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!