Guide dog life

Has Your Guide Dog Ever Got on the Wrong Bus or Train?

I’m technically supposed to be the navigator, so when we go the wrong way I can only blame it on a lack of coffee …

My guide dog Cooper and I have never (yet) taken the wrong bus; it’s not that I haven’t wanted to step onto the wrong bus.

But when the bus driver sees a guide dog leading a person to the bus, they often call out their route number, just to confirm.

Trains are a different story.

The driver is in his compartment and if we haven’t been paying attention to the announcements, we’re on our own.

So, one busy afternoon

Cooper and I were waiting at the City Hall train platform where both the red-line and the blue-line trains will stop.

I don’t know why they don’t call them the southbound or the northbound lines. Most people know what direction they’re headed, but aren’t always as quick about relating directions to corresponding colors after a busy day or before coffee.

Anyway, we were on the platform waiting for the northbound train and I heard this announcement:

‘The red-line is now arriving, please stand behind the yellow line’.

I know, it struck my funnybone too! All the color-coding and it would be easier for riders if they just stuck with north and south. But, back to the story.

I couldn’t remember if red was north or south so I asked another person waiting on the platform if this train was northbound.

She sounded really happy to help saying, “Oh yes ma’am, red is going north.”

So Cooper and I step on.

It was packed so tight we were shoulder to shoulder and I only hoped Cooper’s tail made it through the door.

I pushed in like everyone else, and people were in their big puffy coats so I didn’t need to find a pole to hold onto since everyone was holding everyone else up, just standing there.

I hoped Cooper wasn’t sniffing anyone’s … legs. He’s at the perfect height to do so. Even when he does, people usually forgive dogs and always say the exact same thing, ‘He smells my dog!’

Then I thought, this is weird. I don’t ever remember the northbound train being this packed. Oh well, it’s rush hour.

The train eventually took off and I sensed the gradual turn toward the south. Shoot! We got on the wrong train.

It wasn’t Cooper’s fault, and I didn’t blame the stranger who told me red was north. I should have known this information. And besides that, she may well have been thinking oops I just sent a blind lady and her guide dog to the wrong part of the city.

Anyway, Cooper and I stepped off the train at the next stop.

We hadn’t pushed our way too far in so it was easy to step off, and we walked across the platform to wait for the next train back downtown.

Once downtown, we hopped off the train and walked across the street to the City Hall platform back to where we started and waited for the northbound train.

I have not forgotten that the blue-line is the north train. Wait, was it blue or red? No, I’m pretty sure it’s blue.