I love the beach. I just can't get enough of it. Bracha says she wished she could get a picture of me jumping over the waves, which I now have down to a technique. As soon as I see one coming I get ready and then leap over it. Sometimes they catch me by surprise and I get underneath them, but I pop out right away and keep swimming. I'd stay in all day but Bracha pulls me out before I get too tired, and then we sit on the beach and I look out at the moving water. Today even the life guard came up and petted me and said he watches me in the water. But I know I have to watch Bracha. I don't trust anyone else! he said I was a beautiful dog. And that was when I was all wet and covered with sand!
When we got home today a man called from the company that runs the supermarket where they tried to make us leave last week. . he was very pleasant and said that he knew the law. He even trains a blind golf champion! He told Bracha that they were going to inform all their staff and workers that guide dogs were allowed in the supermarket, and that they would send Bracha a gift and a letter. Bracha said the best gift would be going into the store without being hassled.
And now I have real news! We are going on vacation! We're going to a hotel and there will be a lot of other guide dogs there! Even Liron and Petel will be there, and we will even get to share a room together! And I think Bracha has bought some new toys and surprises for Petel and me so that we will have a good time, too! I promise to be good on vacation and not get into mischief. I admit I did the following things in the past two days:
I got up on the table and ate the cat's food again.
I got into a mud puddle and got really dirty on our walk, and Bracha had to shampoo me again.
And yesterday I found some food in the orchard and didn't come back when Bracha called me. I was too busy eating. Yep, I got yelled at, and I deserved it. And now I'm not going to be let off leash all week because Bracha wants me clean and nice to go to Tel Aviv and on vacation. I guess I was wrong. But you know me when it comes to food...
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Hot Paws and Hot Tempers
There certainly seem to be a lot of people around who don't like me. Or who are just ignorant. Every store we walked into this morning had someone in the doorway who didn't like my going in. Bracha brushed off the first guard in the clothing store who told her I wasn't allowed, and a woman from the cash register called to him to stop bothering her, and he scuttled away with, "I just said that without thinking..." Bracha agreed with him.
But the big supermarket was something else. We went inside to get out of the heat and stand quietly in the entrance to wait for Bracha's friend to drive us home. And the guard starts up with the usual stuff about no dogs allowed. Bracha told him he was wrong.
"The manager says that it's forbidden."
Ah, the manager says so?? Than bring me the manager please, says Bracha. And up he comes.
"Sorry, but the Ministry of Health has a law that no dogs are allowed in stores where there is food being sold."
Bracha got out her little card with the law on it. She explained that he was wrong and that guide dogs are allowed everywhere. Including in food stores. But the man didn't even want to read the law. Then Bracha got really angry. I think she'd had enough from the other day in the clothing store and oh, yes, there was also the security guard at the train station who told her I needed a muzzle. Just exactly how much of this crap Bracha is willing to put up with without really losing it is well, I soon found out because Bracha really lost it. She told him that he was wrong, that not letting a blind person into the store to shop was against the law and punishable by a ten thousand Shekel fine, and that as manager it was a disgrace that he did not know the law. "I expect to be greeted here with hello and good morning just like every other customer," she yelled. He then snidely said good morning. I think Bracha is going to contact the company and complain. Soon customers were coming over to tell Bracha she was right, ask her if she needed help, and to ask to pet me. I lay down on the air conditioned cool floor and went to sleep. But I did notice that when I looked up at the ceiling there were birds flying around, and bracha kept swatting at flies that were landing on her. So why was this manager so concerned about me with the food? I don't make dirt in the store. WEhy are the birds and flies allowed but me no? I just don't get it!
But the big supermarket was something else. We went inside to get out of the heat and stand quietly in the entrance to wait for Bracha's friend to drive us home. And the guard starts up with the usual stuff about no dogs allowed. Bracha told him he was wrong.
"The manager says that it's forbidden."
Ah, the manager says so?? Than bring me the manager please, says Bracha. And up he comes.
"Sorry, but the Ministry of Health has a law that no dogs are allowed in stores where there is food being sold."
