Then around again.
Staff began recognizing the same pattern.
Atlas appeared determined to map the space for himself.
The Search Looked Familiar, but Atlas Was Different Now
There was something striking about watching a former detection dog work his way around a room he could barely see.
Atlas still lowered his head and investigated.
He still moved deliberately from one section to another.
But the precision he once would have had was no longer there.
A water station had to be discovered.
The edge of a raised bed could interrupt his path.
A piece of equipment positioned differently from what he expected could cause him to hesitate or bump against it.
Those small collisions mattered.
Staff did not want Atlas repeatedly injuring himself while learning a new environment.
At the same time, preventing him from exploring altogether would not necessarily help him adjust.
The answer was to make the environment safer and more predictable while allowing Atlas to gather information at his own pace.
And Nova seemed to have developed her own way of participating.
Nova Never Walked in Front of Him
The obvious image of one dog helping another with vision loss might be a dog walking ahead as a guide.
That was not what Nova did.
She stayed behind Atlas.
Sometimes she followed almost directly in his path. Other times she remained slightly to one side, close enough that only a small movement would bring their bodies together.
Most of the time, she did nothing.
Atlas chose where to walk.
Atlas stopped when he wanted to investigate something.