Great things about being blind. Dog transitions.

My third guide dog was a wonderful golden retreiver named Gia. We worked together as a team for nine years. Last year on August 26, we took our final walk as a working team together. Gia was almost 11 and had slowed down a lot. Work was harder but still doable. As we walked those familiar steps up our block, tears ran down my face, slipped from under my sunglasses. A woman asked if I was lost. I shook my head. Not physically lost. How would I learn to love and trust a new dog? I kept Gia in her retirement and you all know if you've been reading, that she died of cancer this past winter. but, even as I thought, how can I love another dog? In bounced my current guide. She is one of the happiest most joyful dogs I've ever known but also is calm and confident and self assured. And our hearts open up and expand and love a whole different being. So, a great thing about being blind is having dogs that expand our capacity to keep loving new beings. Thanks to my four wonderful guides for that.