It started in a coffee shop

Today, Gunner alerted me to a potential situation I didn’t see coming. It was in a coffee shop we had gone to so that I could get some work done. I had just finished one task, and had ordered another drink to sip on as I started something new. He was laying quietly under the small round table for two when he popped up, looked around, and barked.

I’ve known Gunner since before he got his bark. His first barks were both annoying and cute all at once. There was no volume control, and it seemed like there was no reason for them either. Out of nowhere he would bark. It was startling, loud, and made me tense all over.

The barks slowed down after a while. And they developed different volumes, sounds, and I could even start to understand the reason for the different barks. Late in the evening, Gunner has these cute little woofs while he is laying on the couch with my wife and I. It took me longer than it should have to understand what he was saying. My wife got it first. Gunner was saying, I’m tired. Lets go to bed.

Today, Gunner’s bark was saying, something’s wrong, Dad. I immediately tried to settle him, and took a quick look around. I saw no threats. Some more people had come into the coffee shop, but they had been doing so all while we were there, and Gunner did nothing. The people didn’t seem threatening at all.

Then, he barked again, and another right after that one. I had to get up and walk out the nearest door, leaving my stuff behind. Gunner was agitated, and barked a little quieter after we got out the doors. I knelt down to hold him and comfort him, but he was having none of it. He would wiggle away and do little circles in front of me, woofing in the direction of the door.

This is when I finally understood better. Something bothered Gunner enough that he was not going to let it go, and I had to trust my service dog that the coffee shop was now a place I didn’t want to be in. Gunner had sensed something, something that I was not aware of, and didn’t even understand at that moment, but this is what he does for me.

Gunner looks out for me

He does a lot to take care of me, ranging from recognizing differences in my body before I do, and recognizing differences in my surroundings before I do. Things that, either way, could be potentially bad for me.

I calmed him down until it was just little woofs, and went back into the coffee shop, heading directly for my little table. As soon as we entered he became more agitated. I said over and over, “settle, its ok, good boy,” as I put away my computer and gathered my things, and started out the front door. 

That would have been the end of the encounter, and I wouldn’t be writing this if that had been all that happened. However, I made the mistake of looking around me, and saw the looks of at least two people watching me with critical eyes and posture.

I kept walking toward the door, albeit a little slower. Giving them time, and thinking to myself, ‘say something. Say it.”

In the moment, and after the moment

Nobody said anything, and I continued out the door. Taking a couple of steps, and letting the door close behind me, I continued to listen. Then, looking down at Gunner, who was now cool, calm, and collected, he again brought me into the moment. Before, he told me something wasn’t right. Now, he was telling me, everything is alright. This made me smile a bit, and we made our way to the car. 

This is what my AG (Assistant Gunner, is his full name. I call him Gunner or AG for short) does for me. I am often not present in the moment. I may be going over something that just happened, something coming up in the near future, or something else entirely. Gunner is always right there, in the moment, and he alerts me to things I cannot or do not notice.

I still don’t know what it was, but I think it was the two excited young preteens who probably came from something fun, and were being loud both in volume and body language. He knew I was focused and working, and that excited energy these young boys were bringing in might have frustrated me. It could be that I was already getting tense because of that very reason without realizing it myself, and he reacted, popping up, tense and ready.

It ended in my car

I’m getting better at listening to him, and this was just one case where, both in the moment and after the moment, I recognized what he was telling me and chose the best action with this new information. While driving away, still feeling a little agitated, I pulled over before leaving the parking lot to calm down, when God put a thought in my mind.

Now, if I can listen to Gunner and take actions based on trust, without having a complete understanding, I should practice listening to God and moving according to His Will without having a complete understanding. And if Gunner can help me realize my relationship with him is more important than what strangers think of me, I should remind myself more often that my relationship with God is more important than what strangers think of me.

When Gunner was just a puppy, I remember being so glad that he was going to be there with me to help me to get better and go with me through difficult times. I never imagined he would be there to help turn my thoughts to God and to hear God speak such wonderful words to me.