A Handler's Tale
Jun. 7th, 2009 01:12 pmIf you'd like to participate, visit www.servicedogstories.com/index.html.
Please read the short anecdote I composed and give me your thoughts.
The deadline is September 30th.
This piece is 664 words in length. Enjoy and please comment.
Not Just An Ordinary Dog
Big, black, and handsome is the boy who walks me to class everyday. He also stays glued to my side even if I tell him he can leave and shake the sleep from his bones. Yet he stays, even though the lecture brings him to Dreamland's doors. Not every soul is interested can be English composition. However, Jim is not just an ordinary boy. Actually, He's not even a boy at all, but a soul who waits with endless patience.
Stretched out on his side, he can be noted as a gentle giant, snoring gently as he dozes. At only two years of age, he carries the wisdom and love of a true friend and companion. Almost a year has passed since we became a team. July sixth brings his third birthday. Jim is my guide dog, a labrador poodle cross, a true example of a soul mate, a guardian, and a friend for life. Being alone is not an option anymore. I will not forget the beginning of our friendship and the beginning of a new chapter in my life. One particular moment will forever stay with me.
It was only a week after we graduated and officially became a team. I was visiting the Windy City just for kicks and to get Jim accustomed to my possible future home. Although Jim loved working the city, this would be a new experience for him and I. There were places to go and people to see. I wasn't alone, the prickling of anxiety did not accompany me on this trip. But, a bundle of new nerves kept me from breathing easier.
The day began as any ordinary day. The train ride from my town to Chicago was nothing other than than perfect. I met up with friends and ran my errands. Nothing went amiss. The bundle of nerves I had at the beginning of the day, digressed to only a sliver of worry. My confidence grew as the smile on my face went from ear to ear.
It started getting late as I finished my last trip. I realized that traveling with a dog guide was far greater than traveling with a cane or alone. Being a first time handler, however, I was ready to return home. The train station was just across the street. We were running late for the train and it would leave in a matter of ten minutes. One busy intersection separated us from our destination.
We approached the curb. No one was around. The day was almost spent and the street lamps were on. It was not rush hour and the vehicles around us were scarce and not as intimidating as before. There was no parallel traffic and the decision to cross was all my own. I did not hear a car approaching from either street, I gave Jim the "forward" command. We had crossed halfway when I felt a whoosh of air and was abruptly stopped and pulled back. A speeding car, quiet as the night, left us in its wake.
I stood there for a brief moment in the empty street, bewildered. An urgent tug from the harness reminded me that I wasn't out of danger. We crossed safely the rest of the way. Once on the sidewalk, I knelt and gave Jim the biggest hug. I almost started to cry. He didn't seem to mind and gave me a look that seemed to say, "don't worry, this is my job." Fortunately, after the ordeal, the train did not leave until we arrived and I was comfortably seated. As Jim started to snore at my feet, I reminisced of that fraction of time when he saved my life.
A dog guide is considered to be the soul mate of the individual being guided. The bond between handler and dog guide can not be described in words. For many years to come, I will forever and always be in debt to one particular big, black, and handsome canine