“Have You Got Your Mind Right Yet, Opal?”

One of my favourite movie lines is from the 1967 classic, ‘Cool Hand Luke’.  Boss Paul (played by Luke Askew) grinds away at Luke (Paul Newman) in the rural Southern USA prison, trying to break Luke by forcing him to dig a hole and fill it back up with dirt, over and over. Periodically, he snarls, “Have you got your mind right yet, Luke?”  Yes, I know. My pop culture references are a bit stale. Regardless, this one is useful today. Do not be alarmed. I am not culpable of forcing my dog to dig holes and fill them in, though I think she might enjoy the task.  I DO, however, perform obedience exercises on a semi-regular basis with Opal. We live in an apartment building which has long hallways and staircases galore. On quiet days and at quiet times, I take Opal on leash out in the halls and commence a rapid drill of  ”heel”, “sit”, “stay” and “come”.  She LOVES it. Opal is particularly fond when I ask her to  ”sit and stay”  and then I walk away slowly and summon her to the end of the hallway (75 feet away).   It thrills her to  ”come” when she is finally allowed to bolt to me. The ceramic tile does not offer much traction, so she skids several feet before she comes to a stop.  There are no objects to cause injury, so it’s a safe and exciting blast.  Why do I do this sort of obedience drill?  It ‘gets her mind right’, in a good sort of way. Dogs (especially Guide dogs) love to know who is in charge. They develop a sense of security and self-confidence by performing obedience exercise drills. It is important to keep the drills interesting, rapid, and occasional. If you do them too often, your dog will be bored and the drill ineffective. These dogs love to please their handlers.  I find that Opal becomes very focused with her guiding job  in the days following an obedience drill. We are going to Toronto next week. I want and need her to be sharp as well as relaxed in the knowledge that ‘mum knows what she’s doing, and where we’re going’, even if I don’t have a clue. Air travel, airports and the frenzy that comes with it, might be a breeze for the seasoned  Guide dog team who travel frequently, but we don’t have much experience with this. So, preparation is key, and that includes an obedience drill today….to ‘get her mind right’.  

What, me worry?!

Alfred E. Newman (of Mad Magazine fame) may have said it first, but I’m the one saying it today. I dare anyone who loves their dog to deny that they don’t worry needlessly (at least once in a while) when their dog is sick…ah, that is to say, when they barf (vomit, hurl, upchuck…).  Opal tossed her proverbial cookies yesterday afternoon. Hmm, I thought, as I examined the resulting gift on my living room rug.   Yes, I know you sighted folks may be disgusted to hear that I poke through my dog’s vomitory offering. I live alone and have no alternative than to ‘feel’ the matter out. I need to know some details about what is coming out of every end of my girl. This is critical information for determining the status of her health. Consistency, odor etc. are helpful to diagnose potential health conditions.  Let’s just say, that I suspected Opal ate some grass or other vegetation and possibly scavenged some unknown food or garbage while she played at the park earlier in the day.  Despite my best efforts to be vigilant while she sniffed and toured at the end of our retractable leash (Flexi), she might have gobbled up an unknown item.  Dogs are opportunistic, and the allure of old food or other garbage to a lab, is hard to resist.  The weather has also changed here, going rather warm quite suddenly.  I know this effects me, so I suspect  it is also difficult for Opal to adapt. What do I do when my dog is sick? I try not to obsess about it. Dogs sense (like kids) when you fuss too much about them…”Ooo, you poor girl!”…which sometimes, leads them to manifest symptoms that are not ‘real’. Instead,  I cleaned up, gave her a pat on the head, offered her water and carried on with my work, though I had an ear open for sounds of further upchucking. Later,  I checked her belly during a brief grooming. Then I cooked some brown rice. Yes, that’s what I said. I gave her a cup of cooked brown rice with a few kibbles and a little water in it for her supper, though only after a two-hour wait.  She seemed lethargic, but that may have been the warmish day. Like anyone who loves their animals, I do worry, but not to excess.  I paid close attention to see if, and what she pooped,  so that I could be assured that she did not have an obstruction. Good news to report. Happily, Opal is better today, though I am giving her an easy working day. Of course, I would be running to the vet, if I had any concerns that she was not getting better,  or if I thought that she was in pain. I would caution against weird home remedies, or waiting too long before going to the vet, especially if dehydration is a factor. It is hard to achieve that balance between excessive worry, and appropriate concern. 

