5/5/2011

Imagine if you learned that one day you’d lose your sight and eventually that day came? You could no longer walk freely, let alone drive. Suddenly you would have to feel the sunshine and hear the smile on someone’s face. What would it be like if your son or daughter decided to re-arrange the furniture in your living room? Would you know if your shirt matched your pants? Would you know if you gave the clerk a 5 dollar bill or a ten?  How would you get to work? Could you work? This becomes a reality for countless people every year and for some who are born blind, this is the reality of their life. So many of us take for granted the gift of sight. Southeastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto, FL has made it their mission to give the gift of mobility, independence and dignity free of charge to visually impaired individuals through certified guide dogs.

It takes a village to raise a guide dog, especially when their training starts at just 3 weeks old! Two keys to a good guide dog are indifference and leadership, so young pups start their training with socialization and exposure. This starts with volunteers in the kennel from 3-9 weeks. By 9 weeks the puppies are potty trained, wearing a collar and walking on a leash when they go to live with their Puppy Raiser. People like us, the Newberry’s of Lithia, FL have hosted a guide-dog-in-training for a little over a year. By Florida (and many other states) law dogs-in-training for guide dog certification are entitled to public access rights of a certified guide dog. So you know what that means…. With their SEDGI coat on, the dog goes everywhere with their Puppy Raiser!

We are currently raising Jock, a gorgeous (just look at his picture!) 13 month old black Lab. Jock came to live with the three of us, our other two black Labs, two cats and two turtles when he was just a wee puppy on May 14, 2010. Since living with us, in addition to growing (from 18 to 80 lbs!) and eating toilet paper off the roll like it was an apple, Jock has been working on his socialization and exposure training by going with us everywhere. He has been to grocery stores, the post office, bank, movies, Tampa Bay Rays game, on our boat, the mall, the airport (passed security), restaurants and from May 2-4, 2011 Jock went to work at Harrell’s in Lakeland, FL. Jock was thrilled to ‘take a break’ to enjoy all the loving he got from our Harrell’s family and when he was working he was proud to show off his many commands. In addition to sit, stay, come and down, Jock knows in, out, up, down, right, left, right right, left left, heel, stand, stand stay, sit stay, down under, under down and switch, all of which are essential guide dog commands.

In June Jock will ‘go to college’ when he goes in for training (IFT). At SEGDI’s campus in Palmetto, he will spend about six months in harness training. Jock spent the first month carousing with the other new dogs when he isn’t undergoing medical testing. Provided he passes his medical tests, he will then become part of a training string and enter the training kennel. By the time he is finished, Jock will know 60 commands and be able to lead a visually impaired person anywhere that person wants to go. He will be able to find the car, find the door, find the chair, and find the curb, among others. He will know to watch for low overhangs, avoid obstacles in the path and he will even be trained to disobey a command if the command would put his handler in danger. Amazing!

At the end of his training, Jock will be matched with a visually impaired person and we will be invited to Puppy Raiser Day. On Puppy Raiser Day, we will get to see our little furry friend in full harness guiding his blind person safely down Independence Way. I get chills and tears just thinking about how amazing that day will be.

As you’re reading this you’re probably thinking, “We could never do that!” This is an expression we often hear followed by “we’d never be able to give him back!” We have come to realize that the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices, in our opinion. Through our experience as Puppy Raisers, we have met some of the most generous and giving people we know. We have had a chance to see people gain their independence and we’ve seen so many young bumbling pups grow into mature, majestic dogs with an important job that they are all too happy to do. We have considered Jock a guest in our household since the moment he came to live with us and we know his job is not to make us happy - although secretly we hope he doesn’t make it or that he is chosen for the breeder program so he can come back to live with us!

If you know someone who is visually impaired, encourage them to consider applying for a free guide dog from Southeastern Guide Dogs. And if you enjoy dogs and want to become involved in part of this great program, consider being a Puppy Hugger, Dog Walker, Breeder Host or Puppy Raiser. You can read about these volunteer opportunities at www.guidedogs.org. For more details on what it’s like to raise a puppy, check out Raiser Tales our puppy raiser group’s website at www.southshorepups.org.Special thanks go out to Jack Harrell, Jr. for his willingness to allow us a few days to expose Jock to an office work environment. We appreciate his generosity.