[nagdu] Gucci's devotion

[Wayne Merritt]

In our first year, but not new. I got her last September from The seeing eye.

Wayne

On 5/10/09, Ann Chiappetta <dungarees at optonline.net> wrote:
> Hi Wayne;
> It's Ann ie C and Verona.
> Gucci sounds like a great guide and companion. Are you a new team?
> ----- 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 11:04 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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>
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-- 
My blog:
http://wayneism.blogspot.com
My websites:
www.wayneism.com
www.whitecaneday.org