The World Has Gone Crazy!

Interesting day? You bet. First, some dweeb from the local CTV news magazine program, “Live at Five”, finally returned my telephone messages. She had apparently been away on holiday. I was told to call her up for a copy of the interview segment which they did on service dogs. Two weeks or so ago, Opal and I obliged them with an hour of our time (Kaching!- I think that’s worth $15.00) on one hour’s notice (Kaching!- I think that’s worth another $15.00) to be questioned, filmed and pretty much exploited for this dim-wit TV program. I was polite, informed, and did not bitch when the camera guy and journalist (I use the word, journalist loosely) FOLLOWED us home to do the teaser for the show (Kaching! - I think that’s worth another $15.00) Opal got zip for her trouble (Kaching!- I think that’s worth $15.00).  I think the dweeb gal at CTV might have been put off when I admitted I did not watch TV, did not own a TV and none of my relatives watched this program either. She told me (in a lovely, syrupy TV anchor-kinda voice) “Yes, we’ll let you have a copy of the 2.5 minute segment….FOR $39.95!!!! (Kaching!). I thought I was in a K-Tel nightmare gone Nova Scotian!  I told her that I had to pass on it.  She then tried to tell me about the high cost of making copies of program segments…sure, it must take all of, ah…5 minutes to cue up a tape and burn it to a DVD (Kaching! 5 cents worth of disc). She then suggested I contact the RCMP officer who was also in the piece with his police dog.  Sure babe, call out the Mounties. 

Then, to confirm the fact that the world has gone crazy, I heard something come out of my neighbour’s mouth that put the icing on my nutty cupcake today. Here’s the story: Opal and I are going to Toronto in 10 days time. I want to leave Lucy in my apartment for 2 nights instead of shipping her off to the cat sitter (and stressing her out). All I need is someone in my building to come in FOUR times to feed her, TWO, in a pinch…a job involving ten minutes of someone’s time for $20.00 (Kaching!). I asked T. if she would be around on that May holiday weekend, knowing full well that she would be.  She has no job, no family, no commitments, no friends, no life essentially except for her TV (maybe she’s watching “Live at Five”) and could really use the money. What does she say? … “Oh no, I don’t want the responsibility of taking care of your cat”. RESPONSIBILITY? of dishing out a scoop of kibble? Sigh. The world has gone crazy indeed. 

This is for you, Angel

There’s a little lady somewhere in the southern U.S. who raised my girl, Opal. That was a few years ago. By some incredible stroke of luck, I have managed to stay in touch with her and her family. Today, she asked for my input on a school paper she is writing  on service dogs. Question: Can I tell her 2 or 3 things about what’s it like to have one? Answer: Do you have a couple of months to listen? You’re asking a tough question, Angel. Here’s why. There are several answers, on several levels. Practically, Opal keeps me from walking into stuff, falling off curbs and tumbling down staircases…she detours around shopping carts,  garbage cans, panhandlers, parked cars, construction sites and all that. She does it WITH MY HELP. I decide when to cross the street, but if I make a bad decision, she can override it (Intelligent Disobedience). I could avoid most of that without her, given a white cane and a lot of time, stress and effort. I’m not saying that travelling with Opal is a snap. I need to be thinking about where we are, and what I need to say to her and what to do with my arms and feet. HOWEVER!!! Life with Opal is fun! I am more independent because I WANT TO BE. I have her with me 24/7 (unlike pet dogs that stay home some times). She is my best friend. I am not as lonely as I once was. She provides me with a reason to get out of bed (though I bet your dog, Snoopy doesn’t get up at 5 am every day!) I am healthier because I walk a lot and get plenty of fresh air. I don’t have too much time to worry about my own little problems because she keeps me busy. One more thing for you…when I am somewhere (like a boring meeting) and I need a break, Opal can suddenly…need to relieve…and I am OUTTA THERE! (grin). Thank you for raising my girl. She has changed my life. 

