ASK FRENCHIE

Frenchie is a guide dog for the visually-impaired. You can ask him about his life and ask his advice on how to handle yours. 

Dear Frenchie:

You are so cute. All I want to do is pet you and feed you treats. But your owner is mean! She told me not to touch you because you were working. You don't look like you are working to me. You are just sitting there next to your owner while she is talking to friends! Tell me the truth. You want me to pet you, don't you?                 -Billy, age 11

Billy:

You are so nice to want to pet me. I am awfully cute. But please don't touch me when I have my guide dog harness on. I was trained to be a guide dog and help my visually-impaired human get around safely. Very skilled trainers taught me how to take care of my human. When I am wearing my harness, I know it’s time to work. I am alert to all her needs, even if she is just chatting with friends. Sometimes, when I am at home and she is in a safe place, she takes my harness off, and then I am free to play and eat treats. But as soon as I am in that harness, I know it is time to work. If you pet me while I am wearing it, you are distracting me from my job and maybe even putting my human in danger. You don’t offer a pilot a treat or try to have a conversation with him while he is trying to get people safely from one place to the next, do you?  My owner wasn't actually being mean. She just doesn’t want me to get confused about when it’s time to work or play. Do me a favor and tell all your friends about my harness. The more people who know that guide dogs are working when we are in our harnesses, the better. Thanks for writing, Billy.    

Frenchie

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