I clung to Heathcliff’s arm as a flare of bright green lightning zigzagged across my vision. The light flashes were more frequent than ever now, and with my peripheral vision practically non-existent, when they hit they blinded me completely.
As I strode into the unknown, the noise of excited yips and barks reached my ears, and the arrow of doubt and pain that had pierced my heart withdrew, replaced by excitement fluttering in my stomach.
I’m about to meet the creature who’s going to be my eyes and my new friend.
We entered a small waiting area lined with plastic chairs, water bowls, and dog toys scattered everywhere. I stepped close to the wall to admire the large, bold posters of bright-eyed dogs standing, walking, and sitting wearing their distinctive coats and harnesses.
“Mina?” A new voice called from behind me.
“Edie.” I spun around and identified the shape of the guide dog trainer on the other side of the room. We embraced warmly. Edie had visited me at Nevermore Bookshop a few weeks ago, when I first applied for a guide dog, to assess my vision needs and independent mobility and the environment my dog would be working in. I hadn’t expected to be matched with a dog so soon, but when she called last week to say she had the perfect guy for me, I did a Snoopy dance right there in the middle of the shop.
“It’s lovely to see you again. I’m Edie.” She held out her hand to Quoth, who’d been in his bird form when she came by. He shook her hand, and I noticed the stiffness in his body as he focused on staying in his human form. I knew all the doggie smells would be freaking him out – I made a quick prayer to Isis and Hathor and all the goddesses he’d be able to get used to it, or I wouldn’t be able to have a dog in the shop. “We’re so happy to match you with a guide dog.”
Up closer, I could tell Edie was smiling – one of those smiles that lit up her whole face.She probably has the best job in the world.
“I’m thrilled to meet him.” The butterflies did an excited flip. “It’s amazing what you’re able to do at the center. I read how much it costs to train a guide dog, and I thought I’d have to pay for it myself.”
“Nope,” Edie grinned. “We believe that independence is a right everyone should be entitled to. We rely on sponsorship and charitable donations to cover the cost of raising and training each dog, which is around thirty thousand quid per animal. Around two million people in the UK alone live with sight loss, and around a hundred and eighty thousand of those people rarely leave their homes alone because they can’t do so independently. These pups are a way to give people back their freedom.”
Freedom.
A lump rose in my throat that I hadn’t expected. It was the way Edie used that word. Freedom. It meant more to me than she could ever know.
Beside me, Quoth squeezed my hand. He knew exactly how precious freedom was.
“Your boy is outside with his brothers and sisters, waiting to meet you.” Edie offered her elbow. “Would you like me to guide you?”
“I’m okay.” But I clung to Quoth’s arm as we made our way down a wide ramp and through two sets of sliding glass doors into an outdoor penned area. The barks increased as a line of excited golden retrievers met us at the fence.
Edie unchained a gate and led us through. Five golden bodies bounded over, jumping and pawing and swamping us with sloppy kisses.
“Hey, hey, calm down, you lot. Mina, this is Oscar.” Edie bent down and clipped a lead onto the collar of the smallest retriever. Oscar was no longer a puppy, because he’d just completed two full years of training, but there was a flicker of mischief in his intelligent brown eyes that reminded me of Morrie, and my heart melted.
“Hey, little dude.” I bent down to his level, offering a hand. Oscar’s ears flapped, and he bounded over to lick my face, his tail wagging with excitement as he sniffed me all over.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and I didn’t want to ever let go.
“As you can see, he’s excitable,” Edie said. “We’ve matched you with Oscar because you’re young and active, and you’ll be spending your time in the bookshop. Oscar’s a sociable boy – he loves being around other people and animals, but when he’s working, he’s got excellent focus. He also loves dark spaces and tunnels.”
“He sounds perfect.” I choked on the words as I struggled to hold back tears. Reluctantly, I slid my arms out from around Oscar’s neck and stood up.
“This is his harness.” Edie showed me how to hold out the harness. As soon as Oscar saw the harness, he stepped into it, and Edie helped me find the buckles to do it up. “Oscar’s been trained to know that when his harness goes on, he’s working and he has to be a good boy. You hold your arm out like this, with your pointer finger looped through the harness and lead. This gives you the best control, but means that you can let go easily in an emergency. Now, we’ll go over the gestures and commands for walking, sitting, turning, etc.”
Oscar and I walked around the obstacle course – he located steps, a ramp, and then brought me to a chair so I could sit. Edie stayed with me, repeating the commands and helping me to refine the gestures I’d use to let Oscar know what I wanted. After a couple of hours, my head was spinning with all the new information, but I didn’t want to hand the lead back to Edie.
“I love him so much.” I fumbled with Oscar’s harness as he slipped it over his head. Once he was free, I wrapped my arms around him again and gathered him to my body. Oscar leaned his body against me, and his wagging tail whomped against my thigh. My heart fluttered as an instant connection flared between us – an unspoken promise that we’d always look out for each other. “When can I take him home?”
Edie laughed. “I’m so happy – he’s smitten with you, too. The two of you will need to complete training before we can release him to you, but it won’t be much longer. We’d like you to come in every day for two weeks of training with Oscar. We’ll do some training here at the center, but also out in the community and in situations you might normally find yourself in. Will you be able to get the time off work?”
“Yes,” Heathcliff said before I could answer.
I looked at him in alarm. What about solving Morrie’s case? But I couldn’t say that in front of Edie, so I forced a smile. “Yes, I’ll be here. I wouldn’t miss it.”
Oscar nudged my leg, his tail beating against my shin. Anxiousness tugged at me as I handed the lead back to Edie. Oscar should be coming with me. He was mine, and I was his. Oscar peered up at me with those feisty brown eyes, and I knew he felt it, too.
As we left the guide dog center, Quoth squeezed my hand. “You’re smiling.”
“He’s adorable, don’t you think?” I beamed, even as I blinked back tears.
