I Love an Audience!

Hi Friend!

Riding in the car can be awkward!

My mom and I had an adventure a few weeks ago that I really want to tell you about! As you know, my mom’s eyes don’t work very well. I never notice, because she seems perfectly fine to me. But I’ve heard people say that she needs to see a special doctor about her eyes. I understand this pretty well, because I have had my eyes checked out lots of times to be sure they are super. My mom says I’ll even be seeing an animal ophthalmologist once we get settled somewhere. My eyes have to be checked to be sure I can work well.

Anyway, my mom and her mom took me for a really long car ride. We stopped at this yummy smelling place on the way where my mom and her mom ate and talked. I was a good girl, although I really wanted a breadstick. Then we drove a little bit more until we reached a big parking garage. We walked into a huge building with lots of hallways and rooms. We even took an escalator, which I’m pretty good at. My mom says we were at the hospital. I think that’s like the vet for people.

We walked into this tiny waiting area where a lady kindly greeted us from her desk. She had a super excited voice and acted as if she knew I was coming! Gosh, everyone knows me! Everyone loves me! I’m so awesome! Apparently this lady helps my mom’s doctor with his work. The lady wanted to pet me but knew she couldn’t when she saw my harness. I really wanted her to break the rules. She seemed really nice!

We sat in the room for a little bit. Then, a doctor with really curly hair called my mom’s name. We went into another room, but this one was way smaller. I had to be kind of creative on how to sit without bumping into stuff. The curly-haired man kept dimming and brightening the lights and asking my mom to read stuff. She’s really smart. I’m sure she must know all of her ABC’s. But she couldn’t read them all. Actually, she could only read a couple really big letters. I wanted to help, but they didn’t teach me my ABC’s at The Seeing Eye. My mom was really calm. I think she’s done this before.

We went back to the waiting area again. Then, they called my mom’s name again. Back we went into the tiny room. I knew what to do this time, so I sprawled out on the floor and relaxed. This time, there was another man, kind of a tall one, in the room besides the curly-haired one. This tall man seemed to know my mom really well. He asked her some questions about me and how we trained together.

I think my mom thought the tall man was going to dim and brighten the lights to look at her eyes again. But he didn’t. He asked all the other people working at this place to come into the tiny room. The tiny room got even smaller, but I didn’t mind. I love an audience!

The tall man asked my mom all kinds of questions, some of the same ones as before but also some new ones, all about our training. My mom explained to the group how I became a Seeing Eye Dog, what our training looked like, how I help my mom, about her vision, and about her going to law school. The tall man said that my mom was good at speaking, which I agreed. I’m glad he didn’t ask me any questions, because I am not even allowed to bark to reply.

I’m fairly certain the tall man didn’t know much about dogs. He looked like a smart guy, but he asked the silliest question ever. My mom said something about praising me when I’m good, and he asked, “How do you praise her?” My mom wasn’t quite sure what to say, but she talked about scratching my ears and telling me that I’m a good girl. She forgot to say that praise is also when she rubs under my chin. That’s my favorite.

After a long time, the people left the room so the tall man could look at my mom’s eyes. Like I had thought before, he dimmed and brightened the lights. My mom still didn’t do very well at reading the letters, but she still didn’t seem to mind. The tall man said she should come back every year to see him. I’m glad. I enjoyed all of the attention!

I really liked this place. Most of all, I really liked that everyone wanted to know about me and my work. Even dogs need reminding that we are important. I’m not sure what all other dogs do all day, but I can’t imagine not working. I love working! I also love it that my mom gets to tell people about my job. I think she likes me and is proud of what I do. I’m proud of our team and hope we get more chances to share about our adventures.

Before I go, I want to thank everyone who has liked our Facebook page or followed us on Twitter. I really appreciate it! Be sure to invite your friends to be my friends. I want everyone to be my friend!

Lovingly Yours,

Renee the Seeing Eye Dog