Motherhood and Lion Taming

She's gorgeous, that's all I can say! When I play with her I often feel like a lion tamer, dancing just out of reach of gaping, grinning jaws as she leaps around me in the sunshine. These shots were taken by my sister at a park in Silverton, not too far from where we live.

When we play chase inside the house Prada and I take turns guarding certain entrances to the living room. Because of where the couches are set the open side of the living room has two entry points, each with a step down 'cause the room's sunken in a bit. Prada stays in the living room and I run the hallway behind the couch. The goal is to not let the other one onto your territory. If i get distracted Prada will sneak up and stick one paw up on the stair to the hallway in a very toddler-like "nana you can't get me!" gesture. She is very much a two-year-old.



I have discovered that having a dog guide is very much like raising a toddler. She requires lots of love and attention and consistency and...geeze, I sound like my mother! Y'know that mom on the little league team with the bag full of extra stuff: the extra sweatshirt, extra juice boxes, extra granola bars, extra band-aids, extra everything? Yeah, that's me. When I go anywhere with Prada, or if it's warm outside when we're working I've always got my 'doggy bag' with a water bottle, extra water bowl, doggy boots, extra park bags, sometimes a nylabone, gentle leader...it's like a new mom's diaper bag, I guess. Got everything in it, and then some. When I go somewhere I'm always making sure I have a place to put her out of the sun if we'll be in one place for a while, somewhere to park her, feed her if necessary, got something for her to play with if we're seated for a long time...seems like a lot of extra work, doesn't it?

So is it worth it? HECK YES! Not having to worry about running into poles, people, cars, tripping over steps or curbs, the security of having her with me...it is a huge stress relief from travelling independently or even with a cane. It's someone I can communicate with when I'm lost, someone who cares enough and knows how to make sure I don't run myself into something...I feel much safer and more relaxed working with her. I spend much less time watching where I'm going and more time focusing on the more important aspects of the journey: who I'm with, the destination, what I need to do when I get there and after I leave, run through that pesky section of a choir piece that I'm struggling with...it's so nice to be able to free up that much mental space!
(Whether or not you should get a guide dog is determined largely by how much travel stresses you versus how much daily routine/maintenance and trip preparation you’re willing to go through.  Me?  I like the routine Prada has forced me to establish.  I like the fact that I have to think through everything I’m doing in context of someone else because it means I’m less likely to forget my own needs as well.)