After spending the dogs, we all met at the van and
with the trainer at the wheel we set off to a location nearby ─ it looked a
nice area. I went out with the trainer first and after a short walk we came to
some shops and I noted that one of them was a cafe. We went in the café and
found an empty table near the window. Ishka immediately disappeared under the
chairs. Oh yes, I wondered how many cafes Ishka has been in because you could
see that she was no novice and knew exactly what she doing. The trainer went to
get me a fruit drink and then told me that she was going to fetch Simon and his
guide dog, Ascot.
Ishka attracted a lot of attention from the other
customers who asked if they could stroke her while others asked me what it was
like having a guide dog. I explained that it was early days for me to answer
that question as I was on a guide dog training course ─ throughout all this.
Ishka behaved very well and I was proud of her. It was not long before Simon
and Ascot arrived and after bringing a drink over for Simon the trainer set off
to fetch Kevin and his guide dog, Danny. Once again, some of the customers
started to come over asking if they can stroke the guide dogs.
Eventually, Kevin and Danny arrived and now it was
time for Ishka and me to depart ─ we walked along the street and eventually
arrived back at the van, I really enjoyed that walk. When the others arrived
back, we returned to the hotel for a light lunch.
In the afternoon we did some off kerb obstacle
training, this is when a guide dog cannot get their owner safely round an
obstruction while on the pavement and so means going on to the road which could
be dangerous for the owner and guide dog. Situations like this could happen
when there are some road works, or a car parked on a pavement or a group of
wheelie bins. The trainer had set up some barriers which forced the guide dog
to take their owner on to the road ─ it was simple but clever.
