There’s a long list of things my child self said I would do when I grew up. I wonder does that make me a grown up now that I've finally started to do one of them! I always wanted to train guide dogs for the blind. Somehow knowing that this was a voluntary responsibility I wouldn’t be paid for actually made me want to do it even more because as a child it made me worry that maybe not enough people are doing it.
Several months ago I registered my details on the website and when I got a phone call soon after it all began to feel very real. Somebody from Irish Guide Dogs came round to my home and just went over everything with me ensuring that I understood the responsibility involved as well as the suitability of my home. No matter how much he warned me that as puppies go it will be destructive and greedy for attention and it’ll piss and poo where you really don’t want it to all I kept thinking was “this is gonna be brilliant”.
It was several months before she arrived at my door, only a week after I got a phone call to see if I was still available to take one. I couldn’t keep myself from getting excited that day when she was due to arrive. I prepared her crate for her with some newspapers and bedlinen, I went out and bought her a couple puppy toys and I found an old teddy of mine to let her snuggle with as that night was going to be her first night without her family.
When I heard I would be the last to get a puppy and had to wait until the evening I had to find ways to distract myself. I took out my phone and began to switch off my brain with facebook. Then this popped up on my feed.
Distractions seemed impossible. As I waited I got a text to say they were on their way with a photograph of two of the pups. One gold and one black.
It was getting more and more real. When I saw the van with the golden lab puppy logo on the side pull in on my drive I started pacing from the kitchen to the living room and back trying to keep myself from rushing out like a 5 year old child! I waited as patiently as I could for them to come to the door and it honestly felt like forever. When I opened it, there she was, quiet as a lamb. I took her in my arms and tried to comfort her as she’d had a long day of travelling all the way from the UK.
We took her outside first to see if she would do any business but she just fumbled about clumsily. I can’t deny love at first sight. When it comes to puppies it is so real.
My first mission was just to play with her and help her settle in. I wasn’t really supposed to have her on the couch but what could I do I mean she’s just too cute!!!
So I played and cuddled with her all day and it wasn’t long before her true personality came out. She’s a boisterous confident girl who likes to cause trouble if she can’t have what she wants! She’s still in training so some mischief is to be expected. And you should see how big she has got in only 3 weeks!!
I leave her with a babysitter for the next week while I’m in Amsterdam so I’ll try not to be too surprised if she’s three times the size when I get back!
To be continued ...
