“…Eyeballs…” Book II: #29. Guide Dog Chronicles: Smells Like A Church

#29. Guide Dog Chronicles: Smells like A Church

Have you ever noticed the different odors inside a church?  When I take Grace to church at Holy Cross, I air-scent the parking lot and head for the stairs on the north side, stopping at the little ramp between the parking lot and the walkway. She’ll say, “Crackers, upstairs.”, although, I already know where to go.

At the foot of the stairs, I wait to be sure the young children aren’t playing on the steps or the older folks aren’t still slowly going up the wooden stairs.

As she feels the first step with her foot, and before she tells me, “Crackers, forward.”  I have a chance to take a quick sniff of it. Each step has a different smell. Sometimes they smell sour from the wet boots and shoes or like crushed fall leaves or freshly cut grass. Once it smelled really bad from guess-what-they-stepped-in!  (I know it wasn’t mine, because Grace always picks up after me.)

Once at the top, she’ll feel for the door latch and open it for us. The indoor air sometimes smells like cleaning stuff people use in the bathrooms.

The kitchen is on our left and has great coffee and snack aromas wafting out. I know to take Grace into the big church area after she visits with the folks in the kitchen.

In the chapel, the odor is very different. At first I notice the coolness and quiet of the large room. The rug smells like the steps, but when I hold my head up, I can smell the cleaning polish that was used on all the pews.

On our way down the main aisle to our pew, I like to hold my head up very high to smell the incense. Ours is an old church that has had many services in it. Not every service uses incense but the scent is always there. Once when the minister was swinging the incense holder, I got some drops of it on me. I smelled really good for days.

I know where our pew is, because, it smells like me. I lay down under the pew, where no one will hear me snore during the sermon or little woofs as I dream the time away. I also like to rest my chin on the kneeler.

As we leave our pew to go up for Communion, I like to straighten my hair. Grace has been told that, when the sun is shining through the beautiful stained glass windows just right, when I shake, a golden orb forms around me. When we get to the altar rail, I like trying to get a whiff of the wine. Someday, I want to snatch a wafer, but, I know Grace would be embarrassed if I really did get one.

Sometimes, it is hard to concentrate. One morning, I couldn’t resist stopping to sniff a lady’s cowboy boots as she knelt at the Communion rail. I got into trouble for that. But, Man, I’d never smelled horse stuff before.

Sometimes people call to me and pet me. I try very hard to ignore them so I can keep Grace safe. The hardest people to ignore are the sweet little old ladies who think I am adorable. I want to stop and be petted by all of them, but, I know my duty as a working dog. I don’t mind, because, I know Grace and I will have lots of time to socialize during the coffee hour.

Coffee Hour follows the church service. Sometimes, Grace takes off my harness and I can play with the children and be petted by all the adults. They are always amazed at how well I know to behave in harness and when to let loose! My favorite people are the children who are my height. I like to surprise them and lick their faces. Usually there are some cake or cookie crumbs to be tasted if I aim right for their chin. Jacob is afraid of dogs and won’t come face to face with me. He thinks that I don’t know he is the one who’s trying to catch my wagging tail while I am licking someone else’s face!

I have been in several churches and they seem to smell alike. Perhaps, it is the incense or maybe it is a combination of coffee, wine, flowers, incense, and such wonderful, loving people. I like to take Grace to church.