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I often wonder why the trainer paired Munch and I up together as they always try and match the personality of the Guide Dog with that of the Guide Dog user. Hmmm, So the question that needs to be asked is “am I really as bad as Munch”? The only animal that I have ever worked with is Munch and I admit, things don’t always go as planned with him. When Munch turns into on duty Minster, he can act a little bit more like a trained dog, but I never hold out too much expectation for him. If he does behave it is a bonus and if he doesn’t, it just is what it is.

We were recently invited to take part in an interview with a friend of mine who has also written a book and is an amazing entrepreneur. He is the founder of the fantastic Warriors of Peace network that we belong too which he set up to bring like minded individuals together to provide a team of people who offer their services in a spiritually conscious way. He asked for an interview with Munch and I to talk about landing the book deal that we have been offered and to talk about the process that we went through so that it can help other inspiring writers to get published. I was a little nervous about the interview, not just because I am not a fan of any type of camera but also because I know how my little Munch is a master at doing everything that I don’t want him to do. Stupidly however, we agreed and set off for the interview with every possible body part crossed in hope that our authentic comedy act would remain hidden from the normal people in life that would be viewing it. I obviously did not cross things hard enough.

As I persuaded my ever optimist self that Munch would just chill quietly in the background, I took him off his harness as soon as we arrived at my friend’s house. I stupidly thought that he would sit down quietly like any normal dog. I forgot that normal offended him. As we settled down and began the interview, he moved with purpose around the room, looking for any opportunity to cause mass destruction. As he had never been to the house before and could smell the dogs that lived there, he took on an imaginary sniffer dog role to seek out possible new partners in crime. His scratching around, sniffing every object possible and whining provided the tranquil background music that would please any dog lover.

To keep him company in his unprofessional manner, I thought being my authentic self was the best option until I remembered that it probably wasn’t. I am proud to be Welsh but to be fair my accent is not one of the most camera-friendly ones around. Team that with my total lack of correct use of grammar and you can imagine the frustration of the viewer watching it. From a land that thinks phrases such as “Who’s coat is this jacket” and “I will be there now in a minute” being perfectly acceptable to us, turning up to an interview having not rehearsed using correct language was asking for trouble.

As Munch created distractions in the background and I chatted away in my own version of a coherent language, my poor friend held the interview together amazingly. I think he would have preferred a roomful of excited pups and two-year-old tornados ripping through the room as he probably would have got more sense bless him. Towards the end of the interview, Munch went and flopped down by the door in protest to having his right to free roaming taken away from him. He was not impressed. We really don’t make things easy for people.

We have just volunteered to start speaking to different groups in the community about the amazing work that Guide Dogs do. With the combination of the pair of us doing things our own unique way, I do wonder however how it is going to go. We also have been asked to facilitate a section of a workshop later in the year, but I do wonder if the public are ready for such an odd pair. I don’t think we were put on this earth to demonstrate perfection. We could both attempt to change to fit in with the more ordinary people in society but where would the fun be in that? Wearing a false mask sounds sheer pain to me and I know that Munch feels the same, so I think we will just continue being who we are and doing the things that we really should try and avoid.

If you ever overhear somebody talking about a Diva Guide Dog with attitude and a weird sounding Welsh grandmother who induces melt downs in the grammar police population, it is probably us. We really don’t mean to annoy you, it is just us being us. Sorry about that.