Today is one filled with mixed emotions, concerns and thoughts. Today, 18th January 2015 is the last working day for my guide dog Vicky. We have been working together as a qualified team since 18th November 2009, and it has been an amazing 5
03
Sep 2016
So….. Today, this happened !!
It’s almost 11.00 o’clock, 12 hours after this crazy day started. The climbing arena was nothing like I had ever seen before and no matter how much I had researched and looked at photo after photo I was not prepared for the quarry that I
02
Sep 2016
Maybe I Should have said something before…..
Well, this is something new……. I am sat in the passenger seat of my friends car doing 70+ MPH on the M6 Motorway travelling on my way to Edinburgh; while typing this blog. My iPad is tethered to my phone for 4G and my voiceover
19
May 2017
I have a question for you
it is time for me to ask for you to help me. If I were to write a book, giving in sight into my life and how I have got myself in and out of many a situation. Would you read it? I am talking
17
Jan 2016
Blind doesn’t mean I can’t see
Theresa Osborne-Bell |
No comments | Tags: blurred vision, Disability, doing it, Feelings, Fizz, guide dogs, independence, Memory
10
Jan 2016
Not following the rules
Rule 1 of working with a guide dog: TRUST. So, when your faithful guide tries to turn you around because there is something blocking your path, you go with her, right? ……… WRONG!
In this instance a MoP explained that the cycle path had a puddle covering it, it wasn’t deep, (she had just walked through it) but to Mizz Fizz, this is an obstacle, so when she turned me around, I turned her back I wouldn’t allow her to turn me around again, she sat down and refused to move!
Arguing with your guide dog gets you no where (apparently) and they don’t understand sarcasm. (which is utter rubbish)
So, handle down and I took the lead, yes the ‘blind one’ was guiding the guide dog through the puddle …. I say guiding, is was more of a drag, resulting in her getting much wetter than if she had just walked though. With several laughs from passing cyclist who had stopped to watch the performance! Madam was clearly showing me her Stubborn Retriever side today.
The ridiculous thing is, had she not been in her work uniform (lead and harness). She would have had no issues running through said puddle. Probably even laying down to roll around and splash about.
(MoP is an abbrievieation for Member of the Public)
09
Jan 2016
A simple cold can bring the world down
It’s early January, the weather has beensuprisingly warm and wet, so having a cold is not something of a shock to me. Its that time of year, it would be more suprising not to get one.
But this is different, this time this is making it a real struggle to get on…… I have plenty of tissues, Vick’s, hot blackcurrant and black tea to keep me going.
This time, the difference isn’t actually the cold, it is how it has affected my hearing, which in turn has made my world incrediby difficult to navigate within.
And if I am being totally honest, it is scaring the …. out of me. My hearing is my indeoendance, my hearing is my way of ‘seeing’ the world. My hearing is my escapism over a coffee, I am not currently able to pick up the conversations of strangers, I am struggling enough to pick up the conversation of anyone I am with!
I am feeling pretty lost.
Theresa Osborne-Bell |
No comments | Tags: Disability, Feelings, independence, Isolation, Missing it, not hearing, Perception, VIP
09
Dec 2015
Guide Dog becomes Guard Dog
For me, a guide dog is freedom, a guide dog is not only a ‘really well trained dog’ she is my eyes. She is my independence. She is my enabler.
She enables me to go out and walk with confidence, to visit friends, to volunteer and to live my life without an eye condition…. To a point.
However, she has recently take it upon herself to serve an additional role: As my chaperone.
Late last month I was out with an old friend for lunch, he and Fizz had met before and she was her usual bouncy friendly self.
After a bit of shopping we went for lunch in a lovely pub, known as The Customs House, so named for the position it originally held on the Naval Base HMS Vernon, before the area was redeveloped into outlet shopping and luxury apartments.
We were sat chatting while Fizz gently snoozed at my feet, my friend (whom I won’t embarrass by naming) put his arm around me.
Within seconds, my trusted guide dog was on her feet and nudging his other hand away that was sat lightly on my leg. Once he moved his hand and arm from around me, she settled down again. Only to spring back up when after a few momenfs he did it again!
I was more than happy with the affection he was showing me, I wasn’t worried or alarmed, but Fizz clearly had other ideas!
This time when she nudged I asked him not to move, so when her nudging didn’t work, she went on to lick his hand (she isn’t a Licky dog), turned herself around, sat down and pushed herself back towards the sofa so that she was sitting between us !!
I made a big fuss of her and softly reassured her that I was ok, he too made a fuss and she had a happy wagging tail. She settled down again and didn’t stir one bit when he then leaned in and gently kissed me.
I have never experienced anything like it before (I mean the dog reaction, not the kiss! It’s not THAT type of blog)
When we left the pub and walked hand in hand she was more than happy, while we stood awaiting our ferry, she happily sat against him and wagged her tail as he stroked her.
And when he kisses me again as we parted, Fizz stood calmly by my side not making any fuss.
So we took that to mean that he had her approval, his intentions were honourable and we shall most likely be seeing each other again …
17
Sep 2015
It’s been a whole year
It’s so weird looking back on the photos of last year…. This day one year ago along with the support of a great friend and the brilliance of my very talented climbing partner, I found myself climbing the equivalent height of The Gherkin, London’s iconic tall building, named so because of its glass uninterrupted shape and dominance in the London skyline.
