Another lost dog boot! A suspenseful tale.

On a freezing winter late afternoon, my guide dog and I were walking home from the bus stop.  Both of us thinking about dinner I'm sure and being inside a warm house.  The boots were all on before exiting the bus.  Since it was only a couple of blocks home and since it was freezing and I didn't want to remove gloves to check dog boots, we carried on.  About half way home, I heard footsteps behind me.  Was someone following me?  They were hurrying at first and then slowed down right behind me.  Should I turn and say something?  Should I go faster?  Was this a criminal going to grab my backpack?  I was tense!  "Excuse me," said a warm kind male voice.  I jumped.  "Excuse me but your dog lost one of her boots.  Here it is."  As he passed me the soggy boot and I thanked him, I reflected on whether or not I had been reading too many mystery books.

Blindness and winter boots.

As I got all dressed up to take my dog outside this morning, I decided to blog about the challenges of being totally blind in a winter climate. Let's start today with winter boots. I also want to say that these views are mine and not all blind people would necessarily agree with them. So, winter boots. It gets cold here so I definitely need winter boots that are warm. For me, I don't want them with heels. I want to feel the ground beneath my feet. They need to be warm, good grippy soles, with good traction. but, walking in winter boots poses a few problems. First, when traveling around, I get a lot of information from all of my senses and my whole body. That starts with my feet. While wearing shoes, I can feel changes in surface. The bumpy pavement just before my mail box. The slight dip of the little driveway before a certain garbage can. With boots on, I still feel the big changes in elevation but not always these little cues for my environment. tomorrow, another installment. It is slippery out this morning. Be careful all.