Guiding Eyes  Day 13.5 Friday review

An exhausting day, a roller coaster of emotions, and an adventure. We were taken for a 'dry run' to Catona, NY, a small, picturesque town with classy boutique stores, and no, this wasn't  a shopping trip. AlthoughI'm told Martha Stewart lives nearby. For those of us with a modicum of sight left, this check out the lay-of-the-land is meant to ease fears fo a walk in the darkness. I imagine for those with no sight, not even light perception, it's just another route to walk. [Kind of makes all you fully sighted folks out there feel grateful and blessed, huh!]

The next part of the day is smushed together: lunch, change into graduation clothes, groom dog, take group picture, take individual pictures (with your dog), and any special shots people wanted- just their dog or the instructors. I wanted the three instructors and our intern- just them. But one of them said,"Oh no, if we have to do this, so do you!" So there you go, another round of squeaky toys-to get Pippi's ears perked up, or maybe she wasn't in that picture. Told ya it was smushed.

Quick change of clothes and over to vet for an exam and weight check and birth date. Miss Pippi weighs 55 lbs, the smallest dog in our group. A fellow black lab in our group named Albert-but we nicknamed him Einstein, weighs 81-82 lbs. Yup, a two year old in a big guy body.

Vet told me Pip's target weight is 52 lbs and showed me how she had a little extra padding around the ribs. You know me, I had to say that I could relate to a little extra padding in the middle! Being a dog newbie, I asked how I needed to slim her down. (I was picturing mommy-doggie crunches and lunges!) Nothing so fancy. Cut back on the food and limit the cookies. Hmmm... good advice for me too! Also, instead of just cookies, mix part treats with part of morning kibble ration, I mean portion. I think I will let Pip have a few days to settle in between doggie boot camp starts!

Following exam, we had a vet lecture. Again, the dog newbie had strange questions to ask, like "Is there anything I can do to help 'tone-down' the stinky farts? And maybe the poop too?" Yeah, that's making some of you laugh but you should see the scrunched up noses when Miss Pip farts! Not uncommon to hear 'ewww' or 'phew, that made my eyes water,' or even 'that could make paint peel.' Come on, do you want someone saying that about your dog? The vet recommended Science Diet Sensitive Stomach [** this is not an endorsement and I will not be held responsible if your pooch tries it and has vomitting or diarrhea!]

Next dinner, bundled up (night temp was around 38-40 and a slight wind) and drove back to Catona. Each student walked with an instructor- 3 instructors meant only 3 at a time- and with 8 or 9 of us, you knew you had about a 40 minute wait time in the van. [And no potty breaks for people or dogs]

My turn... left the company of friends, can't say I minded getting out of the van, and took a step into the darkness, Only a few street lights so this was truly being led by my dog. Within a few minutes, the nervousness disappated. Without all the distractions of the day in town- like people, construction, kids- we honed in on the task. Pippi inherently knew how much I depended on her in this situation and she was in the zone. The girl was focused. Except for one turn. Normally, it was a straight left turn. However, during the morning, there was repair work going on with a van and we had to swing wide and get back to our straight line. At night, Pip decided to try the straight left. My instructor said STOP and grabbed my arm. I stopped Pippi. I was asked if Pip was level with me and she was much lower. She planned to go around in the street, without me knowing there was a curb. I think I had to give her a correction before we moved on. My instructor said," She just gave you the stink eye!' I replied that I'd seen it before but I was impervious to stink eye stares. I had to be. In my 30 year teaching career, I must have been given stink eyes at least 400 times...and survived!
(Too bad there's no way to create stink eye repellant for everyone besides teachers. I would be a millionnaire. No, make that a bazillionnaire.

Didn't feel tired until we returned to school. It was only 8:30 ish but the fatigue hit like a load of bricks. Took a shower, parked my dog, and sat down to watch TV. Saw a few minutes of Hawaii 5-0 then planned to watch Blue Bloods. I only remember fragments of it including the last 5 minutes. Planned to listen to the local weather and the next thing I knew, David Letterman was in the middle of his monologue. I'd fallen asleep sitting up! I was sitting on the end of the bed near the TV. How the heck did I not slide off??? Guess I have a new talent to add to my resume of skills. Not that there's much call for it.