Proofed in the Chaos
I recently read about Michael Hingson and his guide dog, Roselle.
Michael had been blind since birth. On September 11, 2001, he and Roselle were working in the North Tower of the World Trade Center when it was struck.
In an instant, everything changed.
The building swayed. The smell of jet fuel filled the air. Panic erupted around them.
Yet Roselle remembered her job.
Guide.
One step at a time.
Together, Michael and Roselle descended 1,463 steps to safety. Through confusion, fear, and circumstances neither could have anticipated, they relied on the relationship they had built long before that day.
Trust.
Teamwork.
Partnership.
They had spent countless hours learning to work together, and when the world around them descended into chaos, they simply kept doing what partners do.
That part really struck me.
Roselle could have followed her own instincts. She could have panicked. She could have focused solely on herself. Instead, she remained committed to the task and to the person who depended on her.
Michael, in turn, trusted her.
Not because he knew exactly what was ahead, but because of the thousands of moments that had come before. The training. The consistency. The relationship.
Isn't that what we are trying to build with our own dogs?
We talk constantly about partnership. We train for it. We practice it. We say we want our dogs to trust us and to work as a team.
But then we walk into the ring.
Our dog makes a mistake, and suddenly we're frustrated.
We miss a cue, get lost on a course, or create confusion, and somehow it becomes the dog's fault.
We want partnership when things are going well, but true partnership is revealed when things aren't.
When the ring feels chaotic.
When the unexpected happens.
When goals don't go as planned.
A real partner doesn't throw the other under the bus at the first sign of trouble.
A real partner works through it.
A real partner extends grace.
A real partner remembers that mistakes are simply part of the journey.
The next time you step into the ring with your dog, remember that your relationship is bigger than a score sheet, a ribbon, or a qualifying run.
Your dog isn't just your teammate when everything goes perfectly.
They're your teammate amidst the chaos.
And maybe that's where partnership matters most.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
May we be the kind of partners our dogs can trust, just as they trust us, no matter what the world around us looks like. 🐾❤️
Sandy
