I'VE FINALLY MOVED...

After months of uncertainty and stress about finding, securing and moving into a new apartment, it's finally happened. I have a lot to write about. Caring for and maintaining the behavior of a Guide Dog during such a stressful period of time hasn't been easy. But more about all that soon...

THE 704 TO THE SEA...

Yesterday, Dobby and I took a trip to Santa Monica to spend the afternoon relaxing at the pier. It was 85 degrees and sunny, what else is there to do on a Saturday like that? I wish I could say the trek was as relaxing as I had hoped. The bus ride on the 704 line took nearly an hour from where I live in West Hollywood to Santa Monica because of the traffic. In a former life when I could still see to drive, the trip wouldn't take more than about 20 to 30 minutes but riding the bus with traffic and periodic stops extends the trip to an hour. With the heavy traffic we encountered, apparently I wasn't the only person who thought it would be a good day to go to the ocean.


Once we arrived, Ocean Front Park was crammed full of people. Dobby did his usual best at weaving us back and forth to get through the crowd. The real challenge for him came when we finally got to the pier itself. The place was a madhouse. I actually considered turning us around and finding a nice quiet place on the grass where we could sit and relax but Dobby loves sitting at the end of the pier watching the world go by. There are always seagulls, pelicans, people, boats, dolphins and a myriad of other distractions constantly going by which keep his attention. If I use my monocular, I can occasionally get lucky and catch a glimpse of what Dobby is looking at. Out of sheer dumb luck, I managed to catch a glimps of a harbor seal swimming in the water near the pier. Dobby was too busy watching a dog that a couple had brought with them for a walk to notice.


The trip home was just as long. I don't go to the pier all that often because the long bus ride is hard on Dobbs. He's good at sitting patiently for about 20 minutes and then he becomes restless. I often end up letting him lay down on the floor during such long rides. It's more comfortable for him that way. We've come up with a routine that works. When the bus stops and the front door opens I give him a sit command and he dutifully jumps up into a sitting position between my legs and out of the path. It's an imperfect solution and has risks but it simply isn't fair to make Dobbs sit still perfectly still for nearly an hour. Who among us could do that?

I'VE BEEN OTHERWISE OCCUPIED...

Since the beginning of January I've been engaged in an indepth search for a new place to live. As such I haven't had much spare time to sit and write my thoughts. Rest assured, my housing search has come to an end and I will be moving in a few weeks at which time I will again be able to collect my thoughts and share more of our adventures with you...

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT...

At least once a month, I try to go to the Beverly Center with Dobby so together we can practice working on escalators. Now the Beverly Center is a big mall with five levels of parking above ground and three floors of mall space on top of that. The mall was designed to be entered by escalators that climb up the side of the building to the sixth floor. There are elevators which take you into the mall and to get to them you have to work through the Macy's Men's Store on the ground level. Most of the time, I take the elevators to get into the mall where I can more easily prepare Dobbs for escalator practice.

Now for a dog, riding escalators can be a very dangerous thing; less so for a trained guide dog but it's still dangerous. A dog's paws can get caught in the collapsing steps, in between the steps and the grill which clears the grooves on top of the steps as they collapse and recycle to the opposite end of the device. In fact, just about two months ago, at the Beverly Center, there was a serious accident when a woman forced her small dog to ride on an escalator and it's paw got caught and mangled. Security tried to keep her from getting onto the device with her dog (who was resisting getting onto the escalator) however the woman ignored the warnings and forced her dog on anyway only to have the situation end in disaster. Dogs aren't generally allowed in the mall although in Los Angeles, little dogs have become a fashion accessory and people tend to carry them around in their handbags where ever they go. You'd be amazed at some of the places that Dobbs and I have had dog encounters but I'll leave that for another post. The point of me telling you all this is that, in spite of Dobbs' training, escalators can be very dangerous for him and there is a risk every time we ride them.

In order to keep Dobby as safe as possible, he has to wear shoes when he rides on escalators. Dobby has a set of four Vibram soled booties that protect his feet. He also wears them when the sidewalks are too hot during the summer and could burn his pads. Now, Dobby doesn't like his shoes all that much. He tolerates wearing them but prefers to not have them on. I guess it must feel kind of like walking on the moon for him while he's wearing them. Normally, he can feel the ground with the pads on his feet and when he's wearing his shoes, the ground must feel like it's disappeared. For the first five minutes after putting his shoes on, Dobby high steps around and tries to sit down off his feet. I take out my cane and heel him around the first level of the mall until he gets used to having them on his feet and then we head for the escalators.

