Tish's post about meeting a service dog a couple of days ago, reminded me of an amsuing story from my days in college.
I can't recall the name of the class I was taking, but it was taught by two professors. One of the two was legally blind and had a service dog who helped him around. On the first day of class, he got up and told us this and then went over the commonly asked questions about the dog.
First of all, we weren't allowed to pet the dog or give her any treats. She'd had a lot of training to convince her that she enjoyed working and helping him out, but he knew it wouldn't take much to convince her that there was a whole other lifestyle out there other than leading him around. He also went on to tell us that we could call her "Fang" which wasn't her real name. He wouldn't reveal her real name to us because, as he put it, "what if I'm out crossing Cumberland Avenue (the world-famous Strip for those of you not familiar with UT) and you call out 'Hey Fang!' as you drive by me. And Fang stops to look up and around for you and there I am stuck in traffic in the middle of the Cumberland Avenue and my whole life flashing before my eyes. And since I'm blind, there wouldn't really be much to see!"
Anyway, Tish's entry reminded me of that and it brought a good memory to mind and a smile to my face...
Labels: August happiness challenge
posted by Michael Hickerson at 8/19/2008 03:56:00 PM |
|
