[nagdu] Changing my petting policy

[Karyn & Thane]

Like Mardi I am cursed with a dog who once he gets petted, he will seek out 
attention. He is far from the typical Border Collie that way.
In the past, if someone petted my dog, that meant I could get sick from 
whatever was on their hands transferred in the process. I will say it was a 
lot easier to get people to use common decency/ sense with that aspect than 
it is to explain why they should completely ignore my dog.
The other day we were waiting for a bus in the sun. A bus driver on break 
just had to make me seem like I was not taking proper care of my dog because 
we were in the sun. She then starts talking to him! I was floored. What does 
that say if a bus driver doesn't get that talking to a dog is as bad as 
petting it. She even went on to say I know we can not pet SDs but talking is 
OK. I set her straight on that one. I was so relieved when she finally 
left-- good grief!
I have never encouraged anyone to pet my dog whether he is actively doing a 
job or not or for that matter a job that others can see (MCS alerts were not 
obvious to others, but were to me).
I want my dogs focused on me. Met was a cross between BC and GSD and 
standoffish when it came to be petted by anyone but family and a couple 
friends I had since I got him. Thane is a people magnet. Sometimes I have 
thought he would have made a better therapy dog LOL
Even though I no longer have MCS, I still do not say yes if someone asks to 
pet him.
Like Mardi, noone gets that I am blind unless I say so for the most part. I 
got one of those nifty signs that says *Ignore me I am a working guide dog* 
and his harness says guide dog, but in this day and age more times than not 
I feel like the public is more blind than I am LOL Every once in a while I 
will get a bus driver who sees his sign and gives me some insights that I 
need. I feel like I need a little recording device that I can push a button 
and have it speak that I am blind. Somehow people can get the deaf part 
pretty easily but the blind part just --- *You don't look blind* or *you 
dont act blind* is common until someone pets and I am guided right their way 
in the process. People dont do the fly by pets much any more with me after 
they see the consequences to either Thane's feet or their own with my 
wheels, but the petting while we are on transit or waiting for it is still 
pretty common since I went mask free.

Karyn