Welcome back to the Flashback Friday series over here at Look on the Dark Side, where I’m still inching my way through the mini-series titled The Going home Lecture. These posts cover a monster of a lecture we TSE first-time students receive just before leaving the school with our brand new canine partners.
To catch up, follow Juno on her first flight as she prepares for the journey, navigates airport security and airport terminals, and takes off on her next adventure. Today I’m finally bringing poor Juno down for a landing, and I’ll also cover how The Seeing Eye advises new graduates prepare their close friends and family to welcome the new arrival into their homes and hearts.
Original Post Date: 6/16/2009
Many O&M instructors and other educators of the blind often recommend that a blind airline passenger de-plane last so as to have an easier time locating and identifying any carry-on luggage in the overhead compartment, and to have a smoother passage off the plane and (hypothetically) an easier time getting a gate agent’s attention if they should require any assistance. This can add as much as a half hour to an already long flight, and since I am an experienced flier and feel comfortable diggin in overhead bins and oozing through the plane amidst my fellow passengers I generally ignore this advice. For dog handlers, there are pros and cons to doing it either way.
Juno has had a long day that started with an over-night fast, included a lot of new stimuli, and then a cramped ride in a thunderous tin can. She is ready to get off the plane, and park! Anyone who has ever fasted knows that it doesn’t reduce the need to pass waste, so it should be no surprise to new handlers that getting Juno outside to relieve herself is a very high priority. De-planing as quickly as possible can be a kindness to her.
On the other hand, waiting until the plane has cleared can alleviate Juno’s frustration as she desperately tries to nose land-locked passengers out of her way to get to the jet-bridge. The gate area will likely be emptier, and thus quieter, and if you’re unfamiliar with the airport this may make it easier to get directions or an m&A to guide you to the nearest indoor or out-of-doors park place.
As always, you will be the best judge of your dog’s needs, your navigational skills, and your familiarity with any given airport. But remember this: your first stop isn’t the human park place, nor is it baggage claim. It’s Juno’s park place. Everything I’ve, she goes first.
TSE recommends getting an M&A to guide you to the nearest park place, and then returning to baggage claim to get your luggage. If friends or family are meeting you at the airport, this would be the best place for them to do so since you’ won’t have time for hugs and hellos as you bolt past security to the nearest exit.
The instructors at TSE also recommended sharing a prepared video presentation with friends, family, and colleagues on how to greet and welcome a new service dog into the community. This video is available on their Youtube channel here, But the gist of it is “greet the person, ignore the dog until they’re off-duty, and then try to contain your enthusiasm because Juno is already over-stimulated.” In my opinion, the video doesn’t say this often enough so I’m going to emphasize an essential principle of integrating a dog guide team into your community here.
Do Nothing Without the Human’s Express Consent!
Do nothing. No feeding, grabbing, petting, grabbing, guiding, grabbing, playing, grabbing, talking to the dog, grabbing without the human’s consent! Notice how many times I said “grabbing?” Read this to get a hint about why.
When Prada and I arrived in our home airport my mother met us just past security, having already been briefed on our need for park-time. I knew the interior of the airport well enough to find her without a guide, but knew I’d need her help locating an acceptable patch of grass for Prada. Mom offered me what was supposed to be a “drive-by hug” as Prada and I came whizzing around the security barrier, but Prada decided she wanted a hug, too! She stood up on her hind legs and put her paws on my shoulder and Mom’s. This is a big no-no for service-dogs! Not only was she in harness, but jumping up on people is socially inappropriate in all contexts! Furthermore, my mom had had a bad experience with large dogs in the past, and I can only imagine what she must have felt at that moment!
I scolded Prada, we got outside in plenty of time, and I am happy to say that Prada never did that again, but continued to hold a deep fondness for my mom, following her around whenever she had the opportunity. They became good friends during Prada’s off-hours, and mom was the first to discover and enable Prada’s love of oven mitts!
This week’s post is a little shorter than usual for two reasons. First, we’re nearing the end of The Going Home Lecture, and it’s about to make a topic change. This is a good breaking point. And secondly, I’m writing a couple of posts ahead of time this week because I will be a panelist at ChattaCon over the weekend! My next post will be a summary of the panel topic, Editing and Anxiety: how to Use Your Writing Process to Befriend Your Inner Critic. I’m also looking forward to assessing my networking skills on a larger scale than emails and coffee dates, which will most likely spawn posts on blindness and career-building.
Today your favorite blindfluencer asks “what cool thing is on your horizon?” Share below, let’s celebrate together!
Look on the Dark Side 