BEING GRUMPY

I know there is a danger I’m going to sound like a really grumpy old man, but does no one know how to use a telephone these days? I don’t mean how to operate one, I mean how to answer one properly without grunting down”arg” down the receiver. you are forced to ask “who am I talking to?” I end up fealing like I’m interrogating someone just to confirm I’ve got the correct person or department. The thing is, it’s widespread and the BBC is no better. Everyone has a phone, but appear incapable of actually holding a conversation on one. If you intend to work in the Communication industry, try communicating and not grunting down the line. 

Major one year on

I have real mixed emotions at this time of year. Just over Two years ago Renton my 7 1/2 stone guide dog German Shepherd fell suddenly ill with a very aggressive form of cancer. Sadly he had to be put to sleep. Last June, 1 year on from that sad occasion, major came into my life. 

I can’t believe that was a year ago when I had my first test walk. The thing was, I couldn’t tell anyone. It was all very secretive. The final decision hadn’t been made whether major would be my new Guide dog or not. Something that was made very clear to me when I met the instructor outside Queen Street station in the centre of Glasgow. I was told in advance of our meeting that Major was a cross Shepherd retriever, on paper he looked like a good match. It was all very clandestine, because the Guide Dog Association didn’t wish to over commit themselves encase it didn’t work out. After all, Major was only 17 months old and had just been collected from the dog trainers in Forfar by the instructor, who would finish off his training and do the match up with the blind handler. Hopefully me. At that stage things could still go wrong, so I understood their reluctance to commit.

For the first time in over a year I held on to the handle on the dog harness and off we went whizzing around the merchant city. It felt strange after such a lengthy break. The longest time I had experience since being trained with my first dog over 30 years earlier. When I first got my hands on Major, he didn’t feal anything like a shepherd. No pointy ears. he didn’t feel anything like a retriever either. Major did guide like a shepherd. That’s hard to explain. Shepherds are very definite in their moves. For example They read a situation far further ahead than a Labrador. They are also very driven. When they find a door, by god you know. Straight in with no hesitation. They are also brilliant at finding pelican crossings. Incapable of making a decision, That’s not the Shepherd way.  

After a couple more test walks around my home area the decision was made that my training would go ahead in the August. one year on from that first walk, he’s been a fantastic guide dog so far. I’m not saying we’ve not had our challenges, but that is true of every new guide dog partnership. Months go by and you realise your bad days get further and further appart. To such an extent, I can’t remember our last one. I hope I’m not jinxing myself with that statement.      

Having fun with iMovie

We have been having some fun with iMovie the film editing app.

if you press the link below you will get to see me sawing wood....I know, but its better than watching paint dry!!

blind man with a saw!

The Dark Way Home Documentary about the innovations that came out of soldiers who were blinded in WW1

I have been working on a documentary about the soldiers who were blinded in the first world war.  The numbers who came home with sight issues were enormous and society back home had to find ways of teaching and inventing new ways of surviving day to day life

Thursday 26th May BBC 2 Scotland 7pm or for those outside Scotland

 BBC Two Scotland can be viewed on Sky 142 (HD) & 970, Freesat 970.

 

A few more videos added to my Channel

I have added a few more videos to my You Tube Channel

On the Road Again

A short film of my team preparing to go "On the road again" for the Scottish Elections.

The tough decision of Rentons retirement

Renton sitting in the drivers seat of the car looking in the wing mirror

Unless there is a snap general UK election in the next 12 months, this forthcoming Scottish Election at the beginning of May, will be my guide dog’s last one before he retires! Bit of a shock I know! One of the reasons I started this blog was to explain the process of how a blind person is trained to work with the new dog and all the bonding and frustrations that go along with it. So far he’s been on the road with me on two UK elections, one local council election, a Scottish Referendum on independence and oh yes, a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU still to come at the end of June.

So Renton has certainly seen his fair share of political action.

It’s never easy making the decision to retire a guide dog, but as he’s coming up for 8 and it can take some time to get the exact dog for my needs, it was suggested it may be time to start the process of retiring him.

So, before the Easter break, I sat down with one of the guide dog instructors to set out a plan and timetable for Renton’s retirement.    The one thing I didn’t want to do was have a last minute rush to stop him working, which would leave me with no dog at all or push me into getting a dog that  doesn't quite fit my needs.  Because of this we’ve put a plan in place that he will retire sometime over the next 18months!

There are two things I have to consider when retiring a guide dog.  His welfare and my mobility. One doesn’t supersede the other, they are both equally important. It’s very easy to get sentimental, but it doesn’t help. Fundamentally, I’m blind and need a dog to get about. Plus he needs some time to enjoy life without the stress of work.

picture of the bag of Ian and Rentons heads as they sit in the car

A  colleague at work had said that they thought that 8yrs old sounded young to retire a guide dog? Well, in many cases this may be true. However, it does come down to the dogs work load and breed. German shepherds are larger dogs so do tend to age a bit quicker than the average Lab.8-9yrs old is about an average age for a dog which is so big...and he is huge! So to give them some kind of quality after work life it’s best to retire them a bit earlier. 

So anytime over the next year and a half, I could get that call saying we’ve a new dog for you. Then the real emotion kicks in and the next big decision. Do we keep Renton? Or find him a new home for his retirement?