Change of Career
Emails that say "Update" and have a :( on them, are not generally a good thing. Especially if they have the word "Rob" in front of both of those.
I was at work, scrambling to make some last minute calls before my shift was over, when I happened to turn on my phone. The email was one of many on my lock screen, and only gave me a snippet of information, but it was enough.
Yes I did childishly stamp my feet, while pleasantly informing the customer on the phone, that he still owed us money. Words like, "are you serious?" And "what in the world" came to mind. Though I suppose those are more like sentences.
Whatever.
Can I be honest for a moment? Thanks. I've kept somethings back from you guys. In an effort to present Rob in the best light possible, I looked for the good in him, and magnified it, especially on the internet. However Rob was not the easiest pup I've ever raised. Have you ever tried to fit a square peg into a round hole? That's kind of what life was like, trying to create a guide dog out of Rob.
He didn't want it, and showed me in no uncertain terms. However the decision was not in my hands, so when it became apparent that he did better in the hands of others, I opted to move him into another environment for both of our sanities. He got a lot of good reports. He was doing well in this, learning to handle that.... all good.
And I was happily skeptical. :)
I mean its good but...
Rob - In harness and working in more challenging areas. Introducing city, escalators and traffic work. Needs more conditioning. Learning quickly. Very happy, pleasant demeanor. A real people dog!!
Rob - Nearly class ready. Learning quickly. Very happy and pleasant demeanor. He has been passed back to another training team, because there isn’t a match right for him at this time. He will benefit from more conditioning. He’s a real people dog!
Ok Its good.
Just accept the good.
We got more, and more good, and I was happier and happier. He's a good dog, perhaps it was just me. And I was ok with that. I think all of us, especially those of us in the service dog field, know how important proper matches are. And I don't believe Rob and I were a really good match, and if there was someone else who could work with him better, more power to them.
But my biggest concern was that he'd fly through training, get matched and have to be returned due to him not really wanting to work.
I knew he'd do great in training. If anything Dude was super smart. Picked up things like nobody's business. But he didn't seem to like the public eye.
So while today's new was surprising considering the updates I'd been getting. I'm not really surprised.
Oh. That's right, I haven't given you today's update, though surely you've guess by now..?
"Rob was released for low motivation and traffic sensitivity."
Will he be coming home? No.
GDF will find him a great home, and he'll be happy doing exactly what he wanted to do in the first place. Whatever he wants.
I was at work, scrambling to make some last minute calls before my shift was over, when I happened to turn on my phone. The email was one of many on my lock screen, and only gave me a snippet of information, but it was enough.
Yes I did childishly stamp my feet, while pleasantly informing the customer on the phone, that he still owed us money. Words like, "are you serious?" And "what in the world" came to mind. Though I suppose those are more like sentences.
Can I be honest for a moment? Thanks. I've kept somethings back from you guys. In an effort to present Rob in the best light possible, I looked for the good in him, and magnified it, especially on the internet. However Rob was not the easiest pup I've ever raised. Have you ever tried to fit a square peg into a round hole? That's kind of what life was like, trying to create a guide dog out of Rob.
He didn't want it, and showed me in no uncertain terms. However the decision was not in my hands, so when it became apparent that he did better in the hands of others, I opted to move him into another environment for both of our sanities. He got a lot of good reports. He was doing well in this, learning to handle that.... all good.
And I was happily skeptical. :)
I mean its good but...
Rob - In harness and working in more challenging areas. Introducing city, escalators and traffic work. Needs more conditioning. Learning quickly. Very happy, pleasant demeanor. A real people dog!!
Rob - Nearly class ready. Learning quickly. Very happy and pleasant demeanor. He has been passed back to another training team, because there isn’t a match right for him at this time. He will benefit from more conditioning. He’s a real people dog!
Ok Its good.
Just accept the good.
We got more, and more good, and I was happier and happier. He's a good dog, perhaps it was just me. And I was ok with that. I think all of us, especially those of us in the service dog field, know how important proper matches are. And I don't believe Rob and I were a really good match, and if there was someone else who could work with him better, more power to them.
But my biggest concern was that he'd fly through training, get matched and have to be returned due to him not really wanting to work.
I knew he'd do great in training. If anything Dude was super smart. Picked up things like nobody's business. But he didn't seem to like the public eye.
So while today's new was surprising considering the updates I'd been getting. I'm not really surprised.
"Rob was released for low motivation and traffic sensitivity."
Will he be coming home? No.
GDF will find him a great home, and he'll be happy doing exactly what he wanted to do in the first place. Whatever he wants.
Comments