Learning an important lesson

[jenandbronze]

One aspect of being a guide dog handler is learning to be responsible for your guide and holding up your end of the partnership. This is very important for a successful working relationship. I was so ecstatic about working with my first guide, independence and ease of traveling out in the community, taking a relaxing walk in my neighborhood without falling over children's bikes and running into cars parked in driveways, negotiating the large building where I worked finding one of the eight elevators, finding the bathrooms, avoiding chairs left out in the corridors, and people standing in the corridors. However, one particular aspect of this relationship was not properly handled until my guide taught me a lesson. As a younger person, I was always in a hurry and when someone would suggest going shopping, I immediately agreed. My mother and I were shopping at KMart and as we were passing a display of hats, my guide decided she could wait no longer and since I had not given her enough opportunities to relieve herself, she stopped abruptly by this display of hats and left a large deposit. I was so embarrassed and stunned. And, my mother's humor helped make the incident less stressful with her suggestion. She wanted to quickly cover the deposit with a hat and go on our merry way. Of course, since I did not carry anything with me at that time which I could use for cleaning up, I did the next best thing. I went to the service desk and reported what had happened and someone did clean it up for me. As we went through the checkout line, the girls who worked there were laughing hysterically about the incident. Needless to say, I learned my lesson. So, thank you to my first guide, Kipper, for teaching me the hard way.

Donna

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