[nagdu] Gucci's devotion

Mon May 11 01:20:31 UTC 2009

Hi Wayne,

Yes, thanks so much!  Gabers is working out really well, and I am so 
thankful for that.

I can't believe that we've had our dogs a little over 8 months. Where does 
the time go??
Liz and Gabe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne Merritt" <wcmerritt at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 11:50 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Gucci's devotion

> Gucci does well around horses. She really doesn't react much. She
> might try and check them out, but not too much other than that. While
> doing freelance last fall at Seeing Eye, I went with Ralph and another
> student to a nearby farm to expose the dogs to their horses. AS it
> turned out, they had very large draft horses. Both dogs, separately,
> had times when they stepped up on one of the rails of the wooden fence
> to sniff the horse. At the same time, the horse was lowering his head
> to check out these much smaller creatures. It was pretty funny. That
> was one of those moments I wish I had a picture of, to see two
> different species stretching to sniff and check each other out.
>
> Glad to hear Gabers is working out well.
>
> Wayne
>
> On 5/10/09, Nicole B. Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
>> Lexia has never been up close to a full size horse, but she has seen a
>> miniature one.  The last day of training, on of the instructors brought 
>> in
>> her miniature horse.
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Elizabeth Campbell" <batescampbell at charter.net>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "gsdguides" <gsdguides at yahoogroups.com>
>> Cc: "doggie-den" <doggie-den at yahoogroups.com>; "NAGDU Mailing List,the
>> National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 6:31 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Gucci's devotion
>>
>>
>> Hi Wayne,
>>
>> That was a great story about Gucci; it's wonderful to see how our dogs
>> become so devoted to us.
>>
>> How is Gucci around horses?
>> Gabe is very curious about them. Our police department has a mounted 
>> patrol,
>> and the officers ride through our downtown on occasion. The first time 
>> Gabe
>> saw a horse passing by us, he tried to move toward the horse to take  a
>> sniff.
>>
>> I thought he would be afraid, because of the horse's size, but that 
>> wasn't
>> the case.
>>
>> Gabe is also working out beautifully.
>>
>> Take care.
>>
>> Liz and Gabe
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Wayne Merritt" <wcmerritt at gmail.com>
>> To: "gsdguides" <gsdguides at yahoogroups.com>
>> Cc: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "doggie-den" <doggie-den at yahoogroups.com>
>> Sent: Saturday, May 09, 2009 10:04 PM
>> Subject: [nagdu] Gucci's devotion
>>
>>
>>> Hey all. Haven't seen many posts on these lists, so thought I'd share
>>> the following event and reflections from today. Enjoy.
>>> Wayne
>>>
>>> Greetings. I got a glimpse into Gucci's devotion today. I'm sure she's
>>> shown me other signs, but this was one of the few that have been
>>> noticeable by me, for whatever reason. It happened during my horseback
>>> riding lesson, after I had dismounted and was collecting the horse's
>>> lead rope and her leash and tryign to get things organized. I was
>>> still feeling a little dizzy. (Refer to the entry on today's lesson
>>> for more on this). And I didn't have a good grip on her leash. Sure
>>> enough, it slipped from my fingers. Other dogs, when the pressure from
>>> the leash lessened like that, might have darted away to have some
>>> personal sniffing time. Thinking back, I'm not sure that Gucci did
>>> this. I just remember calling her name in a slight panic, since as a
>>> blind guy and guide dog owner, you never let go of the leash or
>>> release the dog from the leash, unless you want something
>>> unpredictable to happen that is. In reality, Gucci might have just
>>> turned slightly to look around, but when I called her name, she turned
>>> back and took a step toward me, well within my space. I had a hand on
>>> her instantly and then one of the riding volunteers handed me her
>>> leash. I can't help but think back to that moment of panic for me
>>> though and hear Gucci saying in her own doggie way, "I'm here, don't
>>> worry." She likes being near me in my apartment, likes being in the
>>> same room and not too far away. She'll even follow me if I go from one
>>> room to the other in her attempts. She enjoys being near me in my
>>> parent's house, after she's done a patrol that is and determined the
>>> house to be safe. But this morning's experience  was just another
>>> indication to me, even more so upon reflection, of that good old
>>> German Shepherd loyalty. Or, perhaps it has nothing to do with her
>>> breed. All that matters to me is that she was right there and had this
>>> attitude of, "I'm here, don't worry," verses running off like other
>>> dogs might have done. Thanks Gooch, I can't tell you how much that
>>> meant to me.
>>>
>>> --
>>> My blog:
>>> http://wayneism.blogspot.com
>>> My websites:
>>> www.wayneism.com
>>> www.whitecaneday.org
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nagdu mailing list
>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> nagdu:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/batescampbell%40charter.net
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> nagdu:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ntorcolini%40wavecable.com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> nagdu:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/wcmerritt%40gmail.com
>>
>
>
> -- 
> My blog:
> http://wayneism.blogspot.com
> My websites:
> www.wayneism.com
> www.whitecaneday.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/batescampbell%40charter.net 