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[Kristin Meredith]

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Such a nice morning after days and days of nasty heat and humidity, so Sig and I went for a training walk in downtown Culpeper.  Here he is in front of the "Love" sign (these signs are all over Virginia as part of the "Virginia is For Lovers" campaign).  The sign was made using old film reels donated from the Library of Congress film library which is housed here in Culpeper.

[Bentley]

Funny, I never noticed that.  An I wonder why I flunked out of detective school!

[Kristin Meredith]

Culpeper recently built a splash park so Sig and I went today. Lots of little kids, screams, noise, color and activity to observe. Culpeper has also put in some type of obstacle exercise course near the splash pad, so we also checked that out. More adults over there, but lots of activity.

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[pmillen]

Kids love dogs.  Dogs love kids.

A perfect training location.

[Kristin Meredith]

Yes, the problem is that Sigmund has to learn to ignore them, so I can't let any of them pet him.

I do have to recount a sweet story. Two little girls were watching Sigmund, I thnk sisters. One was probably 8 and the other was about 5. The 5 year old said she wanted to go pet Sig and her older sister said "No, you can't do that, he is working. See he has a jacket on and that means we can't pet him." I gave her a big smile, said "thank you, you sure know a lot about service dogs." She seemed pleased. So some education is seeping down to the younger ones at least!!! If only the adults would also learn!

[pmillen]

Yes, the problem is that Sigmund has to learn to ignore them, so I can't let any of them pet him.

Yep.  A perfect training location.

[Kristin Meredith]

Yes, the problem is that Sigmund has to learn to ignore them, so I can't let any of them pet him.

Yep.  A perfect training location.

Except for me!!!

[Kristin Meredith]

This story is not about Sigmund, but I just have to share it because I am constantly blown away by what working guides do.  This is from a lady with a working guide.  She is a teacher in a high school and school has just started back with all its commotion and chaos:

"Enjoy this story of what happened with me and Nacho the other day at school. These dogs are amazing.

⚪️ Arriving back to school mid-day after meeting with four new teachers and a principal,
⚪️ Walking the halls during a hectic passing period,
⚪️ Approaching the commons during the transition between two crowded lunches right down the way,
⚪️ Encountering unbroken streams of loudly talking students going multiple directions,
⚪️ Pausing with Nacho as he surveys the scene,
⚪️ Trusting he will weave his way through the commons as he has done every day after school this year,
⚪️ Feeling him move to the right and following his lead,
⚪️ Realizing his direction is not cutting across the commons,
⚪️ Trusting him anyway,
⚪️ Holding my breath when I realize he has taken a side hallway,
⚪️ Holding my breath even more as I wonder if he will turn at a hallway parallel to the commons,
⚪️ Grinning ear-to-ear when he turns at a hallway parallel to the commons,
⚪️ Blinking back tears as I realize he chose a safer way and pictured the exact route ahead of time,
⚪️ Stopping a colleague to babble with Joy about this dog’s decision making ability,
⚪️ Arriving safely at my office after circumventing the commons completely,
⚪️ Celebrating with a crazy, rambunctious, exuberant game of tug-the-elephant with a dog who is my buddy, my champion, my hero."

I am in awe of these animals and what the professional trainers do to get them to think and analyze a situation and make decisions which are best for their human.  I share this because these are the stories which make it easier to give up your pup at the time of parting -- the dog can make a huge difference in how a visually impaired person travels through life and I get to say I was a tiny part of that.

[pmillen]

That tops any hunting dog story I've ever heard.  And I've heard some amazing stories and seen some amazing things.

[Kristin Meredith]

Big day for Sig today -- first time in a sit down restaurant (not fast food). He was pretty good -- no barking or whining, had a little trouble settling at first because it was a new environment with a fairly good size lunch crowd. But after a while he just laid down under the table and snoozed. It was actually kind of funny to see the look on the table of folks behind us (who came in afterwards) when they saw Sig come out from under the table when we went to leave. I don't think most folks can beleive a dog could behave like that -- especially not at 10 months!
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[Canadian John]

 That is one well behaved dog! Some very lucky and deserving person is going to have a helpful friend thanks to your help.

[Kristin Meredith]

 That is one well behaved dog! Some very lucky and deserving person is going to have a helpful friend thanks to your help.

Thanks. We shall see.  Only 45% of the pups born go on to become working guides.  There are several points in which Sig may chose a different path than a guide.  It is an interesting journey to undertake.

[Kristin Meredith]

Thought folks might enjoy this video of a recent GED graduate team.  You get to see a bit about daily life of a GEB guide.

https://www.newscenter1.tv/faces-in-the-crowd-pam-blossom/?fbclid=IwAR2IN2PogsoPHWcGmCWvoJXGR70Zi1iYpsxbuklnjwpKxLB6Az0AmH-HMag

[Kristin Meredith]

Hope folks aren't getting too bored with these videos, but I am constantly blown away at how much of the world a guide opens up for a blind handler.  Thie is Terry (handler) and Mac (guide) on a walk on a forest trail.  Terry wrote and sang the song accompanying the video.  It may be difficult to see everything Mac is doing.  Terry wore a camera around his neck to record.

They are walking forward on a rocky dirt path, obstructed by a large root, the walking slows down and then speeds back up again. The path turns to the left and begins to ascend upwards, you can see Mac on the left side, looking towards the left, right and forward as he guides Terry. They approach several large protruding roots, and the pace slows slightly as they navigate over them. The terrain is uneven, with many roots and rocks in the path, and Mac carefully guides Terry around them and sometimes stops to let Terry feel what is in front of him. The path turns to the right, and there is a large drop-off directly ahead; Mac keeps Terry on the narrow path that hugs the drop-off. A large fallen log blocks their path; they stop and Mac lets Terry know it is there and carefully guides Terry around it and continues on the dirt path. As they continue to ascend, you can see Mac looking ahead to guide Terry on a safe path as they climb.

Terry most likely could not have done this walk with a cane, but Mac gives him the freedom to participate more fully in life.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ismrl2VycUk&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0LQWM76x3Pvmovlc37nEhikEa7EoqUaPi6IZuUnBvkBZ9Uuso-Tmk3yOE

[Kristin Meredith]

In my continuing quest to work on things on Sigmund's head and getting him to tolerate it, I present -- Sigmund as Lawrence of Arabia!!!!
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