[nagdu] No longer a rookie!

[Raven Tolliver]

Absolutely beautiful, Daryl! Yes, having that first year under your
belt feels like such a success, especially when reflecting on all the
hard work the two of you have put in. Happy anniversary!

On 10/3/14, Daryl Marie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi, all!
>
> Today is a special day for Jenny and me; October 3 is the first anniversary
> of our graduation from guide dog training!
>
> I wrote a blog post on it here (I have also posted it below):
> http://blindbeader.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/getting-sappy-a-very-special-day/
>
> 365 days ago, almost to the minute, I found myself walking into a Smitty's
> restaurant in Westmount mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with my guide dog,
> Jenny.  My heart was pounding and I remember steadying my breathing as not
> to give away my nervousness.  We got to the Smitty's, and I sat down at a
> table
> with my husband and two other people...
>
> This sounds innocuous, this walking into a restaurant with your guide dog to
> meet family and friends for breakfast... but it was graduation day!  On
> October
> 3, 2013, a
> BC/Alberta Guide Dogs
>  trainer did one last supervised walk several hundred yards behind me, and,
> after terrific coffee and a yummy breakfast, Jenny's harness was officially
> put in my hand for unsupervised guiding!
>
> This all came on the heels of the most exhausting four weeks of my life.  I
> had quit my job the previous December, and it took me five long months to
> find
> employment at a call centre for a chain of pizza restaurants.  Most days
> after training with Jenny, we went straight to work, where Jenny conked out
> on
> a bed under my desk, and I used my cane while she heeled at my left side,
> wearing her stylish blue "In Training" jacket.  I learned how Jenny moves
> when
> she is happy, focused, distracted, had to use the bathroom, and wanted to
> get my attention; she learned how I wanted her to pace herself, give me
> clearance
> around objects beside or above me, and what behaviors were permissible and
> which were not.  We had good days - like the day of our first busy
> street-crossing
> when she pulled me out of the path of an oncoming bus - and bad days - like
> the first time she took the LRT and whined and shook the whole trip and
> tried
> to bolt off the train at every stop - and everything in between.  Even when
> she was off-duty and I was using my cane, she would still find me doors to
> the 7-Eleven or bus stop poles, sit quietly on the bus, and behaved herself
> impeccably while I was at work.  The last day of training ended at 2:30PM,
> and I remember being so drained that I sprawled out on the couch at 4:00 PM,
> and blearily got up long enough to go to the bathroom and climb the stairs
> to my bedroom where I slept until 5:00 the next morning.
>
> It was an amazing rush, that morning of October 3, 2013.  It had signified
> that I had done it - I had survived the rigeur of training with a new young
> dog, and I had many of the tools I would need over the next 8 years.  It was
> also nerve-wracking; I couldn't sit down with our trainer every morning and
> tell her the good, the bad and the ugly of the previous day.  I couldn't
> always ask why Jenny did XYZ; I was, more or less, completely on my own..  I
> remember
> picking up that harness on October 3, 2013, and having no idea what to
> expect, not really.  I was full of knowledge from training, confidence in my
> dog,
> and thrilled for the journey to come.
>
> The previous 365 days have not all come up roses.  I have made big mistakes;
> Jenny has made big mistakes.  Thankfully we have more good days than bad
> lately;
> I have been both encouraged by and encouraging to others who are in the
> complicated and wonderful trenches of guide dog travel.  Even on a bad day
> (like,
> er, yesterday) I would not trade the past year for anything.  I have been
> stretched, stressed, and blown away by the complicated canine that is
> Jenny.
> She has nailed complicated tasks and completely flubbed basic ones; kept
> calm in an endless parking lot when we were unintentionally lost, but once
> got
> us lost in our own neighborhood; laid calmly for hours on her bed while I'm
> working and yet been unable to stay still while I am working out at the gym
> for an hour.
>
> Unbeknownst to me, October 3, 2013 was just the beginning of a journey; it's
> been well worth the work, the tears, and the moments of wonder.  As of this
> moment, Jenny is no longer a rookie guide dog!
>
> Here's to you, Jenny Pen, and to many more October 3s!
>
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-- 
Raven
"if God didn't make it, don't eat it." - John B. Symes, D.V.M.
http://dogtorj.com