Wise Advice from…Kent Keith

 In my e-mail box this morning, I found a reply from Mr. Kent M. Keith. I had written to him several Sundays ago after hearing his Paradoxical Commandments read at my UU church. Perhaps I have been living under a rock somewhere, because I had never heard of the Paradoxical Commandments before.  Kent Keith wrote these in 1968 as part of his book, The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in Student Council, published by Harvard Student Agencies, Cambridge, Massachusetts. I enjoyed hearing them read so much, that when I returned home, I immediately Googled Mr. Keith and asked permission to write them here. He graciously allowed me to do so. He also mentioned that his ancestors (British) landed here in Nova Scotia after fighting in the American Revolutionary War. He has attended a conference here, and “thought the whole region was beautiful!” So here are Kent M. Keith’s Paradoxical Commandments (copyright 1968, renewed 2001). To learn the interesting story of how the PC’s came about, travelled around the globe, and for more interesting reading from Mr. Keith, go to his web site, www.paradoxicalcommandments.com  (link direct from blogroll).

THE PARADOXICAL COMMANDMENTS BY KENT M. KEITHS

 

1. People are illogical. Love them anyway.

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

9. People really need help but may attack you if you help them. Help people anyway.

10. Give the world the best you can and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you can anyway. 

Wise Advice About T-Touch For Dogs

The first evening of my training period at Canadian Guide Dog’s for the Blind had an interesting and calming end. Training with a new Guide dog is stressful for both the handlers and their new dogs. The handlers finds themselves in a new environment. They are with strangers, and have just met their new guide dogs. Some have travelled from a distance and left behind home and familiarity.  Some have just retired their last guide dog. The new guide dogs have been living at the Centre with the same kennel mates for several months. They have been going out with a familiar trainer every day. Now, everyone is tossed together, trying to figure one another out.  I was the newbie, (having never had a guide dog).  I was filled with anxious anticipation. My brain was spinning with information that I feared might forget; the layout of the Centre, the house rules, the names of my classmates and the Centre’s staff, the details of the Agreement with the school I had just signed, the first instructions on the do’s and don’ts of guide dog handling and more.  The ‘handover’ of dogs had taken place that afternoon. I could not believe that the high-energy black lab on the end of the leash (Opal), was now a part of my life.  It was all very new and daunting. We gathered in the lounge and our instructor told us about T- Touch. I had never heard of Linda Tellington-Jones or her method of ‘massage’ for animals. It was literally, a hands-on session. We sat on the floor and followed Jane’s (a certified T-touch practitioner) instructions.  A half-hour later, four dogs were stress-free and asleep. So were the handlers. I have put the link to TTouch.com on the blogroll. I urge you to investigate. When Opal is stressed, ill, fearful, or in pain, I do some t-touches on her. I do them on myself too for everything from headaches to arthritic pain relief.  T-Touch is useful for behavioural problems too. There are books and videos on the subject, by Linda Tellington-Jones.  They can be found in your public library or bookstore. 

More on the Danger of Quiet Cars (Hybrids)

