My latest crush

There’s this guy who rides my bus. Okay, so lots of people ride my bus but one of the things that make this guy special – I’m assuming his friends and loved ones could identify other special-making attributes – is that he is frequently accompanied by a drop dead gorgeous young lady. I have a terrible crush on her. Don’t tell Mary.

She has beautiful blond hair, a trim figure and a come-hither gaze. She’s friendly and polite, interested in the people around her but entirely unobtrusive. Her fashion choices are limited and reserved. Most days, she just wears a vest that says “Guide Dog Puppy.”

I’ve been around service animals quite a lot and I know the rules, so I smile but no more. Occasionally, I’ll have a brief chat with her partner. But I don’t reach out to her or even acknowledge her directly. My yearning for her will go unrequited. She’s in training and when in harness it’s about reinforcement, not distraction.

This young lady will soon leave this man who has raised and socialized her for the next phase, a period of intense training and examination, culminating in her pairing with a human partner whose life will become inextricably interwoven with her own.  Or, she won’t make it through training and pairing for any number of reasons ranging from inability to grasp intelligent disobedience to previously undiagnosed dysplasia and will wind up with a loving family who will have the best pet they could ever imagine.

Whatever happens, this young lady is disposed by breeding and prepared by training to take her place in polite society. And best of all, she’ll be a fun-loving, loyal, protective and intelligent friend to a human who needs just what she has to offer.

This guy who accompanies her on bus rides is one of the good guys. He can’t help becoming attached to this wonderful lady and then has to give her up abruptly and entirely in order to allow her to fulfill her doggie destiny. And he does it gladly – has done it before and will likely do it again.

I really like this guy and I don’t really even know him. As I said, he’s one of the good guys.

I feel a little guilty for having a crush on his girl.

(NOTE: If you’ve interest in learning about Morris Frank and Buddy, the first dog-human pair whose success was pivotal in the development of training techniques perfected at The Seeing Eye, please find a copy of Love In The Lead: The Fifty-year Miracle of the Seeing Eye Dog by Peter Putnam.)