As the four year anniversary of the day that Bristol walked into my life approaches, I am reflecting on the many things that have happened to us as a team. The relationship that Bristol and I have today was not immediate. It has been a bond that has grown stronger as the years have gone by.
It has not all been easy either. Bristol and I have had our share of problems. In the beginning, neither Bristol nor I knew anything about each other. I was this new strange person who was now commanding him and he was a strange dog that I knew very little about.
Bristol was only a two year old dog back in April of 2006 when I got him. He still had a lot of puppy energy that I had to learn to work with. It was hard for the first few months. As a first time guide dog user, I knew nothing about how to work with him. So with his boundless energy and my lack of understanding, it was quite an adventure. We have stumbled countless times during our time together. There have been moments that Bristol has become very distracted and ran me into something or he has missed a curb and walked me off of it. I don’t know about Bristol, but I have learned a lot from those mistakes.
I have had to learn how to deal with the reactions of people who encounter us. For Bristol, he has had to continue to work on ignoring people and doing his job. This task has not been easy for either of us. It has been hard for me to tell people that it would be better if they did not pet Bristol. Since Bristol loves interacting with people so much, it has been hard for him to ignore people and not walk up to visit everyone he encounters.
Now we work so well together. We can read each other so easily. I have learned what Bristol’s different movements and behaviors mean. Bristol is able to pick up on subtle cues from me as to what he needs to do or how I am feeling. If I am sick or having a bad day, Bristol will come up to me and lean against me or put his head in my lap. If I am sitting in a chair he will curl up at my feet. All he wants is for me to feel better so that we can do what we always do. Bristol does not like it when we don’t do anything; he get’s bored very easily when he is inactive.
So, looking back I now know that Bristol and I have come a long way in the four years that we have been together. Bristol has made my life so much better in the four years that I have had him. I hope to have at least a few more years with him as my guide dog and more importantly, as a trusted friend.