I recently submitted a report to our Mayor and Council (I am chair of  the Halifax Regional Municipality Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities. It was the second such report that I have submitted requesting they to write to the auto industry and auto trade associations. Our committee agreed that the QUIET CHARACTERISTIC  of Hybrid vehicles poses a significant danger to people who can not see them (example: blind and partially sighted people, distracted kids, and people tuned out with their I-Pods etc.).  A pedestrian who can not see or hear a vehicle approaching, faces significant risk.  Soon after I submitted the first report, I was surprised to receive a message that “there’s a problem”. I was mystified about what it could be. Somewhere along the line, the Environmental Sustainability Department got wind that ‘the ACPWD wants to ban hybrids’.  The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) owns a small fleet of these cars, AND have ordered some hybrid diesel buses. I cam imagine the panic over this, all because of mis-communication.  A meeting with that department manager cleared the air.  They were relieved to know that we have no desire to ban hybrids. We explained that all we want to ensure, is the adoption of a standard for emission of SOUND from these vehicles. We fully support the work towards a sustainable environment plan.  How ironic that I, of all people should be misconceived as a poopaher of environmental initiatives! I’m the one who harps on about reducing, reusing, and recycling to anyone who will listen (and then some). Once the air was cleared, I tweaked the letter and report to the Mayor and council and re-submitted it. We are waiting to hear from them.  I pointed out that EXISTING vehicles can be modified with devices to ensure that they are audible (without turning them into noise makers). I think this is a timely issue, given the sky-rocketing price of gasoline which is creating a tidal wave of orders for hybrid cars all over North America, including Halifax. Groups such as the NFB (National Federation of the Blind -U.S.A.) and the AEBC (Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians) are pushing  for legislation to create a standard for sound emission from hybrid vehicles. It would be so much wiser and easier to be proactive by facing it NOW, rather than delay and create a complicated and long struggle (during which time people would face peril and injury). If we think back to the resistance to seat belts and similar changes in the automobile industry that eventually became the legislated norm, I think the industry might listen and bite the bullet sooner rather than later. 

Theory On Why I Have “Such A Beautiful Dog!”

Opal is a good looking dog. I’m her ‘mum’, so naturally I think she’s drop-dead gorgeous. I have an interesting theory on why strangers find her equally beautiful. It’s simple, really. She sticks out because of her harness (and me attached to the end of it). People notice her on buses and in restaurants and other public places because they are a ‘captive audience’.  She is usually the only dog in their line of sight, so they zero in on her. They examine her more closely on a bus than they would if they saw her as the pet dog running around a park. Their brains work on gathering information about her working status.  They sit and stare, and have time to appreciate that she is smart and doing a ‘good job for the blind lady’. I know that some of those people who are saying to me, “What a beautiful dog!”, are not even particularly fond of dogs, and would totally disregard us if I was just a sighted woman with a pet dog on leash going for a walk.  She IS a beautiful dog, no question about it, and she KNOWS IT, delicate, vain flower, that she is! She is well-groomed and well-behaved, so that adds to her appeal. Like any god mum, I will always think of her as the best looking dog in town, no matter what.

I Love…Like…Tolerate a Parade

Actually, traditional parades do not appeal to me. They are loud and crowded and frighten Opal. (We accidentally wandered into the Pride parade last year and she was blasted with silly string and streamers. The whistles and loud music didn’t help either.)  A parade we do enjoy, or at least tolerate, is the monthly shopping expedition at our local grocery store. Shopping for groceries when you unable to read labels or locate items, can be hard. It is even more complicated, when you have a guide dog.  I like to rest Opal after 40 minutes in harness. It’s only fair.  Here’s how food shopping works for us. I call ahead and ask the manager if someone will be available to help us shop. I always chose a quiet weekday morning. We arrive on time and present ourselves to customer service. The manager normally has booked Dewayne, the produce manager to help us through the bulk of the shopping. Dewayne pulls the shopping cart from the front. I hold the cart handle and follow. Opal is in harness, and I have only her leash in hand, with the handle down. She is on my left side as we meander around, looking very much like a little parade.  Opal obediently keeps up, and I am cognizant of any attempts to dive for food items on the floor. Dewayne tries to use the wider spaces in the Quinpool Road Superstore and tells me if we are going left or right. We wait in place in quiet spots while he goes off to collect a few items. I thwart off the customers who want to impede the flow of the parade (looking to pat Opal or run over her).  Fortunately, most of my shopping is done within the perimeter of the store. That’s where the produce, bakery, and dairy are located in all grocery stores. (We bypass the meat department aka. ‘dead animals’ also located in the perimeter.) In the interior aisles, we avoid the crap over- packaged and processed food, and find our tea, and the odd package of pasta or rice. When efficient Dewayne is unavailable to lead the parade,  grocery shopping can become a long and arduous ordeal.  If the clerk does not know where items are located, we are in for a rough ride. I have been known to abandon a clerk and cart, when I feel that the Odyssey has been too much for Opal. “Sorry, but we’re not wandering around like Bedouins anymore. It’s not fair to my dog…we’ll be back when she’s rested, and you find someone who can get us out of here in a timely manner”. Here’s the way to re-enforce good service for customers who are blind or have similar shopping needs: If the clerk does a good job, make a point of speaking to the manager of the store, preferably at the cash, in front of him or her and praise them up. I point out, that if I am dropping $150.00 in their store, I enjoy and appreciate doing it quickly. I also point out shortcomings; poor choice of produce, too much time spent wandering around, etc.  I make use of the customer service 1-800 number that most food chains have and report good and bad service. I make suggestions about accessible on line flyers, and anything else I think they should be aware of.  I  do my bit, by being prepared when I go to shop, knowing what I want to buy, and the sequence it will be picked up…natural food sections, produce, bread, sundries, groceries, dairy, frozen food. Get familiar with a store and the manager and staff. It is the only way you can hope to have consistent and reasonably acceptable service when shopping if you are blind.  If you are fortunate enough to have a friend or family member help you shop instead of requiring assistance by store employees, be sure to respect their time and effort by being prepared. 

