This morning, Tucker went to church with us to hear Lt. Col. Oliver North speak. The house was packed - probably at least 1000 people - and yet, he sat calmly under my chair for the entire service. He was asleep before the service started, and when the trumpets sounded to begin the July 4th tribute, he jerked awake and looked around like he wasn't quite sure where the sound came from. As usual, he settled down almost immediately, and I don't think the majority of the people around us even noticed him.
He took a few well deserved naps this afternoon, and then we went out to church again for my bible study. As it turns out, I missed the memo about it being cancelled today. However, I am so glad I went. When we came through the lobby doors, I saw a man sitting on the couch, but didn't really think anything of it until he said, "Are you from Michigan?" Most people don't know what a Leader Dog is, much less where it is, so I was very surprised. Sensing my surprise, he smiled and pulled a Leader Dog coffee mug out of his bag. As it turns out, he had just finished his orientation in May and was scheduled to go back in the fall to get his first Leader Dog!
After the shock of meeting a future Leader Dog handler, I wondered, If he's blind, how did he see Tucker's Leader Dog bandana? Again, he seemed to read my mind, and explained that he has 3% vision left but that the doctors have said it will be gone in a year or two. He said he could see an area about the size of my face, which is how he saw Tucker's bandana. Since my bible study was non-existent, I talked with him a little while longer before heading out.
The outdoor activities at church weren't scheduled to begin until 6, but I didn't want to drive 30 minutes home just to come back out, so Tucker and I decided to hang out at MacDonald's. ;) Here's the funny part - the kids who came by asked politely if they could pet him, but the MacDonald's employees just walked up and started petting him without another thought. Tucker was asleep, so I just let it go.
When we went back to church, several people stopped me to tell me pets weren't allowed at this outside event. (Thankfully, the college/singles pastor had already said Tucker was allowed) When I explained that he was a service dog in training and that he sat through Oliver North's sermon that morning, almost all of them said, "He was there? I didn't hear a thing!" I walked him around the grounds once and then we left for home. Between the heat and the myriad of small children who had swarmed him, he was tired. I thought he did a great job - with the exception of the busy parking lot, he walked all of it himself!
He slept for quite some time when we got home, but woke up just in time to play with Dad's friend Scott when he dropped by. :)
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