Second to Last Day
New York City
Seeing how well today went at The Seeing Eye, I now am certain that Maxine and I are ready to leave. Today’s adventure took place in Manhattan. All five remaining students and two instructors drove out there in a van, parking in the gigantic Court Authority building near the heart of Time Square. The crowds were splendidly dense, giving Maxine a challenge that she took on pretty well. She did bump me into a few people, which resulted in an immediate correction, of course. She’s slowly figuring out how much room she needs to steer around obstacles, people included. When compared to our trip to New York City on Thursday, Maxine’s progress shines.
On top of all the crowds and traffic, we both had to endure the heat. Walking along the bustling city blocks, we would occasionally catch a cool breeze from the opened door of an air conditioned establishment we passed. Maxine would urge me to go in: “Come on, let’s go inside, it’s too hot!” She doesn’t speak English, but she communicates with sharp turns and pulls. She resigned herself to the heat, somehow managing to ignore the enticing cool air that wafted from open doors. Since the pavement was so hot she was wearing little dog boots to keep her paws from burning. She does pretty well in the boots and doesn’t complain too much about them. For the first minute or so her stride is a bit clownish. Quite quickly she becomes used to them, though.
Our instructor decided to take us to Central Park, which turned out to be a great idea because not only did we get crowds, we had pigeons, pet dogs, and horses to contend with. The other animals definitely distracted Maxine. She tried to visit with some of the dogs, stared at the pigeons, and walked as far as she could from the horses. We steered around rickshaws, children, and hot dog stands. Strolling along the tree-lined paths of Central Park we went through a tunnel, passed a playground full of kids, and up to—yes!—The Carousel! I don’t think I’ve ever liked carousel rides, not even as a toddler. But riding a carousel with our dogs?? It was all our instructor’s idea, and she paid for us to get on one of those couch seats, with dogs on the floor of course. Wizard of Oz music played while we circled around. Maxine didn’t react at all, seemingly comfortable with the circular motion. Brave dog. Perhaps it’s a sign that she won’t mind plane rides either.
Going to New York City has been the best part of the program. Gliding along the streets of Manhattan, I marveled at the many mouth-watering smells of food from all over the world. I love the constant motion, the diversity, and the contagious excitement. Weaving through crowds of people is fun in itself, like stepping into a video game where three crashes equals Game Over. And the dogs are really pushed to their limits there, having to navigate huge crowds, tolerate loud noise, and watch so many fast moving cars. My instructor pointed out that he took Maxine to New York City before and she did fabulously. This trip to Manhattan was not a test for her, it was merely to build up my trust, and also to see how well the two of us work as a team.
We ”tripped the lights fantastic”—and a person or two—“on the sidewalks of New York…”
