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Guide Dogs for the Blind TROIKA Magazine "We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet; and amid all the forms of life that surrounds us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us." —Maurice Materlinck |
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I
"When I walked with a cane, it was like I wasn't
even a person. Hispanic, white, it didn't matter: people
wouldn't talk to me."
There is hurt and bewilderment in Guillermo Nevarez's
voice as he explains, "It was like they thought
my blindness was a sickness and they might catch it."
Resting alertly at Nevarez's feet is Logan, a yellow
Labrador retriever.
"But with a guide dog," Nevarez says, "People
come close. They talk to the dog. They talk to me."
Today, along with eight other teams, in an emotional
ceremony reminiscent of a high school or college graduation,
Nevarez and Logan are celebrating the completion of
their training at the Oregon campus of Guide Dogs For
The Blind. Families from throughout the country have
come to see the puppies they raised begin their careers
as Guide Dogs, and to meet the people the dogs will
assist.
It's July 4th.
After one more round of hugs with each member of the
family that raised Logan, Nevarez raises the handle
of Logan's leather harness. The dog comes to attention
at his side.
Nevarez smiles. "It's Independence Day, man."
II
Founded in 1942 to serve blind World War Two veterans,
more than 7,500 teams like Guillermo and Logan have
graduated from Guide Dogs For The Blind. There is never
a charge to the visually impaired people the school
assists, and the organization is supported entirely
by private donations.
"Volunteers," Jane Grecco says. "We wouldn't
exist without them. That's how we do it."
This gracious, former business owner should know. After
selling her company and doing a bit of traveling, Grecco
was at loose ends. "I was visiting a friend in
Connecticut. When she had to go to work, I had nothing
to do. Knowing how I love animals, she told me about
this guide dog school that gave tours."
Grecco visited The Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, a school
begun in 1960 and based in Bloomfield, Connecticut.
"I was amazed, intrigued. As soon as I came back
to Oregon I got out the phone book and found Guide Dogs
For The Blind. I just called and asked if I could help
somehow."
She began by doing office work, and soon was leading
tours through the school's new campus. Now Grecco works
three days a week as the school's Volunteer Coordinator.
"Our volunteers do everything from bathing or walking
or feeding dogs, to raising puppies or assisting our
veterinarians, to typing letters and helping in the
gift shop."
What about that dog snoozing under Grecco's desk?
"That's Dora. She's retired now, after ten years
of guide dog work. I adopted her. Or she adopted me.
I'm not sure which."
The heart of the school's volunteer effort is its puppy
raisers. At any given time, the school has almost 1,000
foster families throughout the eight western states
raising puppies to be trained for guide work. The puppy
raisers will spend a year or so teaching their dogs
good manners, socializing the dogs with people and children
and other animals, and most importantly, introducing
the dogs to a rich variety of public places and experiences.
"I get to take my dog to school!" Anna Sevold
beams. A high school student from Washington, Sevold
patiently makes Dapple, the precocious golden retriever
puppy beside her, sit. "I take her everywhere.
It's fun. But it's work, too. It's important."
The first two puppies Sevold raised did not complete
the school's rigorous training program. For any number
of reasons, from being too timid or too aggressive,
to developing minor but limiting health problems, many
puppies being raised will not complete the program.
The school arranged for both of Sevold's puppies to
be adopted by families as pets.
"I'm going to college soon and won't be able to
raise another puppy. But I have a feeling about Dapple."
At the sound of its name, the puppy looks up at Sevold
and yawns.
"Dapple's a great dog," Sevold says. "She's
going to go all the way."
III
In recent years, the alliance between dogs and people
needing their assistance has greatly expanded.
Geoff Reynolds, a professor of political science, and
his wife Sheila, are two of the more than 25,000 donors
and volunteers who are the strength of Paws With A Cause,
a national organization based in Michigan.
"I go to the local animal shelter and screen the
dogs, looking for ones that have the unique intelligence
and temperament to be trained as assistance dogs,"
Geoff Reynolds explains. "It's hard. So many of
these dogs would be wonderful pets, but only a few have
the right personality and temperament to be assistance
dogs. Still, in the past two years or so, I've saved
twelve dogs."
