Tales about Yale 3

By Phil Vigil

Yale, my guide dog in training, has gotten a lot bigger and weighs around 80 pounds now. He also has a lot of energy, which means I have to take him on lots of walks. I am now working him on a training collar. He's getting better but tends to pull and lunge on the leash when there are distractions like running kids or animals. We are trying not to use the Gentle Leader head collar on him because he hates it and gets depressed.

We recently took him to Redding with us, which was a six-hour drive. Yale did well in the car and slept most of the way. He was good in the hotel room, too. He barked only once, when the room service person knocked at the door. He liked sitting behind the floor-length curtains and looking out the sliding glass door onto the balcony. One night, Yale also went with us to the Sundial Bridge over the Sacramento River. The bridge was translucent and lit up from underneath. Yale didn't even notice when the bridge moved.

I think Yale enjoys new experiences and is practically fearless. He seems to take everything in stride.

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