Now that Yasha had been formally introduced to my friends, family, and colleagues (virtually, anyway) and we were well on our way to building a solid partnership, in some ways things started to slow down. We continued with daily obedience routines (something I’ve since heard described as a “skills refresher”), and doing more walks on our own with the trainers being there for observation only, or to provide feedback after the fact. I felt that Yasha was a great match for me, even if her working style wasn’t quite what I was used to. As things slowed down, though, in other ways, they were speedi ..read more

One of the things I looked forward to from the day I got my acceptance to Guiding Eyes was the New York City trip. Yes, I know, going for a training day with a new guide dog is different from going for a vacation. But I LOVE NYC for some reason I can’t quite articulate. I got up on time, did the morning routine, and then we headed over to the closest train station. We practiced working on a train platform, which would come in handy when I got home and used our LRT. “Juno” laid under the seat like the good girl she is and took a nap. When the train pulled in to Grand Central Station, I worked w ..read more

I hit a point in every prolonged absence from home where the excursion isn’t fun anymore and all I want is to sleep in my own bed, cook my own meals, and wear something that I haven’t pulled out of a backpack in the past week. This time last year, I was so there! and if I could’ve just gotten on a plane and taken “Juno” with me, I would have. But we had important things to do… We had the simulated traffic checks, which I already knew that “Juno” would pass with flying colours (she did). We sat for pictures, which was extra frustrating because the trainers guided us to the platform while anothe ..read more

I needed the day of rest. I needed the exercise bike ride I finally had the energy to do. Fun bonding time with “Juno” without anything related to work was special; a toy tornado blew through my room! I was pleasantly surprised by a goodie bag from Guiding Eyes with some of my favorite snacks (they called our friends or family members to find out what to buy). We sang happy birthday to one of my classmates, whose guide dog was the best birthday present ever! When Monday came around, I was ready to go back to work. Learning a new dog is fun and exciting, in addition to exhausting, and after the ..read more

I continued waking early in the morning – earlier than I had to. I’d spend some of that time in the early mornings in some combination of bonding with “Juno”, working on my laptop, drinking coffee, and reading audiobooks or watching Forensic Files on Amazon Prime (the latter more for the background noise than anything else). Park-Feed-water-park. Eat breakfast. Head to Alumni Hall for morning obedience session with escalating distractions. Go back to my room to make sure I had what I needed for the day. Load up in the van – all the way to the back – and head off for walking training sessions i ..read more

As usual, my alarm – whether it was internal or external – woke me well before park-feed-water-park time. So I put on a coffee and got some work done, because just laying in bed made my skin feel like it was going to itch. “Juno” curled up under my desk while I did the things that needed to get done. I decided to move the mat from inside her crate to the spot under my desk so she’d be more comfortable, and she curled up like she’d been working under a desk for years. If I ever wondered how she’d handle going to the office, I didn’t anymore. “Juno” HAD to potty, at a time long before anyone was ..read more

My mornings started early. Like, off the charts early. Like, 3:00 AM in Alberta early. This was both by choice and by necessity. I couldn’t seem to get a full night’s sleep, so I might as well embrace it and get some work done while I had the brainpower and time to do it. This had the added benefit of giving my brain something to focus on while I was busy doom spiraling and awfulizing in my head. In truth, I had little to complain about. I had a nice dog that worked hard, loved her job, and made me work for her affection. She was self-contained enough to hang out in her crate – door open, by c ..read more

In my opinion, the most exciting day of guide dog training is the day you meet your dog. It’s the day you learn their name and age and breed, and maybe a couple of tidbits about them. It’s extremely emotionally charged – excitement, nervousness, grief, apprehension… there are a zillion questions and no way to get answers but go through the process of getting to know your dog. It’s hard to write about dog day; it’s unlike any experience I can think of, except for maybe having a kid? The anticipation is probably similar, and maybe some of the doubts? I don’t know; I have no kids… We all met in A ..read more

I had high hopes to sleep during my red-eye flight over most of the United States. The universe had other plans. I caught some snatches of sleep but was interrupted by turbulence and a screaming baby. When I disembarked the plane – no wheelchair that morning – I was cranky and exhausted and wondered what in the world I was doing. I was met at the airport by a member of the Guiding Eyes staff and was directed to the baggage carousel. When I said I had my backpack and that was it, the response was surprise – this was something that would happen frequently over the next two weeks. But with no bag ..read more

One year and two days ago, I threw a party with a few friends at a now-closed chicken restaurant I loved to celebrate the storied career of Jenny the guide dog. One year and one day ago, my partner arrived home with his new service dog after two weeks away. Looking back, he had the harder job; I had two weeks with a working guide dog and three cats to watch over, only one of the cats was really upset about his absence. He had his new young working dog, my retired guide dog, and three cats to watch over while I was away… the retired guide dog was about as upset at my absence as the one cat was ..read more