I can remember sitting on the plane wondering what I had gotten myself into. I was on my way to Oakville Ontario to get my first guide dog. I didn’t know what to expect. This was the first with nothing to compare it to. So many questions went through my mind and so many thoughts scrambled into one. Of course the first plane ride was going to be 3 1/2 hours long. I could hardly contain myself. I was restless and tried not to fidget.
Once the plane touched down and started to deplane I started to panic wondering how I was going to find the right people to get to the school. A flight attendant escorted me to the gait where someone from the school was waiting for me. I was relieved that someone was there but I still didn’t know what I was doing. I worried about every little thing like how I was going to recognize my bag at the luggage claim. We managed to find all luggage and then piled into the van with 2 other students headed to the same class as I was.
Once at the school we were taken to our rooms which were big and bright. I took the time to familiarize myself with the room and realized I had after noon sun. I love the sun and was grateful to see I could have a good chunk of it to myself. I didn’t get to much time to myself before someone came to get us to give us a tour of the building. Then it was supper time. At supper was a hub bub of excited voices and lots of chatter about this being the first time for many of the students. I was glad to know I wasn’t alone in that department.
After supper we got started. We did a little trivia about guide dogs and dogs in general. then we got our fist instructional class on guide dogs. Then it was our first “juno” walk so the trainers could see how we handled the harness handle and leash. This is where a trainer holds the body piece of hte harness and the student hangs onto the harness handle and they walk in front of us simulating a guide dog walking with us. I paid close attnetin to how the handle felt in my hand. I wondered if this was going to feel the same as when I walked behind a dog.
For the first 2 days we attended lectures and then did some “juno” walks to practice our commands and how to follow the harness handle. The second day was a pretty big day in some ways. we got ot meet some of the dogs that would be in class. we weren’t given any names or any details on the dogs. We just got to spend some time with them and just play with them. It was explained that there are 2 dogs per person just in case something didn’t work out with dog number one so what we saw didn’t necessarily mean it was the dog of choice. I was so excited by this notion of having a dog I didn’t care who it was at this point.
That evening we were given our equipment. One very stiff leash and one very stiff harness that we had to suffle to soften the leather on them. I was fascinated by the leash and harness. This was tangible evidence that this was actually going to happen. I coudln’t get enough of handling the leash or the harness. I too in the smell and everything about it. We were also given a bowl, brush, and a could other goodies for the dogs.
The next day was the big day. “D” day or known as Dog Day. We had our lecture in teh morning then we were taking to our hall way to our rooms and sat down. We were given one by one the name of our dogs, a brief history of them and the names or our puppy walkers. After lunch would be the time we meet our dogs.
My Five Guides 