The Reynolds specialize in training dogs for people
in wheelchairs. Their dogs open doors, turn on lights,
retrieve items from the ground or shelves, help people
get up, and even pull the wheelchairs. "The dogs
are happy when they have a job to do," Reynolds
says.
"The public needs to recognize the value and purpose
of assistance dogs," Sheila Reynolds says. "These
dogs are ready and able to help people twenty-four hours
a day, every day of their lives."
Some powerful and far-reaching legislation has helped
to increase this awareness. The Americans With Disabilities
Act states that guide and assistance dogs are to be
allowed everywhere the general public is allowed, from
stores, restaurants and office buildings, to hotels,
buses, trains and planes.
"People are learning," Sheila Reynolds says.
"I was in a store with the dog I'm training and
these kids were getting excited, 'Mommy! There's a dog
in the store! He's not supposed to be in the store!'
But when they saw the dog take my money and go up to
the counter and pay the cashier for me, I was glad to
hear their mother explain to them that this dog was
different. He was working."
"Working with these dogs isn't a burden or a sacrifice,"
Geoff Reynolds says. "It's a privilege, an opportunity.
I learn and grow and have fun all at the same time."
And there are other rewards. Like the Christmas card
he receives each year from an autistic girl in Toronto,
with a photo of her and the dog he trained to be her
companion. Or the time a woman called and said, "That
dog you trained saved my life."
"She was confined to her bed," Reynolds explains.
"She always had someone come to her house to walk
the dog, but one day the dog wouldn't leave her bedside.
She told me how she got angry and even yelled at the
dog to get out, to go with the dog-walker. But the dog
wouldn't budge. Finally, the dog walker noticed that
the lady didn't look very good. They rushed her to the
hospital. Turns out, she was having a stroke. The doctor
told her later that if she hadn't gotten there when
she did, she wouldn't have lived."
IV
At the graduation ceremony in Oregon, Betty Noble's
enthusiasm is contagious.
She tells the assembled families, guests and her fellow
students, "I got my first guide dog after I had
my first child. Because I had the dog to guide me, I
could take my daughter out in the stroller. When my
second child came, I carried one on my back and the
other in the stroller, and with the dog to help us,
we went everywhere!"
Now a proud grandmother living in British Columbia,
Noble is teamed with Joetta, her fourth guide dog.
"I'm from another country, but still, all the people
at Guide Dogs for the Blind, all the many, many volunteers,
they help me. It's just wonderful."
Noble also helps others. As well as volunteering for
Canadian organizations assisting the blind, she teaches
computer classes at a community college. "I have
lots of students and some happen to be blind. Sometimes
there are seven or eight dogs in class. Never a problem."
Logan is Nevarez's second guide dog. "Having a
guide dog has made me a better person, and a better
father, too. I have three young kids. Logan will be
a pet to them, but they also see how the dog and I work
together, the responsibilities I have for him, and how
serious he gets when I put his harness on him."
Noble explains, "People should realize that guide
dogs can't read traffic signs and lights. And people
should always ask for permission before petting a guide
dog, because it distracts the dog. I try to explain
to them that a guide dog and the person they are guiding
are working together, sometimes working very hard, both
concentrating."
A trainer of guide dogs tells the audience that petting
a guide dog or grabbing its harness without permission
is equivalent to grabbing the steering wheel from a
driver.
"That's true," Nevarez says. And, as he scratches
Logan's ears, he points out, "You know, this dog
is my all-terrain four-wheel drive vehicle!"
To volunteer, make a donation, or just learn more
about the many forms of this singular alliance,
contact any of the following:
EASTERN REGION
Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation
P.O.Box 142
Bloomfield, CT 06002
(860)243-5200
www.fidelco.org
The Seeing Eye
P.O. Box 375
Morristown, NJ 07963
(973)539-4425
www.seeingeye.org
CENTRAL REGION
Paws With A Cause
4646 South Division
Wayland, Michigan 49348
1-800-253-PAWS
www.ismi.net/paws
WESTERN REGION
Guide Dogs For The Blind, Inc.
P. O. Box 151200
San Rafael, CA 94915-1200
1-800-295-4050
www.guidedogs.com