I say the equivalent, because the building itself is un-climb able, so at Calshot Climbing centre we relayed between climbing and belaying to climb the 180m each.
We did the challenge to raise money for Hampshire Association for Care of The Blind,ore commonly known as Open Sight. With the final total being over £900. It was also a major personal challenge for both me and Simon whom I climb with. For me, because I had never climb this sort of endurance before and for Simon, he undertook the challenge blindfolded. It was our ‘Blind Climb’
due to life and work commitments, sadly it has been some time since we have been up the wall again…. But we shall return and soon !!
29
Mar 2015
I’ve been quite dizzy working with Fizz
Wow!! That is about all I can say about my new partnership with Fizz. It’s hard to believe that we have been qualified for almost 8 weeks already and I am still learning from her.
She is very different to Vicky (as any dog would be) it is difficult not to compare them at times. With Vicky I had nothing to mark her against, with Fizz she has some rather big paws to fill !!
One thing that has been lovely about this time with Fizz is seeing Vicky happy. She is bouncy, plahful and her walkig pace has picked up when she is out on her daily walks. Work for her was clearly causing her stress and sigferubg, but now she is loving being able to stop and smell every lamp post and say hello to all the puppy friends we meet.
My fitness has improved with Fizz, I am walking into town on average twice a week and happily choosing to go further afield knowing that she !enjoys her work, she is a hard worker and eager to please.
We have our moments, but we are a good match
18
Jan 2015
The end of a (half) Era
Today is one filled with mixed emotions, concerns and thoughts. Today, 18th January 2015 is the last working day for my guide dog Vicky. We have been working together as a qualified team since 18th November 2009, and it has been an amazing 5 years and 2 month.
I maybe should have warned you that this post will probably get soppy and definitely be emotion (for me at the very least). Anyone who has had a pet dog will tell you, a dog is more than ‘just a dog’ they are a companion, a confident and a loyal friend: Then add to that a dog that works for you, a guide dog (or other working dog) and the level of support, trust and love you feel for them increased even further.
Add to the mix, that Vicky is my FIRST guide dog and all of the changes she has allowed me to bring about, along with all of the changes I have had no control over that she has helped me to overcome, even when it felt like I was fading. And it has been an amazing time together.
Before she arrived I was highly dependant on family and friends, I found myself disappearing into myself after my eye condition was finally diagnosed in 2008, the thought of my sight going completely and leaving me blind, unable to watch my daughter grow up, marry, have children of her own, along with no longer being able to earn money to pay for the things she needed and wanted. The question of if my partner would be happy to stay with me, ultimately becoming my carer… All fears of my future.
Which were all quashed with the increasing bond between me and Vicky, with the feeling of independence that she gave me, the feeling of being safe, even on a tube in the middle of London. And as well as guiding me and making me feel safe, she listened, she loved and she showed no judgement.
She gave me so much more than what was on her job specification. She gave me back me, but not the me that was there before. She gave me a stronger, altered version of me. She can’t change how my eyes deteriorate but she has changed the way I think of the future.
She enabled me to feel safe while I carried my son in my belly, she enabled me to take my daughter to pre-school on my own. She allowed me to feel I could be more, do more and even helped me quash my fear of being in a relationship where the role of carer overtook the role of lover. She even gave me the strength (indirectly) to walk away when my relationship failed.
Now that both my children are now at school and my previous career has come to an end, my priorities have changed. My sight is such that I tire from using my eyes, using a computer, reading and concentrating cause pain and exhaustion. With eye strain a daily accurance, I know that I can reduce my stresses by making the changes I have, I no longer have to ‘waste’ my sight while walking in the street or taking the children to school, Vicky gets me there safely, regardless of a rough wheelie bin, dumped child’s bike or even a car parking on the pavement. I can prioritise my sight to sit reading with both my children after school, helping with homework and even cooking dinner (with the help of a few cheats, like pre-cut veg or meat)
If someone had said that having a guide dog would enable me to be a single parent and help my children with their homework I would have thought they were crazy, but that is what she has done.
She has enabled me to live, rather than just exist.
Vicky came into my life to guide me, she came to me as a mobility aid, just like a long cane. But a mobility aid with a brain. I can never ever repay her for everything else.
Vicky will have a forever home with me and the children, she will get to put her paws up and enjoy the peace and quiet, the lead walks where she can finally stop to smell who has wee’d on the gate post! Free-run more with the other dogs in the park… And generally get to be more dog.
My new guide dog, Fizz will replace Vicky as a guide dog, she will take on the role of being my leading lady, but she will never replace Vicky.
In fact, she has some rather big paws to fill. I still have plenty of room to grow, my eye sight will continue to deteriate and only time will tell how Fizz will help with all of these things.
Fizz is different to Vicky, not just in breed (although also black) she is a faster girl than Vicky now is, she has a bit of a cheeky personality and we both have a lot to learn about each other. We will do this, it will take time, but I am sure she will be a great addition to our home and my independance.
So watch this space for updates on our training journey and Tales from Vicky’s time as a retired pup.
