This past weekend I headed to the beach to test my new superpowers, namely my supersonic sniffer and hearing. It was AWESOME!!!! I walked the entire length of the beach, head up, tail wagging, and taking in all the familiar and new sounds and smells with great delight. And like all newly appointed superheroes, I found myself charging towards danger, suddenly lunging in the direction of what got my attention.
Now before anyone worries, I wasn’t in actual danger this time around, because Mom and Dad had everything under control. In fact, based on my neighborhood walks, they predicted this would happen. However, in a different situation this could end badly. That is why the point of this first trip to the beach, after losing my vision, was to observe how I’d react in the big world with all its distractions in a relatively safe and familiar environment. This way moving forward, Mom and Dad could know what training they need to help guide me. Thankfully, we are back in contact with my old trainer, who calls this the “observation phase.”
I haven’t randomly lunged like this since I was a puppy. It was interesting for Mom and Dad to see what triggered this reaction, and what didn’t. Sounds they thought I would respond to, I didn’t. I reacted as I normally did when I had vision, where I’d face towards the sound, smile and wag, while remaining at a heel, and walking along. So adoring fans making the kissy noise, while saying some variation of “hi puppy!” I just smiled and wagged. Screaming little humans and barking dogs, I ignored completely. Happy tweeting birds, some of which sounded just like my squeaky toys, I did nothing more than alert ears. However new sounds did get my attention. Beach wagon with squeaky wheels, lifeguard’s walkie talkie, and the muffled noise of someone’s phone playing music, all made me charge in that direction, without prior warning. Some sounds were so subtle, it took Mom and Dad a moment to figure out what made me react.
My nose resulted in a similar reaction. I walked with my nose held high taking in all the smells carried on the wind, and to the ground to inspect different surfaces we passed. It was as if I never paid attention to the smells before. Ok, I may not have in the past, I never was much of a nose work dog. I was more of a visual learner. Anyways, no out of the ordinary reactions to the smell of stinky seaweed, salty waves, and the countless other smells on the beach. There was however one scent that made me break my heel every single time – sunscreen lotion! Not sure what it was, but each time we walked past someone who smelled like coconuts or sweet like flowers, I wanted to get closer for a better sniff. This apparently got awkward for Dad, who was on the other end of my leash. Sorry ladies on the beach blanket!
Now as I already said, we are in the observation phase of my new superpowers. So Mom and Dad aren’t making any changes just yet other than guiding me to make sure I don’t do anything dangerous, like lunging into parking lot traffic or a wayward toddler running with a kite. We’re going to return to the beach more, as well as favorite trails, just to see what triggers which responses in me. Who knows, I may get use to the new smells and sounds, and settle back to my old routine of acknowledging but not reacting. Or if I need a little work keeping me focused, like in the past, my trainer said he’ll work with Mom and Dad. This is the trainer who nicknamed me, Slappy McHappy, so he knows me well.
Overall I did AWESOME! I walked up and down that beach with compete confidence. So much so, some folks were surprised when they realized I’m blind. But of course I did, I have the map of the beach recorded on my heart to guide me.
And yes, Mom and Dad claimed it was pure coincidence that the lifeguards were there training for the summer season, but I have my suspicions they thought I needed backup. You know how overprotective my parents can be!
It is nice though that the town rolled out the red carpet to welcome me back. This is red, right?
