Flip

Alejandra and Flip

February 15, 2006. I could feel the excitement and tension mounting as 12 of us sat in the lecture room at Guide Dogs for the Blind, waiting to hear about our new furry partners. "Allie," Lucy, one of the instructors, announced, "you'll be receiving a male yellow lab named Flip." I squealed; I couldn't help it! I just couldn't believe the time had finally come! As I headed back to my dorm room to wait for my turn to meet my dog, I could barely contain my excitement. When I heard the anticipated knock on my room door, and Mike, another instructor, call out, "Allie, it's your turn!" I let out something like a shriek, jumped out of my chair and practically ran down the hall to the music room, where Flip was brought to me by Megan, yet another instructor. He was such a wonderful, joyous bundle of wiggly-ness. I still remember how fluffy he felt from his bath earlier that day and how interested he was in the rest of the room, after pausing only briefly to sniff at me and give me a lick. When Megan said I could clip my leash to his collar and take him back with me, I felt like I was in a dream. I grinned so much my face hurt. We walked back to my room, and Flip thumped his tail against my leg the whole way. I couldn't believe he was mine, that we would be working together for years to come. Our very first walk the next day was nothing like I've ever experienced. It was short and sweet, but something I'll never forget. We sailed smoothly down the sidewalk in downtown San Rafael so effortlessly that I couldn't imagine ever being without a dog again. As we continued with training, he swerved around poles, stopped for parked cars, slowed down when we had to squeeze through tight spaces, and remembered the places we frequented most. He even performed flawlessly when crossing the street. I never had to worry about oncoming cars when I was with him, because he would either speed up or jerk me back to keep me safe. I didn't think I could trust a dog so much. Kali was our primary instructor for the duration of training. Flip would get so silly and wiggly whenever he saw her, because she had been his trainer, but then he would settle down. Gradually, we got to a point where he would just wag his tail when she came near, while staying focused on me. The more time Flip and I spent together, the more I could feel the bond between us getting stronger. We graduated as a qualified team on March 11, 2006. Nearly 4 years later, we are still together, working better than we did in training. I can remember how I felt on the day we met, and smile. Though circumstances have changed, the excitement is still there.