Bracha got out her little card with the law on it. She explained that he was wrong and that guide dogs are allowed everywhere. Including in food stores. But the man didn't even want to read the law. Then Bracha got really angry. I think she'd had enough from the other day in the clothing store and oh, yes, there was also the security guard at the train station who told her I needed a muzzle. Just exactly how much of this crap Bracha is willing to put up with without really losing it is well, I soon found out because Bracha really lost it. She told him that he was wrong, that not letting a blind person into the store to shop was against the law and punishable by a ten thousand Shekel fine, and that as manager it was a disgrace that he did not know the law. "I expect to be greeted here with hello and good morning just like every other customer," she yelled. He then snidely said good morning. I think Bracha is going to contact the company and complain. Soon customers were coming over to tell Bracha she was right, ask her if she needed help, and to ask to pet me. I lay down on the air conditioned cool floor and went to sleep. But I did notice that when I looked up at the ceiling there were birds flying around, and bracha kept swatting at flies that were landing on her. So why was this manager so concerned about me with the food? I don't make dirt in the store. WEhy are the birds and flies allowed but me no? I just don't get it!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Hey, Geveret!
Boy, is it hot! I can't seem to get up the energy to do anything except sleep all day. Even Nuala, who usually likes being outdoors, has found that the floor in the bedroom is cooler and goes in there to sleep most of the day, too. I pester Bracha to give me ice whenever I can, and she always seems to be making more and more of it. And when we are in town I'm awfully glad to have my shoes. The sidewalk is so hot that even trotting along is uncomfortable, and standing at the corner waiting for the light to change makes me prance about.
I pulled Bracha over to the edge of the sidewalk where the doors to the stores are. IT's shady over there and there is always cold air blowing out. For once she didn't make me go back in the center of the sidewalk again and decided to go into one of the stores and started looking at clothes. Hooray! Cool air! I'd just settled down on the nice cool floor when it came.
"Allo, Giveret!"
Here we go again.
"Excuse me," says Bracha with deliberate casualness. "Are you talking to me?"
"You can't bring a dog in here."
"She's a guide dog for the blind."
"I don't care. It's forbidden."
Bracha got me up and marched over to the counter. This was no sales person. This was the store owner. She whipped out the little card with the law written on it and presented it to him. "If you don't let me shop here because I don't see and have a guide dog with me, you are discriminating against me. Here's the law. You're welcome to read it."
The owner insisted. "But what if she ruins something in the store?"
"She won't."
"Yes, but what if…"
"She won't damage anything. People damage things, but my dog won't." Bracha didn't stay to listen. She marched through the entire store, pretending to look at the clothes. Then she walked right past the counter again, said thank you politely to the owner, and marched out the door. I was glad she didn't buy anything in there. Why should she give that man her business when he doesn't want me in his store? I have a feeling she won't go in there again. Boy, if we had a Shekel for every time someone says I'm not allowed somewhere, we'd have enough money to buy me a new Kong!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Children
It's hard for me to understand why children are so different. They are small and to them I must seem as big as a horse would seem to an adult. But they are as different as different kinds of dogs. Some are nice and some are not.
Yesterday we headed for town in a taxi with the nice driver who patted my head and called me by name all the way. And when we got to the clinic a man in a white coat gave me water and petted me a lot. Then we went to the pool. Boy, was Bracha angry when the life guard started up with the schpiel of my not being allowed in the pool.
"She's a guide dog..." and the usual polite explanations.
"I don't care what kind of dog she is. I didn't make up the rules."
Bracha grew impatient. I think she was hot and wanted to get into the water and resented being stopped and told she was not allowed to bring me into the pool again and again.
"No, you didn't make up the rules. The Knesset did. Guide dogs are allowed in the pool. Go ask the manager. I've been coming here for months with my dog. I'm tired of being told to leave. It's very unpleasant and I'd like to be able to come here and swim without being hassled."
He retreated and no more was said. Bracha swam and went to the office and complained to the manager, who explained that this life guard was new.
"It would be nice if you informed every new lifegard that my dog is allowed here. It's very upsetting to be told again and again that I'm not allowed to bring my dog in here whenever there is a new employee." We'll see if he bothers to do that.
And then, as promised, Bracha took me out through the snack bar to the beach. And what a racket. Kids started screaming in there as if there were a ferocious lion on the loose. "A dog! Look at that huge dog! Yikes!" And all I did was walk past them in my harness.
