[nagdu] Gucci's devotion

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

/smile/  Gotta love those velcro dogs!  Good dog, Gucci.

I'm envious of your riding lesson!  What fun.  /grin/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Wayne Merritt
Sent: Saturday, May 09, 2009 8:04 PM
To: gsdguides
Cc: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users;
doggie-den
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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