Suki and I will take no more Nonsense.

Not only was Suki feeling a bit off today, but it was one of those days spent listening to people complain and losing my temper. Suki had, for once, refused her dinner last night, probably having eaten, er, some avocado in the orchard. At least she had the sense to refrain from eating more. She was, however, happy, calm, and tail wagging when we set out, and I firmly gave her a good pull when she tried to stall on the road.

However, it seemed that the bus driver would have preferred that we stay home. He began with the usual nonsense of "Put a muzzle on your dog", to which I answered the usual defense, explaining politely that this was a guide dog and did not require a muzzle on the bus. The driver launched into a full-fledged tirade of how my dog smelled (which she does not) and why does HE have to put up with that? And now she's in the aisle, and look what a mess we make. It was at this point that I lost it. I told him I refused to be treated with disrespect, that I had no intention of staying home, and that I had a right to ride the bus like anyone else. I also told him my dog smelled better than a lot of people who ride the bus…"This dog is my eyes," I yelled. "Would you leave your eyes at home?"

When we reached Nahariya it seemed that he had calmed down a bit and realized he'd gone a bit too far, politely leaving me off at the curb at the bus station. I however, decided not to relent and marched to the office of the bus company, where I lodged a complaint. I told the man in charge that the drivers needed a good sound educational lecture about guide dogs on busses and that blind people deserve to be treated with respect and not shouted at. The driver, who had shown up after seeing me outside the office, attempted to minimize his remarks and defend himself by saying that I had been the one to start shouting, but at this point I was no longer willing to back down. "I refuse to put up with this every morning when I get on the bus," I explained. "I've had enough of this." The man agreed and promised to do something about telling all the drivers on that line. Let's see if it works.

Suki and I then walked to the clinic, where the receptionist began to tell me that dogs were not allowed, but then apologized because she had not seen Suki's harness from behind her station and had seen only her tail. The doctor, however, was enthralled with Suki, and asked me lots of questions about her and how I got her and worked with her. One thing is for sure: Suki and I will take no more nonsense.