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The last few days have been fairly quiet around here. Friday night was drinks with some people from work, which was good. Except for the bit where the person acting as shot-mixer extraordinaire decided that giving us each a shot of Bailey's and a shot of lemon juice and telling us to down them combined was a good idea. It's seriously like making cottage cheese in your mouth, and if anyone ever suggests it to you Dear Reader, I suggest you run for the hills. Fast.
I've got today and tomorrow off so I can spend some time with Matt before he's kicked into private sector IT work hours (read: 9 - 5) again. We'll be within a ten-minute trip of each other on the days I'm working in the city, so hopefully we'll get to have lunch or dinner together every now and again.
Today we went shopping for doggy toys. This was mostly prompted by Miss D's 3rd birthday party next weekend, but we couldn't help picking up a couple of things for Ashton when he eventually arrives. It still doesn't feel real; I can't call him 'my guide dog' yet, and I probably won't feel comfortable with that term until I've had him for a few months and the training is well and truly over. Just for my own benefit, below are some questions I need to ask the Guide Dog Emporium:
1. I know they'll provide something in the way of a bed and feeding bowls for home, but what do I do for my two workplaces? I'm happy to pay for stuff, I just don't know what's appropriate.
2. Is it better to leave some 'slightly out of the ordinary' tasks like going to the movies and restaurants until after we're through the training period? He might be more settled if we leave it for a while, but on the other hand it could be good to get into good habits from the start.
3. What do we do if we're going to a movie? Does the dog need a water bowl for a 2 - 3 hour stretch in a cinema? I'd have thought so, but then the question is what sort of arrangements do I need to make?
4. What's the best way to educate restaurants, hotels, taxis and other businesses about the fact that guide dogs are legally allowed on their premises or in their cars? I don't think there's any consistent national means of education/identification (this came up in a staff meeting recently), and I'm not sure what to do. I don't really want to go around waving the relevant sections of the Disability Discrimination Act in people's faces...
5. What does Ashton like? What are his habits? Does he have preferred toys and sleeping spaces?
6. Is there a 'good' way to introduce him to other animals?
7. It's better to leave him at home if I'm going out drinking, yes?
*sigh* That's all I can come up with now. Again, if anyone on my friend's list can answer these questions, I'd love your input. Otherwise I'll just refer back to this post when the time comes to inundate the instructors... bwahahaha.
I've got today and tomorrow off so I can spend some time with Matt before he's kicked into private sector IT work hours (read: 9 - 5) again. We'll be within a ten-minute trip of each other on the days I'm working in the city, so hopefully we'll get to have lunch or dinner together every now and again.
Today we went shopping for doggy toys. This was mostly prompted by Miss D's 3rd birthday party next weekend, but we couldn't help picking up a couple of things for Ashton when he eventually arrives. It still doesn't feel real; I can't call him 'my guide dog' yet, and I probably won't feel comfortable with that term until I've had him for a few months and the training is well and truly over. Just for my own benefit, below are some questions I need to ask the Guide Dog Emporium:
1. I know they'll provide something in the way of a bed and feeding bowls for home, but what do I do for my two workplaces? I'm happy to pay for stuff, I just don't know what's appropriate.
2. Is it better to leave some 'slightly out of the ordinary' tasks like going to the movies and restaurants until after we're through the training period? He might be more settled if we leave it for a while, but on the other hand it could be good to get into good habits from the start.
3. What do we do if we're going to a movie? Does the dog need a water bowl for a 2 - 3 hour stretch in a cinema? I'd have thought so, but then the question is what sort of arrangements do I need to make?
4. What's the best way to educate restaurants, hotels, taxis and other businesses about the fact that guide dogs are legally allowed on their premises or in their cars? I don't think there's any consistent national means of education/identification (this came up in a staff meeting recently), and I'm not sure what to do. I don't really want to go around waving the relevant sections of the Disability Discrimination Act in people's faces...
5. What does Ashton like? What are his habits? Does he have preferred toys and sleeping spaces?
6. Is there a 'good' way to introduce him to other animals?
7. It's better to leave him at home if I'm going out drinking, yes?
*sigh* That's all I can come up with now. Again, if anyone on my friend's list can answer these questions, I'd love your input. Otherwise I'll just refer back to this post when the time comes to inundate the instructors... bwahahaha.
