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I entered the Windermere Room to find the others already seated.
“There’s an empty chair to your right,” Sophie said.
I folded my cane and sat.
“What’s that clicking for?” Nidra asked. She sat a few seats to my left.
“It’s an echolocation thing. It helps me to get a feel for the shape of rooms and stuff.”
“That’s so cool.”
“I’m still pretty new to it. It’s better than just using the cane on its own.”
“I don’t really like the cane.”
“Have you tried the big roller?”
“No. Is that good?”
“Yeah. It stops it snagging.”
“That’s good. But that’s why I want a dog. Too many injuries.”
“Is it your first dog?”
“It is. You?”
“Yeah.”
Gary came into the room, huffing and puffing, rustling paper and jingling bells following him. “Right, everyone. It’s equipment time.” He set a bag in front of me.
Leaning down, I rifled inside for a moment. Leather straps. Plastic clips. I pulled out a leash.
“That’s your lead,” Sophie said. “It’s new, so the leather’s still a bit stiff.”
“Right.”
“Best thing to do over the next few days is keep bending it. You’re going to be using this every day when you’re qualified, so the more comfortable it is, the better.”
I reached inside the bag and pulled out a nylon dog collar. Plastic clips joined it together at each end, while a loop of thin chain rested in the middle.
Sophie pulled the ring and placed it on my hand. “Will you connect the end of the lead to that loop?”
After a few seconds of fumbling with the clip, I attached the leash to the ring. “Is that right?”
“You’ve got it.” She placed a tangle of straps on my hand. “This one’s a bit more complicated. This is a gentle leader.” She pushed the D-ring against my fingers and got me to attach it to the lead and collar. “That’s it.”
I smiled and fished around the bag, pulling out a pair of brushes and what felt like a rake used in a kid’s sandpit. “What are these?”
“They’re your grooming brushes. Then there’s your whistle and play collar.”
“What’s the bell for?”
“It’s for the play collar. When you let Wizard out on a free run, you’ll be able to tell where he is.”
I pulled out a flat piece of curved leather. Rivets held metal clips in place. “I take it this is the harness.” I groped inside the bag, frowning. “Where’s the handle?”
“We’ll measure you for your handle properly when we start training. Again, you want to keep bending the leather to make it as soft as possible. These things are new, so they might be a bit uncomfortable for the dogs.”
I pulled out a nylon strap with a smooth plastic side. “What’s this?”
“That’s for you. You wear that.”
I laughed. “No, really?”
“Really. It’s a Sam Browne.”
“Who?”
“It’s a reflective strip. Drivers need to see you.”
“Oh.”
A pair of metal dog bowls lay stacked at the bottom of the bag along with a plastic bone and a teddy bear.
“There’s a lot of stuff in here,” Nidra said.
“It’ll be everything you need for now.” Sophie got up. “If you two would like to take your equipment to your rooms, that’d be great. When you get back to your room, I’d like you to fill one of the bowls with about an inch of water.”
“How deep’s that?” Nidra asked. “We never did inches at school.”
“About two-and-a-half centimetres,” I said.
“If you could wait in your rooms, I’ll bring your dogs around soon.”
“Cool. What do I do when he arrives?”
“Be positive. He might get a bit silly because it’s new and exciting. Just let him sniff around. Don’t worry if he doesn’t seem interested in you at first. He’ll come to you eventually.”
“Okay.”
“You ready?”
I nodded and took in a nervous breath. “Let’s do this.”
––––––––
I sat on the bed and waited, unsure how long it would be until Wizard arrived.
Baby Shark played in my head over and over. I swore to myself and cursed FragQueen’s name.
Getting up, I explored the room, my foot almost kicking over the dog bowl I’d prepared with the inch of water—I’d have to watch out for that when I got home.
A wardrobe stood next to a chest of drawers.
I unpacked my rucksack and placed my underwear in the top drawer, T-shirts and sweaters in the next. I hung my jeans in the wardrobe and found a box of cereal bars Mum had packed for me.
A knock came at the door.
I dropped the rucksack down the side of the bed, shoving it beneath a bedside table.
Opening the door, I smiled at the sound of a panting dog. “Come in.”
Sophie brought Wizard into the room, his claws scraping on the carpet, his breaths rapid. “Sit.”
“Is he alright?”
“He’s a bit excited.”
His wagging tail beat a rhythm against the bathroom door.
“I’m going to let him off his lead now. Is that okay?”
“Go for it.”
The lead clicked. Wizard bolted around the other side of the bed.
“I’ll leave you two to bond.”
“Okay.” I sucked in my bottom lip. “Thanks.”
She handed me the leash, the door clicking behind her as she left.
Wizard sniffed around the edges of the room.
I wasn’t quite sure what to do.
I crouched down to one knee and held out a hand.
He ignored me and lapped the water.
“Wizard.” I patted my thigh. What was I supposed to do? “Here, boy.”
He shot towards me and licked my face.
Laughing, I rubbed the top of his ridged forehead and stroked his velvety ears.
As he shifted his head away from me, he bounced on his front paws, his wagging tail beating against the end of the bed. He turned in a circle and pressed his wet nose against my hand.
“Hey, what do you want, boy?”
