Arrival Day: We’re Here!!!

The day has come; and we are finally here!! We were blessed with smooth flights from Augusta to Atlanta; and onward to Detroit. I must brag about a couple of non-scale victories (Weight Watchers Jargon). I no longer needed an extender safety belt to cover my fat ass; and the tray table opened without interference from Java the Gut. We arrived at Leader Dogs for the Blind around 4:30pm. To our pleasant surprise, we were assigned neighboring rooms with an adjoining door. I cannot say enough about how impressed with the new dorm!! I received Sippi and Titan in the pre-2003 dorm. The rooms are spacious, comfortable, and most importantly perfect for human dog guide bonding. We met some of our classmates and trainers at dinner (spaghetti, salad, cheesy breadstick, and sliced peaches), took a tour of the facility, and settled into our rooms. Of course, we found the smoking area and a little snow along the way. The wind chill tonight is twenty-five degrees which translates to me snuggling with my blu e-cig.

Tomorrow we work with Juno, our trainer playing the role of the Leader Dog. The purpose of the Juno walk is to give our trainers an idea of our walking pace, strength of giving corrections when necessary, and to affirm the choice of dog match that is being made for us. Tomorrow night will be like Christmas Eve with the students anticipating which dog Santa will deliver on Issue Day, Tuesday. It is a very exciting time. Tonight, I am feeling the effects of last night’s tossing and turning waiting for 6am to dawn and signal the beginning of the adventure. It is time to chill (literally and figuratively).

Until next time…