Well, we all made it. Heather, Trishna, and I arrived home at about 3 p.m. today. And then all three of us proceeded to take a nap. Trishna did very well on the long drive; she had very nice car manners. Although she is a bit of a princess, and she doesn't like to lie on the seat belt buckles on the backseat. Yes, I let her ride on the backseat. She rides on the floor in other people's cars or on public transportation, but in my car, I make the rules. Well, Heather makes the rules, but she doesn't mind either.
Trishna is a very resilient dog, so she doesn't get stressed by new restaurants, traveling, or things like that. So the trip was quite enjoyable. She even wove her way through In-and-Out Burger when there were three bus loads of teenagers in line.
I wanted to share with all of you a few tips for meeting new Guide Dog teams, and some things to think about. These are things that I'm going to need to ask those of you who are close to me to follow for the next four to six months. They're not easy things to do, but you have my gratitude for trying your best. And if Heather can do it, you can too. :-)
OK, I'm going to give you the hardest one first: As hard as it is, when you first meet us as a working team, please do not touch Trishna, talk to her, or even make eye contact without asking my permission. I know how hard this is, because Trisha has big brown eyes and cute little eyebrows. Everything about her encourages you to touch her, so you must stay strong. It is so important for Trishna to bond to me in this new relationship, and if she views other people as "the fun ones", she may be less inclined to work for me. And that would put our safety at risk. The rules were much more relaxed with Stacey, but remember that Stacey was a much older dog and we worked together for years.
Next, when I do let you meet Trishna, we'll probably have her meet people one at a time. Approaching her calmly and letting her sniff your hand is always best. She's an active, enthusiastic dog, so I'm going to want to keep her as calm as possible. Be warned: she is a kisser. If you don't want to be kissed, you might not want to say hello. We're working on it.
Finally, please know that Trishna and I are a young team, and she is a young dog. She, and we, will make mistakes. You may see me have to rework a situation or even correct Trishna. Trust me, the correction doesn't hurt Trisha; it just reminds her that she needs to keep her mind on the job. I've been very well trained on how to correct her, and I promise I will not hurt her. But it might surprise you. Remember it's been 13 years since I've had a new dog, and Trishna is only 2. We're both very well trained, but we're still figuring each other out.
Those are the three big things. We'll see how things go at work tomorrow. :-)
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