[nagdu] So long to my best friend

Tue Mar 27 13:33:46 UTC 2012

Steve, 

I am very sorry for the retirement of your faithful companion. Honestly I am
sure my words do not even begin to console you. If makes you feel any
better, we, atleast some of us have felt the same, and have gone through the
process your in now. Its hard, to stop working a companion that has guided
you through the good and bad times. Your doing the best thing, for you and
Miss Ha. 

That is awesome that you have already been placed in another class, I am
hopeing your next pup works out well. 

*hugs*
Marsha 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Steven Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 7:13 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] So long to my best friend

Dear NAGDU friends and peers,

It is with great sadness, that I announce that my current Leader Dog, Misha,
will need to retire due to severe anxiety/panic/fear issues.  Although we
were assessed a little over a month ago, and we thought that we could
minimize the anxiety by avoiding certain situations, it came to a head while
traveling to a recent District Lion's convention when her apparent fears
really grabbed my attention.  

A little more background information for you...last May, our house took a
direct hit from an F-2 tornado, and as I rushed to get into the basement, I
was yelling for Misha at the same time to come to me, but she instead ran
upstairs, probably thinking I was scolding her.  Needless to say, as the
devastating tornado rolled in, it started to rip the roof partially off of
my home...right up where Misha had just gone.  It also knocked part of the
chimney off which is located near her bed, and it was one of the most
terrifying things I went through in my life, and cannot even begin to
imagine what she felt and heard as it was so incredibly deafening and
violently shaking the neighborhood.  

Over the past few months, her fears and anxieties continued to show
themselves outwardly, and after the weekend away, and while traveling on an
over the road bus to and from home, she outwardly demonstrated her fears.
She was so afraid, not only of the bus shaking and rocking, much like the
tornado did, but she was afraid to go up and down the stairs into the bus.
We had also gone to a live NPR radio production on that Saturday evening,
and she would just tremble during the applause.  I immediately contacted
Leader Dog the following day, and discussed this with her trainer who with
myself, made the decision to formally retire her as soon as I could get in
for a replacement guide.  This all took place on the weekend of March 10,
the call to LD on that Monday the 12th, and I submitted my application on
that Thursday.  My application was reviewed last Tuesday, I was given a
class date on Thursday and they have already been able to find a very solid
match for me.  

Misha will be retiring to a home with a loving family, and we are still
working on the final details of this.  I am able to still work her on a
*light duty basis* avoiding the situations where she might potentially be
exposed to things that might cause these symptoms.  I have been scheduled to
go back to LD on April 29 for home and away training in which I will go
there for a couple of weeks and then come back home where they will conduct
a follow-up a couple of weeks later.  The expedited process by LD was
amazing, and I have been so fortunate to have an agency that understands me,
my needs and took everything into consideration that I have expressed.  

I have been very blessed to have had 3 wonderful guides through LD in the
past 20 years.  Unfortunately, we cannot control how acts of mother nature
affect us, or in this case, our dog friends, and it is with great sadness
that I will be parting with my Misha after almost 4 years of faithful,
dedicated and amazing work that she was able to give me.  She also gave me
something that I initially realized just shortly after working with her, and
that was not to micro manage, be a good master, have fun, and the
realization that your guide will do amazing things simply because they love
you...it's that simple.  
I look forward to being matched with my new guide, but hold a special place
in my heart for Misha and have requested visitation rights...of course:)
She will be going to a specially selected home where she will never be
kenneled, have access to many activities throughout the day, and always be
loved.  I am even more thrilled as the trainer on this team, is the trainer
who trained my first 2 guides, both who were equally amazing and wonderful
as Misha, and I can only believe that the next match will be as successful.

With a lump in my throat, and a slight emptiness in my heart,
Steve & Leader Dog, Misha

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