[nagdu] Gucci's devotion

[Elizabeth Campbell]

Hi Wayne,

That was a great story about Gucci; it's wonderful to see how our dogs 
become so devoted to us.

How is Gucci around horses?
Gabe is very curious about them. Our police department has a mounted patrol, 
and the officers ride through our downtown on occasion. The first time Gabe 
saw a horse passing by us, he tried to move toward the horse to take  a 
sniff.

I thought he would be afraid, because of the horse's size, but that wasn't 
the case.

Gabe is also working out beautifully.

Take care.

Liz and Gabe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne Merritt" <wcmerritt at gmail.com>
To: "gsdguides" <gsdguides at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "doggie-den" <doggie-den at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 09, 2009 10:04 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Gucci's devotion


> Hey all. Haven't seen many posts on these lists, so thought I'd share
> the following event and reflections from today. Enjoy.
> Wayne
>
> Greetings. I got a glimpse into Gucci's devotion today. I'm sure she's
> shown me other signs, but this was one of the few that have been
> noticeable by me, for whatever reason. It happened during my horseback
> riding lesson, after I had dismounted and was collecting the horse's
> lead rope and her leash and tryign to get things organized. I was
> still feeling a little dizzy. (Refer to the entry on today's lesson
> for more on this). And I didn't have a good grip on her leash. Sure
> enough, it slipped from my fingers. Other dogs, when the pressure from
> the leash lessened like that, might have darted away to have some
> personal sniffing time. Thinking back, I'm not sure that Gucci did
> this. I just remember calling her name in a slight panic, since as a
> blind guy and guide dog owner, you never let go of the leash or
> release the dog from the leash, unless you want something
> unpredictable to happen that is. In reality, Gucci might have just
> turned slightly to look around, but when I called her name, she turned
> back and took a step toward me, well within my space. I had a hand on
> her instantly and then one of the riding volunteers handed me her
> leash. I can't help but think back to that moment of panic for me
> though and hear Gucci saying in her own doggie way, "I'm here, don't
> worry." She likes being near me in my apartment, likes being in the
> same room and not too far away. She'll even follow me if I go from one
> room to the other in her attempts. She enjoys being near me in my
> parent's house, after she's done a patrol that is and determined the
> house to be safe. But this morning's experience  was just another
> indication to me, even more so upon reflection, of that good old
> German Shepherd loyalty. Or, perhaps it has nothing to do with her
> breed. All that matters to me is that she was right there and had this
> attitude of, "I'm here, don't worry," verses running off like other
> dogs might have done. Thanks Gooch, I can't tell you how much that
> meant to me.
>
> -- 
> My blog:
> http://wayneism.blogspot.com
> My websites:
> www.wayneism.com
> www.whitecaneday.org
>
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