School Again

Bracha took me to school again. This was a special school that had little buildings for classrooms, and they even had a round classroom that was very special. But I enjoyed it all because I got a lot of attention and petting. Larry and a new friend, Tommy, also came, and the three of us were very impressive. Then Bracha and I had to get up in front of all the children and walk through the obstacle course. I'm not sure why we do this: I already know how to walk an obstacle course and things that are much harder. But Bracha and Eli insisted, so I walked through, even did it again for the second group of children. but when Bracha commanded me to turn around and walk back through it again the other way, I just couldn't figure it out. I thought she had made a mistake and I'd better turn her around and keep going in the same direction and besides, I was getting a little tired of it. And to make things even more difficult there was a cat that kept appearing on the edge of the lawn. Well, Bracha didn't like the fact that I was told to go forward through the obstacle course again and I decided to stand still!
"You stubborn golden retriever! Kadima! This isn't the time for stubbornness!"
Oh, there was that cat again. I stood my ground.
"Psssst, Suki, Kadima!" Bracha meant business. There were 150 children watching us and I was supposed to make a good impression of an obedient and dependable guide dog, so I decided that fun and distraction would have to be reconciled for the sake of publicity, so I went back through the obstacle course again. What do they think I am? A newly trained dog?
Well, I guess it was worth it. At the end they gave me a little bag of treats with a note that said "Suki, you are a wonderful and excellent guide dog." I was so happy! They even gave Bracha some home-baked cookies too because they knew she could not eat mine.
The only thing I regret about this visit is that when they took us on the tour of the community and showed us the lovely lake with the little bridge over it and the green lawn next to it, I was not allowed to go for a swim! It would have been paradise! But when Bracha and I stood on the little bridge she looked down and petted me and I knew she was thinking that if she could, she would have let me off leash right then and there!

A Day with my Best Friend Petel

I've met a lot of dogs and Nuala and I are always happy together, but I think of all the guide dogs Petel is my best friend. We were together at Beit Oved in the same cage and ever since then we get all excited every time we see each other.

Today we got on a bus and went into Nahariya to the train station and Bracha told me Petel was coming and to help her find her and Liron when they got off the train. Bracha woke me up when the train pulled into the station and I stood up on the platform, shook myself, and looked for Petel. Sure enough, there she was as Bracha had promised! We did the usual jumping about until we got out of the station and started walking down the street - all the way to the beach!
Well, you can't imagine how excited I was! To go to the beach and have Petel there too! At first she was a bit scared of going in, but once she saw how much fun I was having she got in the water as well. When we were both good and worn out Bracha and Liron washed us off and we walked down to a restaurant, where we were quite content to rest under the table. This is an especially nice restaurant where the waiters and waitresses treat guide dogs and their owners really nicely, helping with the menu, making suggestions, and offering us dogs water. After that we got on the bus and went back to Ben Ami.

For once I was pretty tired running through the field, but I was happy just strolling along with Petel and Nuala. Petel doesn't have such nice places to walk in Tel Aviv, and I think she was happy in such a big open place where there were no cars. And all too soon it was time for Petel and Liron to get in a taxi and go home. I lay on my rug, a bit sad, but more tired out than anything. And I know Petel will come visit me again. After all, I did share my rope toys and my treats, and I know Bracha was poud of me.

Home Alooooone

I hate being left home alone. Yesterday when Bracha clipped me on my chain to my place on my little rug and left me a kong with peanut butter and a bowl of water and a bone I knew something was up her sleeve, and as soon as she shut the door I started barking. I just don't like it when Bracha goes off without me. but I know sometimes I'm better off at home. What fun is it for me to sit under the table a dinner surrounded by lots of smells of food that I can't have anyway? I guess she's right. But I still don't like it. And I think she has plans to leave me home next week and not take me to the turkey dinner with her friends. It would be so tempting for me smelling that roast turkey all evening (though Bracha is a vegetarian and can't stand it).

But I do get to go to the pool and we are doing very well there. I have my own little place where Bracha clips my leash and I can watch her swim and take a drink of water from my bowl whenever I want. And no one objects to my being there! Today for the first time the life guard came up and asked if he could ask a question. "Do you have permission to bring your dog here?" Bracha answered politely that I'm a guide dog and don't need any permission - I already have permission from the Knesset. So there.