But the kids on the beach were different. They came up to me in the water and started petting me. They got so close to us swimming that Bracha had to tell them to keep back a bit because when I swim my claws get, well, a bit dangerous and wild in the water and I might accidently hurt someone or rip one of those inflatable toys kids like to use. But they liked me an awful lot. They made me feel good after those kids in the snack bar that screamed when I came near.
I guess the kids who like me learned from the adults who like me, and those who don't learned from the adults who are afraid of me and yell, too. And I also don't understand how Bracha sometimes makes the water at the beach into those big waves and sometimes it's smooth and flat. Maybe it has to do with her making water into ice cubes. Or anything else that I like.
Yesterday we headed for town in a taxi with the nice driver who patted my head and called me by name all the way. And when we got to the clinic a man in a white coat gave me water and petted me a lot. Then we went to the pool. Boy, was Bracha angry when the life guard started up with the schpiel of my not being allowed in the pool.
"She's a guide dog..." and the usual polite explanations.
"I don't care what kind of dog she is. I didn't make up the rules."
Bracha grew impatient. I think she was hot and wanted to get into the water and resented being stopped and told she was not allowed to bring me into the pool again and again.
"No, you didn't make up the rules. The Knesset did. Guide dogs are allowed in the pool. Go ask the manager. I've been coming here for months with my dog. I'm tired of being told to leave. It's very unpleasant and I'd like to be able to come here and swim without being hassled."
He retreated and no more was said. Bracha swam and went to the office and complained to the manager, who explained that this life guard was new.
"It would be nice if you informed every new lifegard that my dog is allowed here. It's very upsetting to be told again and again that I'm not allowed to bring my dog in here whenever there is a new employee." We'll see if he bothers to do that.
And then, as promised, Bracha took me out through the snack bar to the beach. And what a racket. Kids started screaming in there as if there were a ferocious lion on the loose. "A dog! Look at that huge dog! Yikes!" And all I did was walk past them in my harness.
But the kids on the beach were different. They came up to me in the water and started petting me. They got so close to us swimming that Bracha had to tell them to keep back a bit because when I swim my claws get, well, a bit dangerous and wild in the water and I might accidently hurt someone or rip one of those inflatable toys kids like to use. But they liked me an awful lot. They made me feel good after those kids in the snack bar that screamed when I came near.
I guess the kids who like me learned from the adults who like me, and those who don't learned from the adults who are afraid of me and yell, too. And I also don't understand how Bracha sometimes makes the water at the beach into those big waves and sometimes it's smooth and flat. Maybe it has to do with her making water into ice cubes. Or anything else that I like.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Lots of Work Left to Do
We had an exciting afternoon yesterday when we went to Haifa to sit at a booth in a shopping mall and explain to people about guide dogs. When we first got to the mall Bracha went into the big Super - Pharm. Funny that we were on an outing to promote awareness but soon the nonsense started. Suddenly a woman came up to Bracha and told her she was not allowed to bring me into the drug store.
"This is a guide dog," explains Bracha. You're wrong. She's allowed everywhere by law."
"I don't care waht kind of dog it is," the woman replies. "There's a pharmacy here." Evidently she thought that I might contaminate the medicine or something. Little does she know that I've even been inside hospitals!
"Yes, thank you, I know..." repliesBracha. "And I want to buy something there." She just turned her back on the woman, and on we marched right past her.
When we first got to the booth I was pretty anxious because the booth next to us was a booth belonging to some people who trained dogs. They had several dogs there. One was even lying on top of the table! But I soon got to know them and we were soon all wagging our tails and getting acquainted. And then Adi showed up with Yuni! I was delighted to see her and we did more than a bit of romping under the table until Bracha and Adi settled us down.
I guess that being on display is not so bad. Lots of children and adults came by and petted me all the time, and I just lay on the floor and let them pet me all afternoon. Soon it was time to go, and we made our way through the huge mall to the bus stop.
Well, it seems that Bracha is going to have to sit with me at a lot more booths and do a lot more explaining. As soon as we got onto the bus to Nahariya the driver reached out to pet me and say hello. A woman started up that I needed to have a muzzle, and for once the driver sided with us and told her firmly that I was a guide dog and needed no muzzle. And another woman started yelling at Bracha saying that she didn't feel she needed to "suffer" having a dog on the bus with her. I waited for Bracha to come up with one of her stinging comments. Sure enough:
"I'm terribly sorry you're suffering from my dog. She's my eyes. Why do I have to suffer your shouting?"
