Wow, he is big!" I had thought all along I'd be matched up with a
smaller dog, but that was not to be the case when i discovered I was getting
another male dog. He came and put his face right up to my face, and we
stared at each other for five minutes. I let him take in who I was. I
admired his amazingly white coat. It reminded me of my best friend's dog,
who was completely white when I met her dog! I was drawn to Nixon's facial
expression. I was overwhelmed, that when we got back to the room, and I sat
on the hard floor near him at tie down on his fleece mat. He sat there for
the whole two hours while we were given that time to bond with our dog, just
staring at me, unhappily. I burst into tears, and I tried to talk to him and
pet him, but it seemed like he didn't like me! I tried to keep a cool head,
and tried to hide my emotions through supper until I was able to go down and
see Kim, the school's counsellor. I was so insecure about the whole "second
dog syndrome" I was feeling. Her words still stick today, "Give it time. You
just got him." Talking to Mom, I tried to hide the emotions, but I didn't
find out until later, she could sense that I was unsure about Nixon, even
though I tried to show excitement when I told her what his name was and all
that.
 
The next day, I was greeted, as I put on my hearing aids, "thump, thump,
thump." I couldn't figure out what the sound was, until I went over to say
"good morning" to Nixon, to realize it was him. He was starting to warm up
to me. He knew we were going to be together, and we were. That morning, I
could not wait for our first walk together. The instructor had a safety
leash attached to Nixon's colour in case the dog had confidence issues, etc,
but Nixon didn't need it for long. As soon as I aid, "Nixon, Forward!" he
moved slowly outside the doors of the down town lounge, and stopped at the
curb on the dime. "Nixon, Left." giving both the verbal and hand signal, and
foot signal, he moved hesitantly, and then moved forward to the next curb.
After a block, the leash was taken off, and we were on our own, with the
instructor right at my shoulder. All I could think was, after that first
walk, "Wow, my shoulder and back is not in pain!" I was in awe with Nixon's
guide work and harness pull. That day on, through graduation, we flew
through training with very few issues. Coming home was a breeze with no
issues at all either. 
 
Nixon, I love you! 
 
This year, I hope our relationship and bond will continue to sour if I move
to Toronto. He will be challenged in a big city environment, and a whole new
world and change for both of us. Even if I don't move, I am sure we will
soon have a job to look forward to as well. We've been to so many different
places, and nothing phases him one bit.
 
I know this is long-winded, but I wanted to share the moment, the time I got
my "boy". Mr. President, as he is affectionately named, is asleep curled up
on my bed for an afternoon nap. Our life is very slow, we haven't gotten out
much, and it has not helped that I have been under the weather since last
Thursday with a nasty cold bog. He slept with me through it all, and have
been up and around the house since Wednesday doing much better despite
coughing congestion. I've been getting in touch with classmates to see how
they are, as all of us continue to have the dogs we have had in class.
 
Although, I received Nixon a day after Valentine's Day, I still love you
with all my heart. May we continue to soar in our future travels.
 
Jen and Nixon



_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/tamara.8024%40comcast
.net





More information about the NAGDU mailing list