Today was exceptionally warmer than the last week and the sidewalks by my house are pretty clear so I took Yara for a quick walk down the street and back. She was excellent, she didn’t pull too hard and was extra cautious when we came to a driveway with a car parked in it. We didn’t go as far as I’d initially planned because we came upon a really icy patch just before the corner. But I’m still glad to have gotten her out just by my house.
Next up for us was a trip back to Rotterdam Square Mall and the first issue I had was the taxi itself. I now have a definite thing to work on next week with Megan: getting into cars! I really don’t know how to explain what happened, but it’s pretty apparent that the idea of sitting on the front seat floor¹ did not make much sense to Yara. She waited patiently as I got in and when I called her into the car, she tried to hop right on the seat with me! I gave her a verbal correction and pushed her off gently and we tried it again with basically the same result. On the third try she stayed on the floor but just stopped halfway with most of her body still hanging out of the car. She didn’t seem at all pleased when I basically picked up her back end and moved her into the car; she spent the entire ride to the mall battling with me by trying to get her front feet on the seat. I concede that there was not a ton of space for her to squeeze into in the car, but she really was being much more obstinate than the situation called for.
I think we both were relieved when we arrived at the mall, even though it was the most crowded I’ve ever seen it there. I wanted to give Yara some time just to acclimate to all the people, so I found a bench and just sat with her while she watched all the holiday shoppers mill passed. A few people paused by us to admire her or strike up a bit of conversation. I really wanted to let her just be there and try and ignore everyone, but it seemed every time she would settle down and just relax a kid would come up and I just can’t say no to letting them pet my dog. Call me a softie, but I know I would have been crushed as a child if I saw a dog at a mall and was told I was not allowed to pet her. It’s another thing when they run right up and maul the dog, though. But in either case I try to give an appropriate education about guide dogs for their own understanding. The thing is, though, that children seem to be her real big people distraction. I don’t know what it is about kids that gets her, but I almost feel like letting them give her attention is almost solidifying the issue.
After about thirty minutes my rear end had fallen asleep and even though Yara wasn’t nearly as settled as I would have wished I got up and started walking through the mall. Yara was pretty good for that first lap and then on the way back she started being thoroughly distracted by people and walked me straight into a table. She stayed pretty focused after the fact, so I started walking her through some stores as well. I was really pleased with how well she cleared all the obstacles and was extra cautious to make sure there was lots of room to work her way through. In Hallmark we had a bit of trouble walking down one aisle and I eventually figured out that on the right were some pillars which made the space even more narrow. She’s really just so smart and attentive!
While I was browsing around some ornaments, a little boy came up to me and nervously questioned what breed of dog Yara was. A few minutes later his friend came up and asked her name. Followed shortly thereafter by the first boy’s mother who explained to me he was learning about service dogs in school. She asked if it would be okay for them to ask me a few questions about how Yara helps me and, of course, I was more than willing. So, I sat there on the floor with Yara and told the two boys all about my eye disorder and what guide dogs do for blind people. Soon a few Hallmark employees had stopped to listen in and eventually I amassed somewhat of a crowd in the middle of the keepsake ornaments. It was kind of embarassing, honestly, but what can you do. When I finished the boy’s mom thanked me and said she was so happy that her son and his friend would have all this stuff to tell their class tomorrow. Really, how awesome is that?
1. The safest place in a vehicle for a dog that is not either in a crate or buckled in is on the floor, this way they have no ability to go anywhere and injure either themselves or you.
