It's been a bit of an adjustment, as I've never before consistently gotten up as early as Bindi wakes me, but I think that routine has been really good for me. I'm outside more, as I take her to the park three or four times a day, and I'm getting way more exercise and social interaction with people I meet there.
Of course, my original reason for applying for an assistance dog was to help with my sleep disorder stuff. That stuff is a little harder to train her for, but we've been working on a couple of things. To start with she mostly just ignored me when I did strange things in my sleep, but for the last week I've been getting her to follow me when I get up to go to the bathroom in the night, so hopefully she will also follow me if I sleep walk too. This won't necessarily wake me up immediately, but if I'm aware of her being there, nudging my leg, I think I'm more likely to wake up and orientate myself quicker, and less likely to do stupid things and injure myself. I've also been training her to turn on a tap lamp, and plan to give her the command when I wake up after shouting/screaming in my sleep. Hopefully she will learn to associate the two, and turn it on herself to wake me up.
This was on our first day of teaching her to turn on the light, and she was already doing so well.
Overall, I've really been enjoying having Bindi with me. She's so well trained and behaved, thanks to the amazing team at Assistance Dogs New Zealand and so far the response to me having her in public has been really positive. People have mostly been good about not touching her when she has her working jacket on, though I have had a few problems with people crouching down and talking to her instead, which still distracts her - not so great if I'm leaning against her and she runs over to them!
The thing that I've have found slightly strange is answering questions about why I have her. I didn't expect this to be an issue for me, as I've had years of answering questions about why I walk with a stick. Somehow this is different though. When people ask me about my stick, I can just say I have lupus. They may or may not know what that means, but they generally aren't too pushy about asking for more information. With Bindi, people tend to want more specific answers - what exactly is wrong with me? What is she trained for? How does she help? What type of dog is she? I have to admit, I tend to answer "Labrador" to that last one, even though I know that's not what they're asking.
I do understand the curiosity, but I've found the questions difficult to answer on the spot. This could partly be because I'm really tired at the moment, as I'm still adjusting to the new routine, but I also find a bit of the "I'm a fraud" feeling slipping in. When I list the things she does for me, I start wondering if that's enough to justify me having her. They do make a difference to me - her picking up my dropped stick if I'm shaking can mean the difference between me getting home safely straight away, and me falling and spending an hour on the pavement waiting for my legs to start working again. But when I say it like that "She picks up my stick for me" it doesn't sound like much, especially as I'm not always walking with a stick when the question is asked. I've heard that's a feeling a lot of people with assistance dogs go through though, especially as medical conditions are often changeable so there will be times we are well, and don't rely on the dogs so much, and times we are unwell and really really need their help.
I guess it's more of the invisible illness stuff. People often assume I am training Bindi, because I don't look "disabled". I've also had a lot of people assume I'm blind, especially if I'm wearing sunglasses, as that's the first association people make with service dogs. I'm not really bothered by the assumption, but it has led to some interesting situations as people start trying to guide me places - not always where I'm wanting to go, and sometimes by grabbing me quite roughly. This is well intentioned, but I'm fairly certain that no one likes being man-handled by strangers regardless of their level of vision. Unless the person is in immediate danger, I think speaking to them first or a gentle touch on the arm is really all that's appropriate or necessary! I've mostly just been calmly explaining that Bindi is an assistance dog, not a guide dog, in these situations but I did get a little short with the woman who grabbed me and pulled me into the side of the seat on the bus, leaving a bruise on my leg - definitely wouldn't have been helpful if I were blind either!
All in all, there has been a lot of learning over the past few weeks - for Bindi, me and for the general public at times. I think that learning will continue for a while yet, as all of us keep figuring it out along the way.
Thanks for reading,
Little Miss Autoimmune.
If you'd like to support the work Assistance Dogs New Zealand do, please consider donating through my givealittle page. Any amount - large or small - is incredibly gratefully received.
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