Dog Proofing not Proofreading: The Best Guide Dog in the World

Doggy Blog 3

So THAT’s what she looks like. My new keeper. Must admit to being a bit scared now by all that lipstick. Too many kisses with that stuff on and it’ll be getting all in my fur and spoiling my cute looks. I’m sure she wanted to look her best when she gets on the bus and flashes that card so they’ll waive her fare so she can take me places, but will the bus driver recognise her without it when she’s been too busy getting me to be busy to smear it on? We’ll just have to wait and see. I suspect she’s a bit embarrassed by it now, but it’s too late; it’s been moulded into plastic for posterity and there it will stay. (I’ve had a sneak look at her passport photo, though, through the magic of the Guide Dogs people, and believe me, she looks happier in this one, so that’s a blessing of sorts!)

I understand something called Christmas has just happened and is nearly ‘out of the way for another year’. I heard my current owner talking about it and have been opening my eyes and seeing sparkly things all over the place which I’m led to believe is festive bling. It’s great being able to see stuff, even though it’s a bit blurred at the moment; that’s going to be pretty useful in my later years when I’ll have to be the eyes of the person I’ll go to live with eventually, who won’t be able to see like me. I’m going to have to use my eyes, ears and nose to help guide that person around safely when I grow up, so they can trust me to take them to their music lesson, or their lecture or to the theatre or to the pub. I’ve heard already that they have things called crisps in pubs, and softy humans who like to spoil creatures like me. I reckon I’m going to be partial to pubs.

A woofy whisper has been going round that sometimes doggies like me get given to humans to celebrate this so-called Christmas festival and then get abandoned when they’ve stopped being cute. But I’m NEVER going to stop being cute – I don’t want to become another doggie statistic. I’ve also heard woofed rumours that people get given stuff to mark this time of year and I’ve heard that The Word Smith was expecting some things for her, but has been given some things for me instead. And I haven’t even gone to live with her yet. Just wait till her friends see me. She’ll never have her own presents ever again. She’ll be feigning pleasure at Kongs and ragger toys for the next few years, you mark my barks.

My ‘festive season’ has been spent growing quite a lot and opening my eyes more and more, plus lots of sleeping and jostling with my siblings, greedy lot that they are. All that human food smelt soooo delicious from our kennel, but none of it made its way into our bowls. I’m not really eating much of that stuff yet anyway; I’m still bothering mum for milk. She’s so patient with us, and licks us clean and lets us climb all over her soft belly to go to sleep. I’ll be so sad to leave her, she’s so warm and furry. I just hope that Word Smith has got somewhere warm for me to rest my paws when I get there, or I’ll be crying all night.

Poor Word Smith has been poorly, so I’m told, and has lost her voice these past few days. I hope she gets better soon and is getting al the rest she can, while she can….she’s going to need all her vocal and physical strength to keep me up with me.

Busy now!