You may have seen us around campus — me with my female black Lab guide dog. She guides me around the many obstacles and crowds on campus very gracefully, taking her commands from me — and me alone. She is a very good worker and loves her job. She constantly wags her tail and prances along with exuberance.
She is a friendly dog, as well. She loves people and wants everyone to be her friend. She will look at people with her big, beautiful eyes as if to say, “Please pet me.” But I am here to say, “Please don’t!”
When a guide dog is in harness, whether walking or not, they are at work. When the harness is on, they are not allowed to play. When the harness is off, it is another story and, I promise you, she plays and gets lots of love. But when the harness is on, she is at work.
Any attention given to her by others — either from talking to her, petting her or trying to play with her — gets her off task. This can be very dangerous for both of us.
As a guide dog, it is her job to safely guide me around obstacles, whether its people, benches, curbs and stairs, or cars. If distracted, she could miss guiding me and I could run into someone or something, trip and fall, or we both could get hit by a car.
Even if we are not walking when someone pets her, if she gets used to being petted while in harness, she will become accustomed to it and, instead of guiding me safely, will be seeking people in order to get petted. So, no matter how much she looks longingly into your eyes, or no matter how well intentioned you may be, please don’t pet my dog.
If you see us sitting somewhere and you would like to pet her, you may come up and ask me if it is OK. Do not pet her or talk to her unless I say it is OK. The harness must be taken off before she can be petted. Sometimes, if she is behaving herself well — and we have time — I will take it off and allow her to be petted.
Other times, if she has been especially distracted that day or if we will soon be going somewhere, I will not let her be petted. Once the harness is back on, though, she is back at work and no more petting is to be done.
This is a personal decision made by every handler based on their dog’s own personality, their schedule and their own personal preferences, so do not assume that everyone will be the same in this respect.
Please, do not be offended if I tell you not to pet my dog. I say this not to be mean, but in order to keep my dog focused on her work to ensure the safety of both of us. Distracting a guide dog by petting it, talking to it or any other action geared toward the dog, is like covering someone’s eyes while they are driving. So please, don’t pet my dog.
Megan Miller is a criminal justice graduate student and a contributing writer for the Daily 49er.