Great things about being blind. Confusion with guide dog names.

A very funny thing happened to me the other day. It got me thinking about mix ups with guide dog names. Last week, I met with a good friend's daughter for the first time to answer questions for a university project. The daughter's name is Julia. My guide dog's name is Tulia. We had a fun time. Miss Tulia was wearing her winter boots and she sometimes does not like to sit or lie down when wearing them. The next day, I e-mailed Julia's mom to say how wonderful Julia was. I also mentioned that Tulia would not sit down while wearing her boots. My friend thought I meant that her daughter, Julia, would not sit down while wearing boots and asked her about it when they talked. I laughed so hard at this picture. It got me thinking back. My first dog's name was Gwenny. One time, while working at a long-term care facility, Gwenny was under the desk sniffing at the garbage can. I said in a firm voice, "Gwenny! What are you doing under there." A voice came from underneath the photocopier. "Only my mom calls me Gwenny." There was a woman named Gwen fixing the photocopier. Once we sorted out the confusion, Gwen thought it was great that my dog was called Gwenny. When Gwenny suddenly died of cancer while still working, Gwen was very sad when she next met me. My second dog was Margaret. There are lots of Margaret's in this world of course. One thing I do remember was standing in line at a bakery. A woman called very loudly to her friend, "Should I get some brownies Margaret?" My Margaret dog perked her ears up a lot. Perhaps she thought the brownies were for her? soon after I got Gia, I was studying volunteer management with a woman named Pia. Often in class, I would say something to Gia. "Lie down Gia. Or Gia come." And Pia would sometimes think I was talking with her. Given the number of women called Julie and Julia, I would think that we may have some more fun times ahead as I often call Tulia Tuly. This situation made my week. Thanks Julia and don't worry Julia had no problem sitting down in her boots.