The Beverly Center has at least 20 sets of escalators, probably more, I've never tried counting them but suffice to say there are plenty of opportunities to practice riding on them. Once Dobbs gets over sulking about having to wear his shoes, he actually kind of likes riding on the escalators with me. For him it's all a big fun game and another chance to earn praise and an occasional food reward for a job well done. Not to mention that Dobby enjoys doing things with me and riding on escalators is one of the many adventures he enjoys sharing with me and I with him.

Right after I first graduated from guide dog school, I avoided riding escalators with Dobby for about 6 months. Having to stop, put on his shoes, get him comfortable in them, etc. just to ride between two floors didn't seem to make a great deal of sense to me when there was a perfectly good elevator available. But as with anything we don't do regularly, our skills can become dulled if they're not practiced occasionally. As time wore on, this began to weigh on me and I realized that if I was forced to ride an escalator with Dobby some day because there was no alternative, I would be remiss if I didn't occasionally practice riding them with him to keep his training sharp. What I discovered was that I was the one who needed the practice. Dobbs knew exactly what to do. He's an incredibly bright dog and its situations like this that make me realize just how smart he really is.

I won't bore you with a step-by-step description of how we work on escalators but the key thing is to have Dobby moving when we get on and when we exit. One of the biggest worries is that in a crowed situation, people coming off of the escalator behind us can rapidly build up if we don't get out of the way quickly. It's that part of the process that is most nerve racking for me and it's good to practice the techniques in a real world, crowded mall environment. What I've found is that people are very understanding and realize why I'm repeatedly going up and down on the escalators. Actually, a lot of people are really surprised to see me riding with Dobby at my side. It's a fairly unusual sight. People aren't generally allowed to have things like strollers or objects with them so seeing me with my dog on an escalator causes quite a lot of double takes (or so I've been told). The security staff at the Beverly Center loves it when I bring Dobby by to do some practice. They think its good for the general public to see just how much effort it really takes to keep a dog safe on an escalator and they hope that by having me practice riding on them in such a conspicuous way that a greater sense of caution will hopefully rub off onto the general public. Let's hope they're right...

AN AFTERNOON AT THE GETTY...

Dobby and I went to the Getty Center (between the time I had the cold and first pulled my back) and I've been chomping at the bit to tell you about the experience. Confidentially, Dobby and I have been there together several times and the staff at the museum really loves it when I bring him by for a visit. They are always so amazed at how well behaved Dobby is, so confident in fact that the security staff at the museum no longer follows us around to make sure that he isn't accidently walking me into the priceless exhibits; which is a real act of faith because, unlike most other museums, at The Getty, you are allowed to walk right up to the artwork with no ropes or barriers of any kind between you and the masterworks. The Getty Center is, after all, America's equivalent of The Louvre and it's such a remarkable experience to be able to go there with my dog.

It's an unusual feeling working Dobbs through the galleries, pausing to stand and admire paintings by the likes of Rembrant and Rubins (with my monocular). Dobby, sits patiently at my side waiting for me to finish. Occasionally he lets out a groan of boredom so I try not to linger in the galleries for too long of a time. Dobby is so diligent and I'm amazed that he doesn't get fidgety walking ten feet then stopping then walking ten more feet and stopping. He likes the walking around the museum part but the stopping and staring at paintings and sculpture part he could do without.

The Getty has an amazing outdoor sculpture garden and Dobby loves working through and around it. There's a little stream with bridges and a winding path through a grassy field that he particularly enjoys the challenge of negotiating for me. The path was designed with sharp switch backs that wander down the hillside of the garden. He also enjoys sitting on their outdoor veranda soaking up the scene while I sip a soda and take a break.

Confidentially, I think that, in part, he enjoys The Getty so much because of all the attention he gets from people while we're there. I can't begin to tell you the number of times that people (visiting The Getty from all corners of the world) have expressed surprise and pleasure over seeing a guide dog at the museum. I think Dobby fits right in with all the masterpieces on display. He's pretty darn special and I enjoy giving him a chance to really show off what he can do. I'm looking forward to our next visit...

A LONGER HIATUS THAN INTENDED

Sorry I haven't posted anything new in quite a while. Right after I got over my cold and was ready to start writing again I pulled my lower back and haven't been able to sit at my computer for more than a moment without the pain becoming overwhelming. Needless to say, working Dobby while having a pulled back muscle has been challenging (Motrin and I have become good friends). As you might have guessed, my back is improving (which is why I'm able to write this) and hopefully within a few days I'll be able to sit long enough to write in detail about what Dobby and I have been up to.

COLD SEASON

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything new for over a week, I've been sick with a fairly bad cold and I haven't had the energy to post anything new. I have a lot to write about, I just need to get the energy to do it...