Now it's already the end of November but it's still summer. And Bracha has promised me that we are going to the beach again on Sunday - perhaps even with Petel! Hooray! I want it to be summer all year round!

Meeting the Minister of Well Fare

Today Bracha took me to Haifa to stand in a demonstration with the rehabilitation teachers and meet the Minister of Well Fair. Now, I don't quite understand why he's called the Minister of Well Fair because he doesn't seem to be doing things well, and what he is doing is not fair. But he's a politician and politicians are never quite honest.

We stood there waiting for a while and finally the Minister Herzog arrived. He shook hands with everyone there, including Bracha. Some of the teachers began accosting him and telling him he had better get some money together and pay their salaries so they could go back to work. Sometimes they argued and when that happened it was sort of like a lot of dogs barking all at once - nobody hearing anyone else. Then things quieted down and Bracha told him that she did not approve of outsourcing services that should be provided by the government, and he attempted to brush her off, saying that that had been 30 years ago, but Bracha said that didn't mean things couldn't be made right and that the government had to be responsible for tending to all its citizens. He did stay to talk with us and everyone was pleased that he had stayed to listen. . Then he went inside to do whatever ministers do inside.

There were some other exciting people there in addition to the minister, though. We met a lot of other rehabilitation teachers and a man whose name was Ilan who has a guide dog called Rio, whom I made friends with right away. Ilan cannot see or hear, and he is a very special because he is determined to communicate to people despite the fact that he cannot see or hear, and knows how to use a computer that does everything he needs to communicate with people. He whipped out a tiny laptop out of his bag and showed Bracha the tiny screen and braille keyboard. Evidently he's a real whiz, but I could not understand what Bracha said to him because Shosh and his rehabilitation teacher showed Bracha how to communicate with him by writing on his hand. Bracha got his email address and will write to him. When the minister met him he shook his hand and Ilan's teacher later explained to him that he had shaken hands with the minister, and explained to Herzog that Ilan could not speak to him or hear him and that she was his teacher and he and a lot of other people needed her help. And if that doesn't convince the minister of well fair that he had better solve the problem, I don't know what will.

We Won!

I could tell that when we got into the room where the meeting of the Aguda was being held that everyone was excited. There were, as usual, dozens of dogs there, but of course the only one I paid any attention to was Petel. She and I lay on the floor in the aisle licking and pawing at each other. She is, really, my best friend among all the guide dogs.

Anyway, for the past two weeks all I have seen Bracha do is sit with a phone held to one ear. Sometimes she would talk on one and the other one would ring as well. She called this "camp Ayning". I don't know what this has to do with camping, but it sure requires a lot of talking on the phone and writing at the computer.

Well, I soon figured out what was going on. There were about 14 people who wanted to camp ayn like Bracha and her friends and be elected to the board, and soon each one of them got up to talk. Bracha stood up and talked to all the people and I could tell she was excited and happy. A lot of people yelled and whistled when she was through so I guess they liked what she had to say. When she sat down again I jumped up and put my paws in her lap to show her I was excited, too. Then all the people started going out to vote and the excitement got higher and higher.

Finally, after we had eaten some sandwiches outside (I admit to helping to clean up the floor) everyone went in to hear the results. Bracha and I went to stand with Adi, Guy, Benny, Erez, and all the other people who had been campaigning together and they started reading off names, but they didn't call Bracha's name, or Adi's, or Benny's or Erez's or Guy's name until the very last. That meant they had gotten the most votes and they had won. Then everyone started screaming and hugging and I jumped up on Bracha because I was so excited, too.

So now Bracha is on the executive board! And if Benny, Guy, Adi, and Erez are on the executive board, than, well, naturally, Turner, Alice, Lady, and Yuni and I are, too. We promise to do a good job! And we will sit under the table quietly at meetings, and oh yes, clean up the cookie crumbs.

It's a Long Way Off

Now, I know it's a long way off. But Bracha talked to me about my retirement when I finish working. I think the reason she had it on her mind was because she talked to two other women. One of them had a dog who worked until she was 14 and went on to the place where guide doggies go. Another is still working and he's 11! She doesn't believe in retiring dogs at all!

