Suki, we've got him!

This morning when we left Ben Ami for Nahariya, it was quite early and for a change there was someone at the stoplights from Ben Ami who told Bracha when the light was green. That was better than the last time when the light changed when we were still in the middle of the road and we both got the heebie-jeebies! When are they ever going to put in that beeping stoplight they promised?
Anyway, when we were crossing I saw that there was a yellowish colored bus in the lane that turns into the hospital, so I trotted across and we walked quickly to the bus stop so we could catch the bus before it left. We got there in time, but it stopped far away from the curb and let passengers off, and the people who had been waiting at the bus stop had to run to the door to get on. So Bracha told me, "Suki, ladelet!" and I went into the road and up to the door. But the driver slammed the door shut and drove off. Bracha was so angry she stamped her foot and swore.

Soon another bus pulled up and we got on. The driver was very nice and a man got up and gave us the front seat. When we got to Nahariya Bracha stayed on the bus, and when the driver asked her if she wanted to go all the way to the station she said yes, she had a complaint to lodge in the bus company office. When the driver asked what had happened Bracha told him, and he got really angry. When we pulled into the station Bracha asked the driver what number the bus was that was parked in front of us, and he said it was the number 7. It was the same bus that had not stopped for us! And it had that different yellow color, too. So I knew that someone was going to get a good lashing!

When we got to the office there was a new, young man in charge, and Bracha told him what had happened. He took his time about doing things and tapped a lot on his computer keyboard. But Bracha insisted that she heard the bus turn the corner, and that she knew it was a city bus and not an intercity bus, and that it had arrived at 7:25. She also said the bus was a light yellow color, not orange like the rest of the busses.

Then the man tapped some more on his computer and found the driver of the bus, and called him. He claimed that there was no one at the bus stop, and that he hadn't stopped at the hospital stop because there had been a car there. Bracha got really angry and said that she had seen people get on and off and that there had been no car blocking the stop, and that the driver had just not wanted to take her because she had me along. See, these people don't understand that Bracha can see a bit, and that she was aware of what was going on! I think the driver was lying in order to avoid getting into trouble. Finally after we had been sitting there for the better part of an hour the man told Bracha he was new on the job and wanted to run things as well as possible. Bracha told him politely that she was not there to waste his time or hers, that she wasn't just making things up, and that either he gave her the name and number of the driver so she could report him, or she would lodge a complaint against the entire company office in Nahariya. Then the man gave her a piece of paper with the driver's name and number on it. "That's it, Suki," said Bracha. "We've got him. Let's go!" And we left.

So now that this is my blog and I am in charge here, I think it's important to note that Bracha and I have been together now for a half a year! On the morning of October 19 Ami brought me into Bracha's room at Beit Oved and we began our life together. The first three weeks were spent in the "hothouse" environment of Beit Oved, where we learned to work together. Ami was watching everything we did and was always walking behind us, so it wasn't like it is now where we have to make our own decisions. Sometimes Bracha would put a blindfold on and let me lead her without her seeing anything – just so she'd learn to trust me. After a few instances in which I stopped in front of advancing cars when we were in the middle of a driveway or the street, she was convinced that I would do my job.

I think Bracha knows me pretty well by now and I know her. She knows when I'm trying to get her to do something like walk in the direction of the train station or the pet store where I think we ought to be going, and I know just how far I can go with standing and insisting that we go where I want to before she gives me a hard and firm correction and reminds me who's boss. She also knows when to help me when I get skittery and see something that scares me, and then she never gets angry. Last week when I saw that old tire lying on the sidewalk in front of the garage in Ben Ami I stopped in my tracks. Bracha's friend told her there was an old tire on the sidewalk, so Bracha put down my leash and walked to the tire and put her foot on it just to show me it was harmless. I felt sort of silly, and walked up and sniffed it. Now I pass it by without even thinking about it. And I know that Bracha will always take good care of me because she put medicine on me and helped me get rid of my hot spot that itched and itched, and today I got a hold of a piece of wood in the yard and started chewing it, and a big piece got caught between my teeth. Moshe, the nice man who lives upstairs who owns the dog Shandy saw it, but he was scared to take it out. Bracha just reached into my mouth and popped it right out for me. I know she'll always take care of me and she knows I'll take care of her. So I reckon we've got a pretty good deal going for both of us.