[nagdu] UK / My Tom-Tom is a 7/7 hero

[Toni Eames]

><http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3043599/My-Tom-Tom-is-a-77-heroGuide-dog-saved-blind-man-during-77-bombings.html>My 
>Tom-Tom is a 7/7 hero
>Man's best friend ... Mike and his clever pet dog Tom
>
>THE booming, roaring, snarling of a bomb ripping through a commuter 
>bus or train is a petrifying experience for any able-bodied person.
>
>But for blind dad-of-one Dr Michael Townsend, from Fleckney, 
>Leicestershire, things were a little more daunting when he left the 
>Tavistock Hotel in central London on the morning of 7th July, 2005.
>
>Having lost his sight when he was just eight, he walked to a meeting 
>a mile away from the hotel, almost getting caught in the cross fire 
>of the bus bomb that blew in Tavistock square.
>
>But someone was looking out for Mike that day - and not least of all 
>his newly recruited guide dog Tom.
>
>While his owner was left unaware to what all the commotion was 
>about, amazingly Tom the guidedog became his personal sat-nav and 
>found his own, new and safe route to the meeting Mike was attending.
>
>Here, he tells us his amazing story.
>
>"I had always thought that my newest guide dog Tom was a bit on the 
>scatty side. He was very loyal, and obviously very clever, but he 
>just struck me as a little soft.
>
>"But I honestly couldn't have been more wrong about this pup.
>
>Terrifying scenes ... The Tavistock Square bus blast
>
>"When I awoke at The Tavistock Hotel on the morning of July 7th, I 
>could hear commotion, sirens and fire engines but I assumed it was 
>just the city getting more like New York.
>
>"Little did I know, there were three bombs on the tubes that day, 
>and when I left my hotel for a meeting that morning I was about to 
>be caught up in a fourth one - on the double decker bus.
>
>"I walked out of our hotel ready for a breakfast meeting. The other 
>gentleman jumped in a cab, but it was such a glorious day, I decided to walk.
>
>"Tom took me down to the cross roads, right by the Tavistock hotel. 
>I had to wait a long while, which was unusual. Blind people feel a 
>little knarl thing underneath the lights that moves so we can cross, 
>but it didn't rotate. I usually had the concierge with me to show me 
>across the road, but not today.
>
>"The road was quiet, so we just walked across. Suddenly there was a 
>roar. It wasn't a bang, it was a roar. Like an animal being hurt. 
>People started rushing towards it, in the commotion, nobody told me 
>what was going on. It was frightening.
>
>Streets ahead ... Mike won't let the experience affect his life
>
>"Tom started to pull me violently in the wrong direction. He paused 
>and instead of going straight on, he turned right. This isn't so 
>good, I thought, this isn't the way Tom! I tried to persuade him to 
>go straight on.
>
>"Up and down roads I didn't recognise we went, I felt buildings I 
>had never experienced before.
>
>"Then suddenly, it smelt like the office we were going to - 
>unbelievably we had found it, a new route. My guide dog Tom had 
>become my Tom-Tom!
>
>"There were gasps when I walked into the room. The rest of my 
>meeting thought we had got tangled up in the bus bomb. When they 
>told me all about the commotion, I was flabbergasted.
>
>"Another member of our meeting even came in with a burnt jacket, he 
>had got caught up in the Edgeware road bombings earlier.
>
>"Like true Brits, we did what we do best and just got on with it. We 
>carried out the audit meeting and finished it like true professionals.
>
>"The true extent of the miracle that had happened to me, thanks to 
>my dog Tom, came to me a few days later. I found out that an 
>American woman, who had been escorted to the crossing by the 
>concierge, had been blown up by the bomb on the bus and killed just 
>minutes after I had stood there waiting for the lights.
>
>"But even how shockingly close this encounter was for me has not 
>stopped me doing what I want. I will not give the terrorists what 
>they want and become a recluser. I was back in Tavistock Square a 
>week later and it's never put me off public transport.
>
>"I've had a lot of knocks in my life as a blind person and I have 
>learned to handle them readily and deal with them
>
>"Tom is now the most special dog in the world to me, I know I can 
>rely on his capabilities. Witout him, I certainly might not be here 
>to tell my story.
>
>"He goes everywhere with me - even as far as Los Angeles. He was 
>even the first guide dog to ever set foot in Romania. I couldn't 
>face the world without his help. Without him, I might not be here."
>
>
>
>Read more: 
><http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3043599/My-Tom-Tom-is-a-77-heroGuide-dog-saved-blind-man-during-77-bombings.html#ixzz0t0ymgrXr>http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3043599/My-Tom-Tom-is-a-77-heroGuide-dog-saved-blind-man-during-77-bombings.html#ixzz0t0ymgrXr
>
>http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3043599/My-Tom-Tom-is-a-77-heroGuide-dog-saved-blind-man-during-77-bombings.html
>
>