Worlds Collide

Guess WHAT, Hoomans!

You know the doggy my Stupid smells like?

(For those who don’t remember, Cor calls his Perfect Pace head harness the Stupid.)

Well, maybe you don’t, because Hoomans don’t have such good sniffers. 

Well, my Stupid and crate and a few other things smell like this mysterious doggo. 

Well. This week, I MET him!

He’s such a cool doggo. We’re friends, now. I decided and he agreed.

I got Hooman to take pictures, even!

Yes, Cor and Yaha met this week. 🙂 It went so well and made my heart smile!

There were a few other worlds collide moments that happened this week, too.

As a service dog, Cor has to go with me everywhere. Every. Where. Think about what you do in a day–waking up, getting dressed, bathroom routine, eating, working, etc. and now imagine having a dog dogging your heels every step of the way. 

It’s a bit daunting, but, this week, we took it a step further. Cor stayed in the bathroom while I took a shower.

I had to move the trash can, toilet paper, clothes, and towels just in case. I had to poke my head out once in a while when he was too quiet to make sure he was behaving. He’d check in on me every once in a while, too. There were a few five minutes where his nose was just peaking past the curtain. 😄

Overall, though, it went very well! With all my hair my showers can last 30-45 minutes and I think it was a bit long. Afterward he needed to get his energy out for a bit, but I’ll take it!

The last notable worlds collide moment we had had to do with Yaha too. Sort of. Yaha washed about halfway through lesson five. Today Cor and I officially passed lesson four. So we’re now to lesson five. 

We are? Is that why we had new games today?

The exact reason, yes.

Admittedly, this causes me a *little* anxiety I’m trying not to pass on to Cor. Just treat this lesson like any other, right? Practice, practice, practice, and upload as many videos as we’re capable of each week.

All the same, being back to lesson five is a little like going back to bed after being ripped from sleep by the tornado siren. Or going back to math class after a fire drill. Almost a different level of reality–one that feels less real than it should.

Wait, my new friend did these games, too?

Yes. Here’s the thing, though. You two are totally different dogs. For one thing, you enjoy going into public, right?

We haven’t done that enough recently. We go for rides, but we don’t go anywhere.

There’s a reason for that. Ties back to the whole masks-are-mandatory thing. Makes training in public a little… difficult.

But you’re different dogs. So it won’t end the same. No part of my adventure with you and my adventure with him have been the same.

Do you miss him, Hooman?

I honestly don’t know. I can’t imagine going through those six months, again, knowing what I do now. I love him–and always will–but hindsight is always 20/20, and, in hindsight, I can see keeping him would’ve been good. Good is the enemy of great. And, I think, if I had kept him, none of us–you, me, or Yaha–could’ve grown to be our best selves. 

For all that, though, he was a big part of my journey. He was my first service dog in training and gave me my first taste of this world and really owning a dog. For all the lessons we learned together, all the experiences–good, bad, and ugly–he will always hold a special place in my heart even if he’s no longer my dog.

But we’ll still see him, right? I can still play with my new friend?

Of course. 100% yes. I think it’s good for all of us.

Acknowledge that the past happened.

Thank God that He loved us enough to let it.

Thank God that He loved us too much to let that be it.

Move on with lessons and memories held close to our heart.

Because… (say it with me)

You were not born to fail.

Woof!

Lauryn

And Cor!

More Puppy Pictures