[nagdu] a little help calming me down please

[Daniel]

Hi everyone,

 

I have not been on the list in quite a long time. Some of you may remember
me. My nam is Daniel and I had the guide dog that didn't, named Scout. Well,
Scout retired back to the school he came from back in February of this year.
I went back and forth over whether to do this all over again, but doing it
again won over.

I applied to GDB back in July, and was accepted. I leave this Sunday morning
for my 2 week training. I should be very excited and happy, which I am, but
I am also having extreme anxiety attacks. I assume this is normal, I just
don't remember them being this bad before.

Do you think it is because the last dog did not work out so well, and I am
worried? Even while I am sitting here typing, I am shaking like a fool.

I am going to the Oregon campus. It is supposed to be cold and rainy, and I
am leaving Denver, which is 60 degrees and sunny, maybe that is part of it.
Maybe it is I have been without a dog/companion for 10months, and I forgot
what it is like to have a dog again.

I have been reading everyone's post lately, and relishing in all the stories
of dogs in trash, scarfing up snippets of food, stress and massage, and
getting the dog for more exercise. All of these things I am so looking
forward to, with a dog that will not take me into a pond, pull me over a
shopping cart, and most of all, walk me behind a moving truck to be hit and
knocked into a road of traffic.

I have learned very much from having a dog before. I know what is not
acceptable from the start, which is something I did not know the first time.

I also know that this is not the same dog, and I am going into this with
full trust in my new dog. I will have faith in this dog and praise her/him
from the beginning for every good move and have no negative feelings for any
unwanted behavior. I feel that enough time has elapsed to let go of the
problems that Scout and I experienced.

I guess what I am seeking from you guys is just a few words of
encouragement. I do so look forward to talking to all of you again, and
sharing all of my successes and funny stories in the future.

Thanks for being there for me in the past, and I look forward to be here for
you in the future.

May the powers that be bless all of you now, especially in this season of
thanksgiving, friendship, sharing, and celebration of all we have in common?

 

Daniel.

 

 

 

Daniel Sweeney

Lakewood, CO