Today Alice (Japanese Chin) and I met up with Skyler with Korra (sable Standard Poodle), Sabrina (manual wheelchair user) with Indy (Golden Retriever), Sabrina’s husband Russ, and Scarlet (power wheelchair user). We wanted to meet up to help Korra realize that not all dogs are going to attack her, as she’s been a little distracted around other dogs since her attack.
Unfortunately when Brad woke up this morning, he was in really bad shape and so he was unable to join us. We missed him greatly!
I picked Scarlet up and we got to Target like 20 minutes early. Alice was uncomfortable just inside the entrance, so we hung out in the swimsuit section while we waited for the others to arrive.
She did really well when carts had to come past us, but was a little concerned the few times we went over next to the bustling entrance area. So when we were there waiting for people, I just held her. It was probably safer that way anyway as it was pretty busy!
Skyler and Korra arrived first and Alice did a good job ignoring Korra! We hung out in the swimsuit section again until Sabrina and Indy arrived. Alice was more interested in Indy, and kept trying to go over to sniff Indy’s face while Indy was lying down. We hung out in swimsuits and talked for a bit, and Korra was doing a good job remembering to ignore other dogs. It was a tiny bit hard for her, but she started to relax more and more the longer we were there. The following three pictures show the dogs hanging out on the floor together as the humans talked.
Next we headed over to the home goods section for Sabrina to pick up a jar. Sabrina and Indy led the way, with us in the middle.
Alice both did really well and not so great depending on the situation as we traversed the store. At first she only wanted to walk on the left side of the aisle and not the right. That was a little difficult, but gradually she got more comfortable walking on the right. She was never as confident walking on the right as she was on the left. I think this is because when we’re walking on the right, she’s out in the middle of the aisle where everyone is passing by. So this is something to work on.
Her heel also needs work. I had to stop a lot to get her to look up to me, and she was definitely pulling to try to catch up to Indy some. She was also a little sniffy.
But on some really big things I was SO proud of her! She didn’t mind carts whizzing past her at all. Several times there were stocking carts going past us full of supplies and items for the shelves, and she didn’t even mind those! She was also great about some kids. These two kids saw all the dogs and started running and darting and screaming. Alice just walked right past like she didn’t even see them!
There were definitely times when she was unsure or uncomfortable a little (mostly when we were standing around—she likes to be moving not standing still), but it wasn’t major discomfort and she got through it quickly. I’d say 80–85% of the time she was acting totally comfortable with everything going on. The other 15–20% was minor discomfort.
Scarlet and Skyler with Korra went to get candy, and we met them on their way back to us.
Then it was time to check out. Unfortunately near the checkout area it started to get really really really crowded and people were acting impatient about everything. I didn’t want to risk Alice getting bumped by an angry person’s shopping cart, so I picked her up as we got to that area. I put her down again in checkout, and she did great!
Afterward, we headed over to Dunkin’ for some coffee. The poor girl behind the counter there… It must’ve been her first day because she got every single order wrong. I felt so bad for her. Luckily we all eventually got what we ordered.
We went outside and sat in the sun, and even though it was only in the 40s, everyone except Russ was pretty comfortable. We had an excellent time talking and laughing. We hung out there for about an hour, then got a quick picture and headed back to the van.
On the way back to the van, a little kid saw Scarlet and was amazed that their wheelchair was moving on its own LOL!
Alice is now zonked out. And Hestia and Brad are happy we are home! It was a good outing, and Alice is definitely proving to me that she’s happier out and about than she is in class.