[nagdu] Soul Searching

[Criminal Justice Major]

Another big mistake on that handler's part was the use the word bite and that her dog would do something.
She's lucky an instructor of any guide dog school didn't hear that, especially whatever school she went through.
If that were the case, I'm sure an instructor would have stuck that handler in her place.
I had a handler tell me one time that his dog would growl at other dogs.
It just so happened when I was in the exhibit hall at a Serotech booth and had Odie sitting in front of my feet and he was minding his own business.
Even if there was another guide dog there, Odie had no interest in him/her.
Next thing that happened was the guide dog handler reached his hand under and pushed Odie backwards which by then, Odie planted his feet into the carpet as to say, "Excuse me! You're not doing this to me."
As I felt Odie moving, I reached down and felt the other individual's hand.
When he told me that his dog would growl, I then retorted back at him that it was his responsibility to ick that bad behavior in the rear end that if if his dog was truly having problems, his school needed to know about it.
Needless, I immediately told Steve Hoyt from Pilot what happened and he wasn't happen to hear that another guide dog handler had the nerves to put his hand on Odie and push him for no reason.
He then suggested I'd stay away from the Serotech booth after that incident and that he'd make other guide dog schools aware of that particular handler and his dog.
Happily, Odie and I didn't encounter that guide dog team for the rest of the week.
Again, it falls back on the disgression of a dog user or dog team as a whole.
If that perspective is failed by both, then yes, terrible consequences happen such like a nasty dog fight to where master or dog end up getting hurt.
I look back at another time during the 2005 ACB/GDUI convention in Las Vegas, NV when an instructor from TSE was lending me a helping hand during the first day with Odie and I.
Pilot Dogs wasn't there that year, so I could only rely on another guide dog instructor to help the two of us out.
The instructor from TSE was Robert terrence (not sure of the correct spelling of his last name) that worked with the two of us.
Odie and I were strugling and I felt myself falling apart.
I was grateful for Robert's intervention that day as it was a big boost for Odie and I.
At one point during the time we were working together, someone's guide dog came out of nowhere and tried to get up in Odie's face.
The handler started getting mad at her dog when really, that was her fault for not paying attention. Robert finally informed other guide dog users that they, really, needed to keep an eye out on their dogs at all times and keep the dogs beside them.
Around the time when I felt in despair and Odie could feel my stress, he started to fall apart emotionally.
I didn't know and was also soul searching if I was going to bring him to another convention again.
Happily, we went to three mor ACB/GDUI conventions and by the fourth time which was july, 2008, Odie made it clear that he had enough and so did I.
Bibi