"You Forgot Your Dog"

I had what could be my most embarassing service dog partner moment at work last week. I had had a very long week at work and was exhausted. It was a cold drizzly day and I had a meeting to attend from 3-5pm in a building across the street. Although I often leave Morey in my office when I go to meetings, I decided to bring him with me so I could be lazy and let him help pull my chair, Once we got to the room, I settled Morey under the table as usual.

The meeting was very long and really didn't have much information that actually pertained to me or my work (I serve as the representative from our office; sometimes the information is relevant to us and sometimes it's not. That day it was not.). After 2 hours of talking and discussion that didn't require my participations, I was more than ready to go home. The meeting adjourned and I joined the line of people filing out the door. I was waiting in the line for the elevator when I realized that I had brought Morey to the meeting but had not left with him!

I rushed back into the room and as I opened the door I heard someone say in a perplexed voice "Um, she forgot her dog". The absurdity of the situation hit me and I started laughing as I said "Yep, I just forgot my dog. Guess he did too good of a job of being unnoticeable!" Morey was laying alertly and had obviously noticed my absence but remained in his down stay as he had been instructed to do at the start of the meeting. I sometimes do leave him in a room if I just need to run to the bathroom or step out for a moment so it wasn't entirely unusual from his perspective (or maybe I have just been telling myself this to make me feel less guilty!).

I called Morey to me and he came eagerly and then we went home together. When he wears his pulling harness I sometimes don't put a leash on him and just use the harness handle. However, I am now reconsidering this and think I may start tethering him to my chair; not to keep Morey from wandering off, but to keep me from wandering off without him!