Another Half-baked CNIB Idea

It is no secret that I have a tenuous relationship with the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind).  I’ll grant that they have good O & M instructors (Orientation and Mobility), but my praise stops there. I am grateful that they taught me good caning skills. That’s what they do best, are supposed to do and should continue to do.  My beef with CNIB? They make nutty decisions with little or no consultation with their clients. I’ll get to the latest half-baked scheme they dreamed up in a moment. What really puts a burr under my saddle is their passive acceptance of praise (and money) from people who have no idea what they do (or not do).  More than once, someone has asked me, “What’s your CNIB dog’s name?”  I could spit. Instead I grit my teeth and explain that CNIB HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PUTTING GUIDE DOGS INTO BLIND PEOPLE’s HANDS! In fact,   The CNIB in Toronto was known to have banned Guide dogs from their building for a while in the early years, relegating them to the yard while their handlers were inside.  The organization has a public image that is vastly based on misconception. They do not give “all that free stuff that helps the blind” as people erroneously believe.  Nor do they find employment for people (except some pathetic contracts with casinos that has blind people doing coat check with drunks or similar and infrequent opportunities). Nor do they provide any social programs which some isolated blind folks could really use. Nor do they actually employ many blind people within their organization (except for a few token staff here and there). Nor do they provide a list of services or resources when one is referred…it’s hit or miss what or when you ever find out what they do and who does it, or what other organizations might offer. Nor do they do advocacy work on any significant scale, though they are quick to accept kudos for other people’s work.   I will explain their latest idiotic idea.  The CNIB library in Toronto has historically mailed Braille and Talking books to the blind all over Canada.  Several years ago, the four-track cassettes were finally retired and new technology emerged with the creation of DAISY books. Digital Audio Information Systems books are Cd’s that hold an entire recorded book on a single disc. The Canadian government gave the CNIB library $6,000,000 to convert to the new system. I have no idea what terms came with the money, or how it was used in paying for new discs, mailing cases for them, and new devices to play them on.  They are played on DAISY players. These machines cost $500.00 Canadian. The CNIB got in bed with a Quebec company called Humanware, and a bunch were given free of cost to many blind people across the country. The rush to do this was fueled by unknown factors. Accountability and transparency are not part of the CNIB philosophy.  Now, several years later, these devices are breaking down and no one, except Humanware can repair them. They do so for an obscene price and great inconvenience (shipping to Quebec) to the owners. Remember, most blind people live are unemployed or underemployed and live in poverty.  That’s just a drop in the bucket, as far as I am concerned. Now, the CNIB library very craftily sent out a notice that the audio books on DAISY disc were going to arrive in a new mailing case. Here’s why, I have learned through patient investigation. The discs, are mailed in a cardboard mailer. The name and address of the client is imprinted on the disc. The client listens to the book on CD and then returns it to the CNIB in Toronto, where it is DESTROYED and “recycled”.  The reason given for returning them is one of copyright (even though you can copy the book while you have it). They claimed that there were ‘mistakes’ in the return of CD’s and this is why they have changed the system.  Every client gets a fresh book every time.  I began thinking about the number of books that would be destroyed and ‘recycled’. I tried to find out about the recovery of material in the recycling of CD’s and the amount of material (significant) that would end up in the landfill.  E-mails and phone calls to the library tested my patience. It was not until I threatened ‘Freedom of information’ action, that I was finally told that last year, the CNIB library loaned “over 1,000,000 DAISY books on CD.” They tried to cushion the significance of this by saying that downloads are becoming more popular.  Their own web site identifies that fewer than 17% of blind Canadians are connected to the Internet. Sigh. I have contacted the Ministry of the Environment in Ontario and in Nova Scotia to get some input. They are stunned and are checking into it. No one seems to know much about  the environmental impact of recycling CD’s…there is a significant part that goes into the landfill.  I will be withdrawing my CNIB library membership and following the consequences of this CNIB half-baked idea, done without consultation, as usual. I think they should stop calling themselves a library, if they are not circulating the majority of their collection. 

