Saturday, March 19, 2011

Great things about being blind. Helping others get over fears of dogs.

I know that phobias can be hard to get past. Since I was bitten by a boa constrictor at around age 4, (Yes a story for the blog at a later date) I have been very afraid of snakes. Even non-poisonous ones). I know they can't hurt me. I know they're in a box or a cage. Still, I don't want to be anywhere near them. So, I understand that some people have a fear of dogs. Many people who have been a fraid of dogs though, become surprised that they have no fear of my guide dogs. The other day, I was sitting in a coffee shop working on some writing and e-mail. A woman beside me tapped me on the shoulder. She said she had been sitting beside me for about half an hour. Suddenly, she realized that there was a dog within about a foot of her. she is usually terrified of dogs. She generally couldn't imagine sitting anywhere inches from a dog. But, even when she realized Tulia was there, she was not afraid. I've heard this before from people. Also, non-dog lovers have really loved my dogs. It's nice if I can lessen some of the fear of dogs that is out there. Next time I'm sitting in a coffee shop with a snake, maybe it will help me get over my fear of them too.

2 comments:

  1. I have recently started to read your stories and really like them. This one about people who are generally afraid of dogs, but not of your guide reminded me of similar exchanges with people with my guide/service dog, James. In particular my acupuncturist is generally terrified of dogs, but he liked James. He said he liked James because Jame didn't act like a dog. James was quiet and calm, well behaved, focused on me and generally ignored my acupuncturist. He said he had absolutely no fear of James what so ever. It was pretty cool.

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  2. Did you know you have CAPTCHA/word verification enabled on your blog in order for people to leave comments? Rather difficult to navigate...

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