How Does A Blind Man Find The Bus Stop And Go For A Coffee? | Guide Dogs

How Does A Blind Man Find The Bus Stop And Go For A Coffee? | Guide Dogs
With A superstar Guide Dog like Spencer of course :-)
Being blind creates lots of challenges, and navigating The world safely, confidently and independently is one of the most challenging. However, with a Guide Dog, the challenge becomes so much easier. These amazing dogs transform the lives of those with visual impairments and give them/us a second chance at life.
Here you will see that I asked Spencer to find the bus stop, and he will stop at each kerb, when we get to a road, I will ask him to go forward. If there is no closely traffic, Spencer will take me across the road, and indicate to me when we get to the other side. If I have misjudged the traffic situation, then Spencer will refuse to move, despite me asking him to - quite the life saver, on several occasions. Especially with so many electric vehicles these days.
When the bus arrives, Spencer will walk to the open door and place his two front paws onto the floor of the bus, to let me know where it is. I will step up and then Spencer will take me to the driver. I then ask Spencer to " find a chair" and he will take me to an empty chair to sit on.
Once Spencer knows I am sat safely down, he will lay beside my feet, resting his head on my foot. This way, I know where he is, and also, he will immediately sit up and pay attention as soon as my foot moves, as he knows we need to make a move.
Once we get to our stop, Spencer will walk me to the bus door, and let me know when I get to the edge, I will then ask him " forward" and he will step down, with me following slightly behind him.
I then ask him to "find costa", and because we visit Costa A LOT, he knows exactly where it is, will take me to the door, then to the counter, and once ready he will then look for an empty chair for me to sit on to drink my coffee, during which time, he will simply lay down under the table, usually again, resting his head on my foot.
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[@bekind6858]

What a cute video! If only Spencer could talk with those eyes. Also I love the way you say “Bus” with your accent. I don’t really know much the variations between accents in regions of the UK, but your voice has a David Attenborough quality haha

[@LowVisionUKTerrysView]

haha, aww thank you 🙂. hehe, David Attenborough .... I have such a northern drawl, hate listening back to myself, and BUS is one of those words I laugh at especially when I hear myself saying it ... that and ROAD lol. Glad you liked our little video, and hope all is good with you

[@SuiteNatured]

What a fantastic Video Terry. You and Spencer are such an incredible team. Linzi and Mark

[@LowVisionUKTerrysView]

aww thank you so much Linzi and Mark thats very kind of you to say. Hope you are having the most amazing time away at the moment ..im nit ashamed to say..I am VERY jealous haha x

[@SuiteNatured]

@@LowVisionUKTerrysView We are not away yet Terry. We go on the 29th Oct on Iona for two weeks. We are on countdown though. We cannot wait. So long since we have done a two week cruise (2018). Linzi & Mark

[@LowVisionUKTerrysView]

@@SuiteNatured of course... in my head I knew it was 29th October! So, why I said that is beyond me.. ( could have been something to do with the gin perhaps lol ) x

[@SuiteNatured]

@@LowVisionUKTerrysView Gin is very often a reason we say things too 🤣

[@LowVisionUKTerrysView]

@@SuiteNatured hahaha

[@evie9239]

Are you still preferring top fix to side fix harnesses?

[@LowVisionUKTerrysView]

Hi Evie, I have never had the side fixings type harness, so cant really state a preference between the two. I feel very comfortable with the top fix tho

[@evie9239]

@@LowVisionUKTerrysView Thanks for replying. I have a top-fix too but have been hearing about people switching to side fix (b-type) harnesses and enjoying the feedback more. A friend told me I was 'old school' with a top-fix and I went on a KZbin mission! It's quite uncommon to see another handler with top-fix!