The Harness
As I stand with my new dog by my side, the instructor gives me the harness my dog will wear for the journey we call life together.
It is brand new and has that wonderful smell that only new leather has. The handle is made of pipes to keep the handle rigid with a padded grip to hold onto. There is the back strap which is also made of leather and a belly strap. The chest strap is of the same kind of leather. The back and belly straps attach to the chest strap with rivets and chain to hold it all together. All the parts put together make up the harness which a guide dog handler uses on their dog.
The next day I place the harness on my dog for that first time and clip the clasp closed that connects the belly strap to the back strap. We heal out to the street and for the first time I am able to give the forward command to my new dog.
Off she goes at a fast pace and I hold firmly onto the handle. I find the grip is comfortable and fits like a glove in my hand. I have not had this new harness even a day and it is already like an old friend to me.
Once we have done all the things we need to in class I graduate with my dog and off we go into the real world and life beyond the guide dog school.
Getting to know my new dog is easy. But I was comfortable with my old harness which now sits on a shelf in my closet at home. I want to take it out but the memories of my first guide dog are hard to think about. She has only been gone from my life such a short time. I hug my new dog by my side and I hold the new harness in my hands lovingly. I feel unsure but know that the dog I have now and this new harness are right for me at this time in my life.
To take good care of this harness I will need to clean it often to make sure it stays nice and shiny looking. Leather cleaner works great for this. When we have been out in the rain and mud it is nice to sit and take rags to the harness to clean off the mud and excess moisture. My dog is all curled up at my feet after having been so lovingly dried off after a walk in the pouring rain.
Neither of us wants to do it but I have to walk to work every day. So rain or shine we go out that door and into the world harness in my hand.
Years later I am sitting in my living room looking at the harness that was once shiny and new. It has taken a beating over the years being banged around on buses, trains, planes, and in cars. The beautiful weaving of the leather is coming apart and the grip is torn where it has been caught against sharp objects in my many travels. I love the feeling of the old, beat up harness. But no longer can it be used to do the job it was once made to do.
As I am in the process of retiring my second guide dog I am also retiring that second harness. The tears flow as I think of the many wonderful years of using that harness on the dog that has become my soul mate in life.
I will give it back to the guide dog school. They may use the parts that are still good enough to use to make the harness new again for someone else who many need one. The thought I hate most is that it will just be taken apart and thrown away. I pray with all my might that this will not happen. I pray that it will be possible to somehow fix the old harness so it can be used by someone else or used to teach new guide dog handlers all about what the harness is and how it will be a part of changing their lives forever.
The door knob that holds the harness is empty for now. Soon a new harness will take the place of the one I had to give up. I can not wait for that day to come.
Note to the readers. I wish I had some good photos of my harness that I used on my dog Sunset, who was my second guide dog. I can take a picture of the one I am using on my current guide dog, Tennyson, but it is nothing like the one I describe above. If people would like to see what those old harnesses look like I will see about getting a picture taken to post at the end of this entry.
It is brand new and has that wonderful smell that only new leather has. The handle is made of pipes to keep the handle rigid with a padded grip to hold onto. There is the back strap which is also made of leather and a belly strap. The chest strap is of the same kind of leather. The back and belly straps attach to the chest strap with rivets and chain to hold it all together. All the parts put together make up the harness which a guide dog handler uses on their dog.
The next day I place the harness on my dog for that first time and clip the clasp closed that connects the belly strap to the back strap. We heal out to the street and for the first time I am able to give the forward command to my new dog.
Off she goes at a fast pace and I hold firmly onto the handle. I find the grip is comfortable and fits like a glove in my hand. I have not had this new harness even a day and it is already like an old friend to me.
Once we have done all the things we need to in class I graduate with my dog and off we go into the real world and life beyond the guide dog school.
Getting to know my new dog is easy. But I was comfortable with my old harness which now sits on a shelf in my closet at home. I want to take it out but the memories of my first guide dog are hard to think about. She has only been gone from my life such a short time. I hug my new dog by my side and I hold the new harness in my hands lovingly. I feel unsure but know that the dog I have now and this new harness are right for me at this time in my life.
To take good care of this harness I will need to clean it often to make sure it stays nice and shiny looking. Leather cleaner works great for this. When we have been out in the rain and mud it is nice to sit and take rags to the harness to clean off the mud and excess moisture. My dog is all curled up at my feet after having been so lovingly dried off after a walk in the pouring rain.
Neither of us wants to do it but I have to walk to work every day. So rain or shine we go out that door and into the world harness in my hand.
Years later I am sitting in my living room looking at the harness that was once shiny and new. It has taken a beating over the years being banged around on buses, trains, planes, and in cars. The beautiful weaving of the leather is coming apart and the grip is torn where it has been caught against sharp objects in my many travels. I love the feeling of the old, beat up harness. But no longer can it be used to do the job it was once made to do.
As I am in the process of retiring my second guide dog I am also retiring that second harness. The tears flow as I think of the many wonderful years of using that harness on the dog that has become my soul mate in life.
I will give it back to the guide dog school. They may use the parts that are still good enough to use to make the harness new again for someone else who many need one. The thought I hate most is that it will just be taken apart and thrown away. I pray with all my might that this will not happen. I pray that it will be possible to somehow fix the old harness so it can be used by someone else or used to teach new guide dog handlers all about what the harness is and how it will be a part of changing their lives forever.
The door knob that holds the harness is empty for now. Soon a new harness will take the place of the one I had to give up. I can not wait for that day to come.
Note to the readers. I wish I had some good photos of my harness that I used on my dog Sunset, who was my second guide dog. I can take a picture of the one I am using on my current guide dog, Tennyson, but it is nothing like the one I describe above. If people would like to see what those old harnesses look like I will see about getting a picture taken to post at the end of this entry.