[nagdu] Some people Do Know...

[Tami Kinney]

William,

I know what you mean about the lif you get from people who know the 
right etiquette! I live in an insanely dog-friendly town, and have had 
to revise some of what I had originally intended for social interactions 
with my guide... We've come to a workable compromise, and I am fortunate 
that she is great about accepting all the attention then getting back to 
doing her job. Mostly. /smile/ She does have her days.

Still, whenever I hear someone say they know she's working and they 
won't pet her but she is a lovely dog, stuff like that, I get a super 
lift! Or when I hear parents telling their kids that the doggy is 
working so they have to let her do that. Or, better yet, kids lecturing 
their parents in that serious way kids do, while the parents listen and 
tell the kids how smart they are to know that... Makes my day. Mitzi's 
too, I think. I can hear and feel her little happy step or hear her sof 
"oof" of laughter. Gotta love that poodle. /grin/

Well, Mitzi started out as the super shy reserved poodle type, so I did 
have to train her in what I call the "controlled greet" for the sake of 
her nerves. /lol/ She did go through a phase where she seemed to be in 
total floozy mode more days than not. Sigh. Then she evened out and is 
just very gracious with her adoring fans but has learned to keep the 
majority of hands away from the curls! Whew! /lol/ I've noticed that if 
she does approach, whether is't just making googly eyes or turning from 
work for a greeting, it's *always* with someone who wants the greeting 
and with whom I end up having a nice chat. Funny dog. The other day, in 
a place where we go a lot and get much too relaxed she suddenly went 
super perfect as a person came into the waiting room from the treatment 
rooms... A young woman's voice asked about her, sounding a bit breathy 
and timid. Mitzi remaind perfectly still and unobtrusive. I wondered if 
she were ill. So I answered the young woman's questions in an easy way, 
trying to get a feel for what was going on there... She finally confided 
in me that she had been attacked by a dog and that's why she was 
there... Then that it was recent... That she had loved dogs and was 
trying not to generalize that incident to other dogs... Turns out she 
finally confided that the dog that attacked her was a large standard 
poodle... Mitzi must have scared the bleep out of the poor woman, just 
by being unexpectedly there. I was so proud of my girl for sensing 
immediately what it took me so long to realize. And of this young woman 
who was so brave and who spent some time talking about my poodle, then 
sharing some of her story with me and I was able to share that I knew 
about PTSd and learning how to cope so that you recover and learn not to 
generalize to similar things... By the end, when she was ready, Mitzi 
did approach her for a very soft, gentle nose touch. When the young 
woman left, she was warming up to Mitzi, who had withdrawn again and was 
being the most quiet, peaceful non-obtrusive guide dog ever. But then 
the young woman asked if she could pet her and Mitzi took a step forward 
for the light touch on her curls... I was so proud of both of them I 
wanted to cry! /grin/ The young woman told us both again that she 
really, really wanted to love dogs again and thought she could do it!

So that was just neat. Also, I had a new appreciation for the 
acupuncturist I was waiting to see, because she was just totally cool 
when she came out and the other woman told her "this is the same breed 
of dog," in a wondering tone... Mitzi may not have changed any lives, 
but... I was proud and proud to meet someone who was doing so well at 
conquering her fears. Loved it.

So then I was so distracted by all this that I forgot about how the 
office was rearranged that I ran into just about everything despite my 
guide dog. /lol/ A day in the life, I guess...

Anyway, the wine sampling sounds fun! We keep talking about going to one 
at one of the local wineries here, but if we ever do, I have to remember 
that wine, especially good wine, is too sweet for me and makes me start 
talking while my brain takes a nice holiday. /lol/

Tami

On 12/09/2011 05:22 PM, William Burley wrote:
> Hi all.
>
>
>
> I had a really great experience today.  I went to the winery to purchase for
> a fundraising event I'm having tomorrow and I had my pup with me.  It was
> really crowded there I assume because folks are preparing for the Christmas
> and New Year's Eve parties.  I had a personal shopper helping me and he was
> enthralled by my pup.  I casually threw in how people try and give her
> attention even when she's not supposed to have it.  He said he knew about
> guide dogs and such.
>
>
>
> Well, we are going throughout the store and a woman comes right behind us
> and scolds the worker because he was about to sneak a pet from the pup.  She
> yfussed and said he's not supposed to touch the dog while it's working.
>
>
>
> It was just nice to run across that 1 person out of many who had some
> knowledge and made sure somebody else had it too.
>
>
>
> William Burley
>
> William.burley3 at gmail.com
>
>
>
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