LOOKING FOR DONATIONS OF OLD EYEGLASSES

My friend has a son who is in a Scout project. They are collecting old eyeglasses which will be processed and distributed to people in developing countries who would otherwise not be able to afford corrective lenses. If you have a pair or two (look in that sock drawer!) somewhere, consider mailing them to the following address. (My friend is Opal’s puppy-raiser’s mom and always doing something nice for someone)

Donna Anderson

401 Village Loop Drive

Apex, North Carolina

27502 U.S.A.

Sort Your Dog Out!

One of the most valuable pieces of advice that I learned from our instructor while training with Opal at Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind in Manotick, Ontario, was: ‘Always sort your dog out’. Let me explain. Guide dogs are, in the end, just dogs with special training. They are vulnerable to the same desire for mischief as other dogs. Their curiousity (my Opal is a busybody extraordinaire) sometimes gets the better of them, even when they are in harness. Variables like their level of stress, the ‘newness’ of a situation, the scent in the environment, and their relationship with you at any given moment, contribute to  potential distraction and unwanted behaviour. It takes a long time to get into sync with a new guide dog. It was a year before Opal and I were truly in tune. She is my first guide dog, so perhaps it was a longer process for us. I had been cautioned that I would be ‘tested’ by her, when we returned to Halifax and started out on our journeys together. How true! Dogs are capable of all sorts of mind games. It is their way of determining who is ‘in charge’. For example, Opal would insist on an opportunity to relieve numerous times on our way to the bus stop near our home. I gave her the benefit of the doubt for a while, but called her bluff when I realized that this was just a gigantic ploy to sniff around. More significantly, she wanted to see if I would let her be the boss. Our instructor’s words echoed in my head on Opal’s first visit to my bank. I was trying to do some business with the sit-down teller and the bank manager with Opal at my feet. Opal was getting up and trying to check out the litter basket when I said to the bank manager and teller, “excuse me” and promptly ignored them and ’sorted my dog out’.  I did not return my attention to them until I was satisfied that Opal was back in place and not doing anything goofy. I continue to do this when the need arrises, regardless of who I am with, or where I am… I could care less if I am with a head of state, or an journalist doing a TV interview with me (as was the case last week) or anyone else who is expecting my undivided attention; my priority is to ensure that my dog is safe, comfortable and not bugging anyone. When the day came that Opal realized that this is my consistent response to any silliness or distraction on her part, she started behaving nicely most of the time. She understood (with great relief), that I am ‘top dog’.  This applies to all dogs, pets and service dogs alike. There is nothing more annoying than an uncontrolled dog (or child) misbehaving in public. Sort them out!–they will love you for it because they feel the ‘leader of the pack’ is handling it and is in charge.