Getting to my feet, I retrieved a plastic bone from the equipment bag. “Sit.”
When he sat, I held the bone out to him. He sniffed around it for a moment before gently taking it from my hand. He flopped onto his belly and chewed, his teeth grinding and scraping against the plastic.
I sat at the end of the bed and smiled.
Wizard seemed contented, at least.
I crawled over to my rucksack, took out my phone, and called Rebecca.
She picked up after three rings. “Hey, dummy.”
“Hey.”
“How’s it going?”
“Fine. Got checked in and they’ve just brought me my dog.”
“What’s it like?”
“He’s just chewing on a plastic bone thing. He seems fine.”
“Who else is on the course?”
“There’s a girl called Nidra. She seems alright.”
“I don’t know her.”
“There’s a guy called Eric. He seems a bit, I don’t know, emotional.”
“Big Eric? Really? Didn’t his dog die, or something?”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
“He’s alright, I guess. Has he cried yet?”
I laughed. “Yes.”
“He does that...a lot.”
“Right.”
“He’s alright, though. Anyone else?”
“There’s a woman called Helena, and that’s it.”
“Oh, God. No! Really?”
“I take it you know her?”
“She’s literally the worst.”
“She likes the sound of her own voice.”
“That’s an understatement. Did she say she’s on the committee for blah, blah, blah?”
“She’s good friends with Councillor Butler, apparently.”
Rebecca laughed. “She thinks she’s some kind of power broker. All she does is complain a lot and thinks that makes her important. I think most people just humour her.”
“She seems a bit weird about Asian people.”
“Didn’t she have a dog called Spencer, or something?”
“He’s an Alsatian, apparently. She told me about how wonderful they are...in great detail.”
“She’s tedious. I think I know where Spencer’s going for retirement though.”
“Yeah, I was wondering about that. What happens when they’re done?”
“They get turned to glue.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I know some people keep them. Most of the time they go to someone else.”
“That must be hard.”
Wizard placed his head on my lap.
“Hey boy. I think he’s come to say hello.”
“Right. Just watch out with Helena. She’ll have you out collecting money at Tesco before you even realise you’ve said yes.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
A knock came at my door again.
“Someone’s here. I need to go.”
“Speak later.”
“Miss you.”
“You too.”
I ended the call and opened the door a crack, taking care not to let Wizard out.
“Can I come in?” Sophie asked.
“Sure, what’s the plan?”
She slipped past me and gave Wizard a fuss. “We’ll get him on his lead and I’ll show you how to spend him.”
“Spend?”
“Yes, Brian. He’s a dog. They need to go to the toilet.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, the spending pens. What happens to the poos?
“You pick them up and pop them in the bin.”
“Oh.”
“You use a bag, don’t worry. I’m not going to make you pick them up with your bare hands.”
She showed me how to put the lead on and waited at the door.
I reached for my cane.
“You won’t be needing that. Just leave it there.”
“But—”
“Wizard will help you around now. You need to put your trust in him.”
“Right.” My heart raced.
Taking Wizard’s leash in my left hand, I brought him to my side. I hated the idea of being without my cane, but I knew Sophie was right. If I was going to get used to this, I needed to go all-in.
“Over the next few weeks, you need to establish yourself as the person Wizard listens to. So, while we’re here, we need to do obedience training. Whenever you get to a door, you need to get him to sit and wait. You go through first and then tell him to follow you through. You don’t want him charging through doors and you want him to know that you’re in control, that you’re the one in charge.”
“When should I start?”
“Now.”
“Okay.”
I edged towards the door and double-checked I had my keycard. “Sit.”
Wizard sat and waited.
I stepped through the door and gestured for him to follow. We made our way along the corridor, taking a right outside towards the backdoor, the unmistakable chlorine smell drifting from the pool on the floor below.
We took a right outside and I figured I was probably outside my window.
Sophie unbolted the gate of some steel pens, the shifting clunks reverberating around the mesh.
“Just bring him in and let him off his lead.”
I removed Wizard’s collar and gentle leader, and stepped out of the gate and waited.
He paced around for almost a minute, sniffing here and there. His footsteps seemed to compress and he suddenly stopped.
“Here we go.”
I was about to ask what his stopping meant and then I caught a whiff. “Geez.”
After a few seconds, Wizard padded towards the gate.
“Do you think you can get that?” Sophie placed a small plastic bag in my hand.
“I guess.” My lip curled at the prospect.
“I can do it if you’d like?”
“I need to pick it up. What should I do?”
“Follow your nose. Fold the bag over your hand and pick it up. Luckily, he’s been very considerate. It’s in a nice neat pile for you near the back-right corner.”
I stepped through the gate and knelt over the poo. Reaching down, I picked it up and cringed. It was still warm.
Scrunching my nose, I tied the bag off and held it away at arm’s length.
Sophie clapped. “Well done. Your first successful poop-scoop. How does that feel?”
“Warm.” I shook my head. “Does it always smell this bad?”
“Pretty much.” She chuckled. “You’ll get used to it. Here, I’ll put it in the bin for you.”
She took the bag from me and dropped it into a bin.
“All done.” She brushed her hands together. “If you want to go back to your room, the time’s yours now until dinner.”