2020 8 26
THERE are times between matching dogs to people when I get to wondering what on earth were doing ---- especially since the people who have had dogs for over six months have kind of forgotten about sending me emails and the ones who've had them less than six months only send me emails when they have some kind of QUESTION ---that is very unnerving and I wonder how on earth I got into this mess ,,,,And then I remember introducing a person to a new dog and when she stepped up the curb to get into the Market Basket supermarket she burst into tears because she had not been able to step up a curb and I never thought how a simple 6 inch curb wood BE A fencE TO someone with a mobility problem with or without a wheelchair .
There are two specific incidents which got me going in this service dog bit--- the first was a guy in a wheelchair trying to get between Boston Common in Boston gardens or whatever those are and there is a ramp to get up on the sidewalk but he didn't have enough umph to get himself up there and from a distance I watched three cycles of the traffic lights change before anybody offered to push him .
the second guy I specifically remember I was at an Adi conference maybe Toronto I had Bailey with ME consequently people were noticing a white dane,,, there was a veteran in a wheelchair with a West Highland terrier in his lap who approached Me and tsaid “first they blow my legs off me and then they gave Me this #$%^&* lady's lapdog… I want a dog like yours .”…
That was the same ATI conference where the president of Adi said “you Great Dane people are all nuts” which I I am still struggling to counter and thus provide a whole new type mobility dog that is a big enough to do the job . at that conference they were trying to use yellow labs at about 80 pounds and they had rigged a metal handle similar to the seeing I handle except they repositioned this handle at the dogs girth---- the seeing eyeI handle pivots at the dogs shoulder .I objected loudly because if you have a mobility patient who is going to fall anyway on occasion , the twist on the dogs rib cage is very significant and in a fall it could happen. It is taken the best part of 10 years to have them stop using that metal handle to try and make a tall dog out of a yellow lab------- I haven't seen one lately .
I have an adaptation of that harness hanging behind my head at Mail call . it was given to ME ---I never would have paid the $650 that it cost . but way back at the beginning I did use that harness so people would associate me and my dog with the seeing eye dogs who were the ones that made the whole bit legitimate .. the book that describes the start is “the first lady of seeing eye” I think by Morris Frank ..
Finally we are considering more of the things that a dog can do- we are just learning…..
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It's been about a month since Abby and I were matched and if I had to describe what SDP has given me in one word, it would be freedom. Before Abby, my mobility challenges made mountains out of molehills. Every street curb, snowdrift and sidewalk crack presented an insurmountable obstacle. It took so much physical and mental energy to navigate the world that going out often left me feeling utterly depleted. And that's without falling, which I did a lot. There were so many things I wanted to do that I just couldn't manage on my own. After Abby, those towering mountains have shrunk back to very manageable molehills. I can go anywhere! It's hard to explain how exhilarating this is. I live a block away from a beautiful park that I hadn't been able to walk to on my own for years because the road was too steep and bumpy. Abby and I now visit every day -- easily! It's like layers and layers of stress and worry about getting places have lifted. I feel lighter and happier and excited about venturing out in the world with my smart, beautiful and trusted partner.
Thank you and the SDP team from the bottom of my heart for this incredible gift.
Mary , cp2020 MA
I LOVE THE MOUNTAINOUS MOLEHILLS INTO MANAGABLE MOLEHILLS
AND THE LAYERS OF STRESS THAT ARE LIFTED…
Those deserve to be quoted somewhere . ? 4M SHIRTS????
Hi! Just wanted to give you an update. Harry is really happy and doing well. He hates the heat so can’t wait for cooler fall weather when he can resume comfortable zoomies. He is being a ac hog for now. I remember you saying that if you don’t have a sense of Humor then a Dane is not for you. Well that is the truth! He thinks he can speak English and will talk and talk and talk until I figure out what it is he saying. Not barking but talking. He is completely un phased by rabbits and nearly pooped on one in the yard tonight. Not much to report as life has Gone rather pear shaped right now. I have included some photos for you of Harry! Stay well and safe!
