The Month of Febraury

This month has a whole lot of meaning for me in the GDB world. First off, 3 years ago we lost my dog Brandy to what we believe was a mix of a brain tumour and diabetes. On the surface it was very sad and traumatic for me, but it gave way to something new; my involvement with Guide Dogs for the Blind. Had Brandy not passed away I would never have wanted another puppy, my father would never have had to tell me that he wasn't going to get a new puppy so soon before I left for College, and I never would have looked up Guide Dogs for the Blind. I miss Brandy to this day whenever I'm sad or am ill because Brandy seemed to know just what to do to make me feel better. But, I believe she was reborn into my first Guide Dog Puppy.

That brings us to reason number the second as to why February is a big month for me. Freya reminds me a lot of Brandy. She has the same intelligence and human like qualities that few dogs exhibit. There's a part of me that believes that Brandy was reborn in the form of Freya. Brandy was born the 10th of October and Freya the 11th of October. Coincidence? I think not. The 20th of February is not only Rocco's 13 Month Day, but the year anniversary of Freya leaving for "Doggie College".

There are a lot of coincidences in my 3 years with Guide Dogs for the Blind. The birthdays of Brandy and Freya is one of them. Others: Freya's partner became "legally blind" in October of '08, the same month Freya was born. He was admitted into the Guide Dog programme on February 2010, the same month Freya went back into formal training. Both of our fathers' names is "Don". I waited 6 months for Freya after the date I was suppose to get a puppy was pushed back 3 separate times (which isn't really a coincidence but I think it means I was meant for Freya). January 20th is when I found out that Freya would not be leaving me in January, the same day Rocco was born. February allows me to think and ponder on all these coincidences because this is when it all started 3 years ago.

February also happens to be RP, or Retinitis Pigmentosa, awareness month. In honour of this I am going to be posted a different fact about RP every day this month. Seeing as I forgot that this is what I wanted to do back on the 1st, you'll be getting 4 facts today.

Retinitis Pigmentosa Facts #1-#4

1. RP is a hereditary disease.
2. Night blindness is the most common first symptom.
3. Most people with RP do not ever lose their vision entirely.
4. It is a type of retinal dystrophy.