Now, I guess it's nice to be with your owner but I can't imagine that I'll have the energy when I'm old to go running around the way Bracha and I do. Today, for example, we got lost in the suburb of Yoseftal going to the clinic. Bracha thought it would be nicer for us to walk through the neighborhood rather than along the highway, but we took a wrong turn and soon we were exploring new streets where we had never been before. It took us almost an hour to get there, and I had to work hard all the way.

The other woman Bracha talked to was just about to retire her dog. She was not seeing well and could no longer work as a guide dog , and they had a little apartment and could not keep two large dogs. They were going to give the retired dog to a family who would give her a loving home, but it would be far away. The new family was about to come see her and decide whether or not to take her and give her a new home.

Now I'm not sure I like the sound of this either. Go live with someone else? Work hard all my life until I can't work any more? But Bracha got down on the floor next to me like she does when we have to have a really serious talk. And she told me something wonderful. She has two dogs now. Before she had three. So there would always be room for me here - even if I have to retire and Bracha gets another dog to help her get around. I can live a life of leisure when I retire years and years from now. And I will always live here with her. We have plenty of room. She will never give me away ever. That made me so happy that I just licked her face and closed my eyes and sighed and went back to sleep. And what was that about going to the beach for a run tomorrow?

But why am I wondering about these things now? I'm going to be three in another month and a half! I have lots and lots of years to work yet!

It's Hard to Believe

One year ago - leaving Beit Oved and coming home for the first time!
It's hard to believe, but it's been a whole year since Bracha and I came home from Beit Oved together and she led me into the house for the first time. I was more than a bit skittery - er, a bit thinner than I am now because I was pretty stressed out from three weeks of getting to know Bracha and working hard on the course every day. But I felt sure that I would be in good hands - even when Saoirse and Nuala and all the other dogs barked and ran out at me for the first time.

At first Bracha was scared even to open the front door. She was afraid I'd run away! And I was more than a bit scared of going out alone as well. All those dogs outside! The first time I got off leash outdoors and dashed off she was terrified. But I came back, of course. Today Bracha even lets me stay outside without her being there with me. I love to lay on the patio in the sun or even on the lawn, and I admit I occasionally wander off, but Bracha never really worries when I meander into the orchard a bit. She knows that when she blows her whistle I'll come back. So I think we've come a long way.

And for all Bracha complains about people who hassle us, there is a place where she doesn't like to go too much but I love it. It's the dental clinic. Kids are always crying there and the adults don't seem to feel very happy there either. But the moment Bracha and I walk in there the entire place goes crazy. The secretaries come out from behind their desks. The doctors and nurses come out of the little treatment rooms, and everyone is calling me, wanting to give me water, and pet me. And that makes Bracha forget that she has to have her teeth taken care of and makes her happy. And that reminds me, I have to remind her to buy me some more toothpaste!

Who says dogs don't remember?

Last night when Bracha took me out into the yard to throw my rope toy around it was almost dark. I had a great time running after my toy and bringing it back to Bracha and dropping it so that she'd throw it again. And when we were through playing I threw my head back happily and the rope sailed out of my mouth into the garden. But it was dark and we couldn't find it.

"No matter," said Bracha. "Come in and eat and we'll find it tomorrow."

So this morning after we got back from the pool we went outside again. Bracha asked me, "Suki, ayfo hachevel? Where's your rope"

Well, what else did she expect me to do except fish it out from among the bushes where it had been lying since last night? After all I remembered where it fell.

Now, a word about going to the new pool. Strange how the man in charge was so upset about my coming into the pool. He was afraid I'd attack someone, or that customers would leave the pool and hurt his business. But everyone loves me there. Even the life guard asks if he can pet me and sees how I watch Bracha in the water constantly and lie quietly. And people are always asking Bracha about me and admiring me. Funny, it doesn't seem like anyone there has a problem with my being there except the manager.

And hey, we're running for office! Bracha is running for the board of the Israeli Guide Dog Users! And if she's running, well, so am I! I want them to vote for us! We'll make sure no one ever throws us out of anywhere again!