A normal guide dog has a working vocabulary of approximately 42 commands. Doc's also include phrases such as "find the cabin," "cruise," and "mind the gap." Dr. John loves cruising as much as we do. During a ship inspection, he went through security and was ecstatic. His tail was wagging and he had a look of pure glee. At the conclusion of the tour of the vessel, we sat in the terminal to rest for a moment and his face had the saddest puppy dog eyes you could ever imagine. This is his reaction during every ship inspection.
On a seven night cruise on the Royal Caribbean super liner, the Mariner of the Seas, we embarked and like every other passenger not sure where their next meal may be coming from, dropped our carryon bags off at the cabin and went directly to the buffet. After eating, we got back to the elevators and pressed the button for our deck. We got off the elevator. I stood at the doorway and was trying to get my bearings - which way do I go?, as I was looking around, I noticed that Gary and Dr. John disappeared. Here we are, not even on the ship for an hour and I've already lost my husband. I found the cabin and there they were - Doc led Gary back to the cabin.
That's a happy ending. Is it always that easy?
Not all of our travel stories have happy endings. There are many people that need to be educated as to the purpose of service animals. Many people are frightened of dogs. This is very prejudiced. An animal will not be a certified as a service animal if they were not gentle and docile. Just because someone may be afraid to get bit, they shouldn't allow their fear to cloud their judgment. That would be like saying that all Italians are in the Mafia, all men are rapists and all politicians are crooks. There have been many occasions when someone will see Doc and let out blood-curdling screams. This is very distracting and can cause a true threat to the handler if the dog is spooked.
Recently we were visiting one of the Orlando area theme parks - Dr. John is quite the theme park junkie. After a long day, we were waiting for the bus to take us back to the hotel. The bus driver wouldn't allow Gary and Doc on board. We had to tell him that they were allowed to be there and we proceeded to board the bus. The driver called dispatcher stating that we were on the bus with a dog - never mentioning that the handler was blind.
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