The Amazing Blind Dog

Lately, after Tucker comes over to harass Ray for an hour or two in the morning, I will hook Ray to his leash and we will walk with Darlene and Tucker to their house. Sometimes, Darlene and I will turn the dogs loose in Darlene's yard before Ray and I continue on home.
The first time we did this was a bit of a disaster. Tucker wanted to play with Ray some more, but Ray needed time to memorize the yard. Ray tried to pace while being bombarded by the cannonball (Tucker) and was getting a bit disgruntled with the youngster, until Darlene and I snagged the little guy and took turns holding him on our laps. After that first time, Tucker has been occupying himself with a largish, hard-plastic ball that he kicks and chases back and forth along the back fence line. Ray has been able to pace in peace.
It has taken a lot of pacing. Darlene's yard is a maze of low walls, not-so-low walls, walkways, drop-offs, fences, shrubbery, trees, perennials, grills, patio furniture, firepits, and other extraneous stuff...in other words a blind dog's worst nightmare. But I can tell that Ray relishes the challenge. And he's almost got it memorized, too. He paces faster, and as he nears low walls, his feet start to do his marching band routine. And the most obvious sign that he thinks he's got it down -  Ray stands outside the back door of Darlene's house. He wants to go inside. He's ready for his next challenge. Amazing.