I took this picture on July Fourth. The beautiful white
Labrador in it is Indy, my sister’s dog, and she’s blind.
It’s probably not all that remarkable that Indy still swims,
because she’s been kindly re-introduced to the family swimming pool. However, I
felt a small thrill a year or so ago when she first began taking off from the steps obviously
unsure of where she was going. Now she’s got a circuit from the steps and back,
so she more secure of how to get out of the pool.
That weekend I witnessed her jumping from the side of the
pool directly into the middle of it with little more than slight hesitation and
some vocal support from my sis.
Indy leapt into the water, trusting that it was
actually there, based entirely on her hearing. It was wonderful to see. She
looked magnificent sailing through the air and landing in the pool. You could
almost see confidence flowing through her when the wet confirmed what she
believed, that there was water there all along.
How many humans would do the same thing, in spite of
actually being able to understand the words being said? Hell, we often don’t
even trust when we CAN see the water and someone says “Come on in, the water’s
fine.”
I hope as I continue on through life, the next time I need
to jump blindly into something I think is there, I’ll have the memory of Indy’s
bravery to spur me on. I wish that for
you too, dear reader.
