THE GATHERING PLACE

Within the past few days, 20 of us packed our bags and set out on a journey. Coming from Canada, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, and Washington; we all gathered at the common lounge at 7:30.

Meanwhile, some 50 dogs expect everything to stay the same as it has for the past four months or more. Each of them had come from the homes of their puppy raisers and the loss and separation from their beloved families has dissipated and they have come to love and trust their trainers and kennel staff. Whereas we people, who left our busy lives to join in this adventure, are excited about this 3-4 week experience, the dogs have no excitement or anticipation of how their lives will soon change again for ever. They may be wondering why their trainers have been absent for the past few days. There will soon be baths to be given for twenty of them by kennel staff, and this will cause a flurry of new activity in the kennel area.

Five trainers, turned instructors, have been reviewing their notes, pondering their canine pupils, and studying each student. This is certain to be a busy month for them. As students arrived today, there were introductions all round, there were tours of the dorm, and lots of questions to be asked and answered on all sides. Each student got busy unpacking and learning or reviewing the floor plan of the dorm. There were Juno Walks with instructors acting as dogs. Trainers took each student in turn to assess pace and pull needs of each one to be matched with the available string of dogs. The nurse on duty was also asking questions and getting to know each of us before the dinner hour.

Then there was the first group meeting in the Common Lounge. There are high school graduates heading for college, some are employed, and others are retired. It is a diverse group from a wide cross section of society. It is a unique mix that is very common as a similar theme replays itself monthly with different comers, different instructors, and different dogs. So it has gone for 80 years at the Seeing Eye.

This evening we were informed of the house rules and given a rundown of the schedule for the next few days. We were each issued the first of a steady stream of equipment: dog comb, dog brush, tie down, and leash. We were given instructions in the various ways to configure the leash for three different lengths depending on the situation we will encounter with our dogs.

As was described to us this evening, this promises to be a roller costar ride as we learn the individual characteristics of our specific partners. Some days things will go very well. Other days will bring challenges and each of us will be on our own schedule for these emotional highs and lows. Check back often for updates.