Did you ever stop to think about how you would take care of your guide dog if you were too sick to do so?
It wasn’t until I received my current guide Luna that I had to seriously give this some thought. From the moment I got Luna and our working bond started to build I noticed the connection that we have is much stronger than I had with previous dogs. I felt that we were more in tune with each other. I started joking around saying that Luna is without a doubt 100% my dog!
Well, his past march when that horrible sick feel like you’re dying bug was going around and it hit me like a freight train I discovered how true that statement was.
I felt horrible that I couldn’t get her out for walks, but standing for more than a minute nearly did me in. Luna absolutely refused to drink water or go anywhere at all if James tried. So I would drag myself out of bed to get her to drink water and take her outside or wait until the princess was desperate enough to go on the balcony. Luckily I didn’t have to worry she would starve because she’d eat no problem for James. I mean it’s food and a lab say no to food, never!
It was a long long couple of weeks and a month before I was completely better, but from that moment it stuck with me on what would happen if I got so sick that I couldn’t even drag myself from bed or have to stay in the hospital with a dog that’s super attached to me.
In the 4 years that i’ve had Ushi, there was only one time i had to get my sister to feed Ushi. I had a horrid tummy bug and was very ill the previous night. Plus when i moved, i was sick. Ushi lay beside me for most of that day when i was up and about and once she went to her bed, i knew i was getting better. She was litterally glued to my side. I have never had to get someone to walk Ushi as Ushi is a couch potato and didn’t mind a day not working. Deffinetly raises some thoughts though. Great post 🙂
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the summer I got Cessna was one of the worst migraine summers I have ever had. I had planned not to allow Cessna on the bed or furniture, but I was in bed so much that summer. I worried about our bond and felt bad that she was stuck on the floor while I slept, so I let her up on the bed, she curled up behind my knees and we were best buddies. She has always really liked Huib, so I never had to worry she wouldn’t listen to him or go with him when needed, it was more the opposite.
Yeah…this hit me like a brick when I was in the hospital last year. Thankfully, Tansy took it ok that Steve took care of her, but I don’t know what I would have done if she didn’t.