Once Dad Neil and I returned to NC things settled down a little bit. Then on Thursday Dad and Neil headed for Raleigh to fly out. Sally spent part of the evening trying to figure out where they were. Where we were finishing umbilical training there were a couple of times that Sally almost drug me to the room that Dad and Neil stayed in to see if they were in there. When she saw they weren't she would walk away from the room with her head down like she was disappointed. Friday was a laid back day for us, not a lot going on just a chance for the 2 of us to chill. I had already started trying to get mentally ready for the trip to Wilmington for the 5 k. I was to meet Jack and Amanda. Two kids that paws4people has helped. Being that I have a problem with being around children I knew that I was going to have to prepare for this excursion. 2 days till the 5k.
Saturday was an interesting day. Sally and went to Lowe's and got a grill, and then made my big goal of grocery shopping. Lowe's was fairly easy. The grocery store wasn't quite as easy but with Sally there it really helped. This was the same grocery store that almost a year ago started the whole not liking to be touched problem. I knew that this would be a challenge. Spent an hour and half there walking the aisles and seeing what there was. I spent quite a bit of money there as I didn't have a list. As we walked up and down the aisles if I saw something that looked good or interesting I picked it up. There were several people that came up and asked questions about Sally and I. They all were extremely supportive of the whole thing. After getting done with groceries, Sally and went back to the house. It was a real experience in putting food in the cupboards and freezer, and afterwards I took a step back and really realized that if it hadn't been for having Sally with me this was something that would have never happened. I kept one steak out of the freezer and started it marinating thinking that when we got home from the 5k, it might be nice to grill it. After that Sally and I chilled and got some rest .
Sunday April 18, 2010. Sally and I had to get up early to head to Wilmington. This was the day of the 5k. The entire hour drive there I could feel the anxiety building. I knew that Jack and Amanda would be there and I would be meeting them. Sally and I made it to the campus of UNCW and while talking to Allison on the phone we finally found the spot where everyone was. As we got there the race started. Allison and us went up to the start area and there we started meeting several people. This included Jack. A really neat kid. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I knelt down to meet him. Scared to death in being that close to a kid. I tried to rely on my training to appear calm and I was told later that it worked. No one really noticed that I was stressing. So many dogs there and so many people. There was a couple of really stressful moments when people got too close because Sally and I were busty meeting people. But overall we made it through it. I found that when the dogs realized that I had a snack pouch on my hip and would see me give Sally a treat I became quite popular. I had some really undivided attention from several of the dogs. I did find out that Sally does have a bit of a jealous streak though. As Lilly came up to greet me Sally positioned herself between us and pushed her back. Then moved even further in between us. Allison and a couple others noticed it too and we all got kind of a kick out of it.
Overall it turned out okay. Though my stress level didn't really let down while I was there with Sally there to help I made it through. Allison was surprised to find out that my stress level was high as when I interacted with the kids it almost seemed natural and she said for me. I guess the training as a Corpsman to be calm even when scared to death helped. One of the things that I received some help on while there is I really got to see Sally's reaction to other dogs. She was fine for the most part with the labs and retrievers but the smaller dogs and other breeds she would bark and kind of lunge towards. not really aggressively but just like she was trying to let them know she was there. Kyria and Karen both came up to us and talked to us about it. Kyira gave me some tips as to how to work with Sally on this issue. Karen told me that she was experiencing the same thing with her new puppy Vic. They both said that the reaction was due to Sally being brought up around Labs and Retrievers and larger breeds and that she didn't know what the other little thing running around were. They both told me that exposing Sally to other breeds and other dogs would be the best way to get over this. They gave me some suggestions as to how to work this issue and Sally and I have been working a little bit at a time to help her to get used to other dogs. Coming from Kyria it was definitely and order and as a military man I definitely have to follow her orders!! She reminds me of my oldest niece and there are times that Misti has scared me even despite her size. Kyria is the same, in a lot of ways.
When we got back to the house that day I went out to get the grill ready. I then realized that I didn't have any utensils to grill with. Sally and ran down to Lowe's again to get a set. While there a couple came up to us and started to ask questions about Sally. She lady asked if Sally and I were the team that had been in the paper the other day. I told her yes and she said they had read the article and then thanked me for my service. The gentleman kept asking the same questions and repeating the same comments. Something didn't seem right. He meant no harm though. His wife asked if they could pet Sally and I told them no cause she was working and she understood. As her and I were talking Sally laid down between me and them and relaxed. I watched as the gentleman knelt down and started to talk to her. He then started to pet her and even asked her for her paw which she did without a second thought. The wife turned around a looked at me and with an almost embarrassed looked started to apologize. She told me that the gentleman had beginning stages of Alzheimer's. I watched his interaction with Sally and they both just seemed to relax. He had actually gotten down on his knees and elbows and was talking to her. His wife told me the used to have a Black lab and they lost him about 6 months ago. They had had him for 13 years. The gentleman got up and looked at me and told me thank you. He had tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke. His wife then turned to me and thanked me to and apologized again. I told her that even though Sally was there to help me she could sense that he needed some help at that time and I was glad to be able to be there so she could could help him. We left Lowe's and headed back to the house. A lot to think about on the way. When we got to the house we went out and turned on the grill. Sally, attached to me, was trying to figure out what this thing was that I was messing around with. I got the grill fired up and went in and got the steak out of the fridge and put it on to start cooking. I went back inside and started some vegetables too. WOW!! I had food in the house and even was able to cook a real meal. The steak was incredible, although I could tell it wasn't Nebraska Beef. It was still incredible. The first of hopefully many more.
