Friday, July 5

Today, each girl fed her dog and had to be watched to make sure what we were doing was right.  We also had to give them water afterward. 

My dog threw up at the table before I had fed her.  I hope she doesn't do that again! Kayla's did yesterday. Ian told me, "She might need to be fed two times a day." I'm still not quite sure, though. 

We then went outside to try to get the dogs to go do their business. My dog did finally a little number one. 

Before that though, I looked at the tactile map Mira has with Helene. She's an O and M instructor. She's quite an expert with O and M! I think she's one of the top instructors in the world! I could be wrong but that's what they said. I'm pretty sure, anyway. 

All of us got lined up on the sidewalk and did drills. Well, mostly for the right turn and a little for the left turns. By this time, it was getting so hot. All of  us went to the bench on the North side of the building. We were supposed to do one lap around the kennel. I was told two and so I did two. Well, some did more than one lap.  

We received nice little pouches for food or something to praise and treat the dogs to when they do what we want. I'm talking about something that needed to be fixed. 

We each got introduced to the four corners. It's a plus intersection. We fracticed going from one corner to the next. I should say, "boxing" the corners," as my dad has expressed before.  

We had salad for the appetiser, pork with a sauce on top, sauteed mushrooms, broccoli, and rice!  For dessert, there were ice cream sandwiches, fudgesicles, and fruit salad. I chose the ice cream sandwich! Yum! 

I was pretty exhausted in the  morning. I closed my eyes for a few moments and that  seemed to do miracles! I felt more energetic after that. 

We had a small discussion with the trainers and learned how to take the collar or choker on and off the dogs. My dog kept trying to put her head inside hers!  I think she felt like she wanted to work or just like it for some apparent reason. She tends to get excited when I've got the harness, collar, and/or leash. 

Our dogs had to go back into our rooms and we waited until one of the trainers came to practice being the  human dog again. This time,  Pierre was the one that got me. He was the dog, and I was the handler for a very short  time. I was listening and feeling the harness to learn how it works. I'm so glad  for their help!  

Oh, yes! I visited with Bob Baillie, the  founder of Mira  U.S.A.! He explained to me, "You are  now in the Mira family,"  ""You're officially one of  Bob's kids."  He continued to say, "Bob's kids are expected to listen hard, work hard, and respect the people here, because they know what they're doing." 

He said, "I'm in the same world you are. I'm  blind."

Editor's note: "O and M" stands for Orientation and Mobility, and it means getting around and knowing where you are.