Great things about being blind. Working dogs in the heat.

One thing I love about having a relatively new guide dog is finding out their quirks and preferences.
Tulia loves the heat.
She loves to lie in the sun.
She hardly pants.  She drinks lots of water which is good.
Given the choice, she will walk more slowly through sunny patches and speed up in the shade.  If we are in a meeting or waiting somewhere, she will shift herself over in order to lie in the sun.
This is completely opposite to my last guide dog Gia who hated the heat.
She would slow way down in the shade and speed up in the sun and avoid the heat whenever possible.  She would try to take me into air conditioned buses or buildings instead of walking along the sidewalk at times.
She was a golden with much more fur.
She did love swimming in the cold atlantic ocean or in a lake when it was hot.
I hear we're in for a hot summer.  Probably, Tulia approves.

Great things about being blind. Free coffee and treats.

This morning, Tulia and I went for a walk before it gets too hot. She is a lover of the sun and heat but I have a full day's work of writing and creating stories for an upcoming storytelling show all about guide dogs. So, I went out early. We walked for a while and then on the way home, I stopped at a local coffee shop. When I came in, it was still pretty quiet there being around 7 am. All workers in the shop said how much they loved my dog. One thought she was still a puppy as she is so small. One asked if they could keep her in the store all day. I said we could consider that if icould work in the store all day andd we could get free beverages and snacks. They seemed to think that that would be a good exchange. So, one good thing about being blind is that my dog could get me free coffee and food. Just kidding of course.

Great things about being blind. Interesting storytelling gigs.

Because I have a disability, because I am blind, I get some very interesting storytelling gig opportunities. The other night, I was honoured to perform for a group of youth with disabilities. It was a fun crowd and they did seem to enjoy my storytelling. I've also gotten offers from community living organizations, dining in the dark experiences, and more. So, being blind helps me get some interesting work as a storyteller. If anyone works with people with disabilities or runs a group of people with disabilities, if you want an interesting disability awareness session for staff, volunteers, etc, consider hiring me. Contact me at
kimjkilpatrick@gmail.com
if you want to know more.

Great things about being blind. Sad looking guide dogs.

Every few days, some new people join and read and comment on the blog.  Thank you to you all for saying such nice things about the blog.  I am quite adicted to blogging now.
Someone yesterday while I was out said that Tulia looked so sad.
She was working and concentrating.   She doesn't always wag when working.  She does sometimes.
I've been told many many times over the years that people feel sorry for my guides.  They seem so sad.
They aren't sad generally.  Very happy and calm and focused.
So, after that comment yesterday, I started thinking about it.
When we are busy working, we concentrate.  We may smile but often have a serious or thoughtful mood.
When I'm concentrating, I'm concentrating.
I would imagine that this is the same with our guides.
It isn't that they don't like working, they do or they wouldn't do it.
no one makes them choose this career path.  They choose it because they love it, they love us, and they love being so smart and having a job to do.
When I take the harness off and my dog gets all wiggly and wags and rolls around, people say, "That is a totally different dog!"
Well yes, that is another side of them.
Just like us.  We are different when we're working or studying and different when we're relaxing.
So, next time you see a guide dog that you think looks sad, probably they are just in work mode.
Mind you, Tulia wags while working sometimes but sometimes not.
Thanks again to all of you out there!  YOu are the best and send such great comments!

Great things about being blind. The dog on the bus seat.

I'm pretty much a person who sticks to most of the guide dog rules.  Although the dogs aren't working while at home, I don't let them on furniture or give them our food etc.  Someone was looking after my first guide for a weekend.  I'm not quite sure why she wasn't with me, but she wasn't.  On the Monday after getting her back, I got on the bus to go to work.  I said, "Gwenny sit." and the next thing I knew, she was sitting, on the seat, right beside me, with her head on my shoulder.  The driver laughed so hard he had to stop the bus.  When I got to work, I called the person and asked,  "Did you let Gwenny on your furniture?"  There was a long silence and then they admitted that they had.  They asked how I knew and I told the bus story.  I do know some guide dog handlers let their dogs on the bed, on the couch etc.  It's just my preference not to.  Poor deprived tulia who is now sound asleep and snoring on her large and comfortable bean bag bed.

Great things about being blind. The dog on the bus.

Yesterday, I wrote about the bus driver I liked.  It reminded me of a story about a bus driver and a dog.  My first guide dog and I were waiting for the bus one time.  There was a loose dog there.  A very well behaved loose dog just standing beside us.  The bus pulled up and Gwenny and I boarded the bus.  The loose dog trotted on behind us.  The driver said, "Is that your dog following you?"  I told him no and that I had no idea whose dog it was.  The dog got on, I sat down, Gwenny sat down under my seat.  The dog sat down beside us.  The driver was laughing so hard.  I was laughing.  So were many other passengers.  He wasn't sure what to do but then someone came running up and the dog was his dog.  Had wandered out of his yard to the bus stop.  He took him or her away.  It really was so funny though!

Great things about being blind. The pit bull in disguise and the bus driver.

As promised, here is a story about my first guide and a very nice bus driver. I ended up having this bus driver quite regularly for several years. The first time he saw my first guide dog Gwenny, (a beautiful, calm, little, female black labrador retriever) he said, "I can't have that dog on my bus. That is a pit bull in disguise." I laughed and got on his bus. Every day, he would say something like, "Excuse me no vicious dogs allowed on my bus." Etc. I would just laugh and get on. We always chatted and he really loved my dog and found her very well behaved.
One day, I waited at the stop as usual, he pulled up as usual, and said, "I'm very sorry young lady but I don't allow dogs on my bus especially not vicious dogs like that." Someone standing beside me said, "You can't do that. You can't do that." He seemed very agitated.
As it turned out, he was a transit supervisor. both the driver and I explained about our inside joke and all was okay.
I thought that supervisor was going to pass out when he heard what the driver said.
Whenever someone mentions pit bulls to me, I think of that story.
I'm not trying to discredit pit bulls either. Smile!