Then the other passengers all chimed in and told the woman she had a lot of nerve talking to Bracha that way. Couldn't she see that I was a guide dog? How inconsiderate and thoughtless. The woman shut up right away and we sat down. I guess we have a lot of work left to do.
"This is a guide dog," explains Bracha. You're wrong. She's allowed everywhere by law."
"I don't care waht kind of dog it is," the woman replies. "There's a pharmacy here." Evidently she thought that I might contaminate the medicine or something. Little does she know that I've even been inside hospitals!
"Yes, thank you, I know..." repliesBracha. "And I want to buy something there." She just turned her back on the woman, and on we marched right past her.
When we first got to the booth I was pretty anxious because the booth next to us was a booth belonging to some people who trained dogs. They had several dogs there. One was even lying on top of the table! But I soon got to know them and we were soon all wagging our tails and getting acquainted. And then Adi showed up with Yuni! I was delighted to see her and we did more than a bit of romping under the table until Bracha and Adi settled us down.
I guess that being on display is not so bad. Lots of children and adults came by and petted me all the time, and I just lay on the floor and let them pet me all afternoon. Soon it was time to go, and we made our way through the huge mall to the bus stop.
Well, it seems that Bracha is going to have to sit with me at a lot more booths and do a lot more explaining. As soon as we got onto the bus to Nahariya the driver reached out to pet me and say hello. A woman started up that I needed to have a muzzle, and for once the driver sided with us and told her firmly that I was a guide dog and needed no muzzle. And another woman started yelling at Bracha saying that she didn't feel she needed to "suffer" having a dog on the bus with her. I waited for Bracha to come up with one of her stinging comments. Sure enough:
"I'm terribly sorry you're suffering from my dog. She's my eyes. Why do I have to suffer your shouting?"
Then the other passengers all chimed in and told the woman she had a lot of nerve talking to Bracha that way. Couldn't she see that I was a guide dog? How inconsiderate and thoughtless. The woman shut up right away and we sat down. I guess we have a lot of work left to do.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Strange Conversations
I had to deal with my disappointment today when we went into the pool and I knew I was going to be standing by the water looking longingly into the blue depths wishing I could go in. I was good though - I only barked once and stood quietly the rest of the time. So it was quite surprising when we got back into the dressing room and Bracha tied my leash to the bench and went to go to take a shower and the woman near us pipes up..
"I'm sorry," she says primly. "But I'm not willing to share MY space with a dog."
I eagerly waited to see what Bracha would come up with this time.
"It's my space, to. This is a guide dog and she's allowed in here." That was it. No more hassle. The other women, of course, joined in and I could hear comments such as "It's a guide dog," and "She explained to her," etc. How very rude people can be.
Sitting in the doctor's office, the doctor started chatting with Bracha and said he had adopted four dogs! He must really like dogs and I know he really likes me because he's always happy to see me. he explained that he'd brought a puppy home and it had large paws. Why are his paws so large? Is that usual? Bracha laughed and said he'd better be ready to have a dog about the size of me. Bracha also said that I weighed about 35 kilo. I think I've slimmed down a bit over the summer and I certainly have a lot less fur. Thank goodness! They've invented a new term: extreme heat!
"I'm sorry," she says primly. "But I'm not willing to share MY space with a dog."
I eagerly waited to see what Bracha would come up with this time.
"It's my space, to. This is a guide dog and she's allowed in here." That was it. No more hassle. The other women, of course, joined in and I could hear comments such as "It's a guide dog," and "She explained to her," etc. How very rude people can be.
Sitting in the doctor's office, the doctor started chatting with Bracha and said he had adopted four dogs! He must really like dogs and I know he really likes me because he's always happy to see me. he explained that he'd brought a puppy home and it had large paws. Why are his paws so large? Is that usual? Bracha laughed and said he'd better be ready to have a dog about the size of me. Bracha also said that I weighed about 35 kilo. I think I've slimmed down a bit over the summer and I certainly have a lot less fur. Thank goodness! They've invented a new term: extreme heat!
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