First Adventure with Guide Dog Leaves Blind Girl in Tears

Olivia Norman

© 2020 Colin Norman

Twenty years have passed and I still remember that route like it was yesterday. It was a hot August day in 1999.  I’d just come home with my first guide dog, Stoney. Brimming with optimism, I decided this weekend would mark my first independent route, just me and my brand new guide dog taking on the world.
My parents had recently gotten me a cellphone, which by today’s phone standards was a giant brick. It was expensive too, calls cost about fifty cents a minute. “Only use this if you’re traveling or in an emergency,” said my dad.
Armed with my cell phone, my wallet and my dog, off I went to 7-Eleven to get some milk.  “Forward. Left. Right.” I told my dog confidently at every intersection, just like I’d been trained. We actually made it to the store unscathed.  I felt great. Milk acquired, my mission almost accomplished, I turned to head home. 
Four blocks, forward, left, right. I counted my street crossings just like I was supposed to. “Wait a minute,” I thought, “I’ve gone four blocks and this is not my street.  Something went wrong, but what, oh what have I done, and how am I going to get myself out of this one.” I stopped, defeated. My dog laid down in the middle of the sidewalk as if to say, “Lady you don’t know what you’re doing.”  At that moment in time, I agreed with him. I listened for a minute; surely some pedestrian would come along and help me. There was no one around. I began to cry.  
Panic set in. What had I done, why did I think this guide dog thing was a good idea? I took out my phone, called my parents and said, “I don’t know where I am.” 
My dad got in his car and drove around looking for me.  He couldn’t find me. I’m sure my parents were worried at this point, but they remained calm. “What can you hear?” he asked me.
I listened for a minute, ”I hear the metro,” I said.  This small clue helped my dad figure out where I was and finally find me.  He pulled the car up, got out, and helped me figure out that I’d somehow crossed every street diagonally and ended up somewhere completely different from home!
Instead of putting me in the car and taking me home, my awesome Dad then proceeded to walk behind my right shoulder, just as you’re supposed to do, and helped me walk back home.  I’m sure Stoney’s confidence in me was a little rattled, but he got over it and so did I.
I’ve come a long way in the past 20 years, both in terms of independence and problem solving abilities and the technologies that are available to help me when I get stuck.  But I still remember that first route as a guide dog handler with a sense of awe and pride. I quickly realized that having a guide dog wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought, and that things do go wrong, but that with the right help and support and abilities I could go anywhere! 
I want to end this by thanking my parents and my dogs for being there for all the bumps in the road, big and small.

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