Mindy Horn of Saratoga walks Joyann, who is in training to become a guide dog.
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Four Eyes
Future guide dogs must undergo rigorous training in order to become the eyes and ears of people with visual impairments
By Kate Carter and Rebecca Ray
Photographs by George Sakkestad
Joyann gets to go where few yellow Labrador retrievers have gone before--inside grocery stores, churches and even restaurants.
Joyann is being raised by Saratogans Betsy Horn and her daughter Mindy. After about a year, the Horns will return Joyann to Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, where she will undergo more serious training before being allowed to work as a guide dog for people who are visually impaired.
Betsy and Mindy take Joyann everywhere they go, including to their family reunion in Yosemite this summer. That's so she'll learn how to handle a variety of social situations. In fact, the Horns can't leave her unattended because she must learn to be with a person at all times. In Yosemite, the five-month-old puppy will even stay in the hotel with the family and ride in tour buses.
While Mindy, a 15-year-old sophomore at Saratoga High School, is in school, Betsy, a stay-at-home mom, takes Joyann with her on errands. Puppy raisers who work outside the home bring the dogs they're training to work.
The only place where Joyann isn't legally allowed to go is inside restaurant kitchens.
Shortly after Guide Dogs for the Blind placed Joyann with the Horns, Betsy told her daughter that while she enjoyed raising Joyann, she was tired of taking care of her all day. Betsy could no longer do what she wanted when she wanted.
Mindy reminded her why they were raising the dog. "There's a visually impaired person who can't do what he or she wants," Mindy said.
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Betsy Horn (left) and her daughter Mindy are raising Joyann before she undergoes official training to become a guide dog.
Los Gatos beginnings
Bringing people and animals together in a mutually beneficial way is what Guide Dogs for the Blind is all about, says organization spokeswoman Joanne Ritter. The national nonprofit organization brings people from all over the United States and Canada together with dogs raised in the western United States for the purpose of providing companionship and caring to both the dogs and the people.
"I've had people describe it as a relationship that's closer than their marriage," Ritter says. A person who is visually impaired is around his or her guide dog 24 hours a day.
Having a guide dog is actually an alternative to using a cane. "There's not much difference between using a cane and a guide dog. They're very similar," Ritter says. "You don't have to concentrate so totally on travel--you can think about other things. The second reason for the guide dog is companionship. The third reason is that the dog breaks the ice. People want to talk about the dog rather than about the visual impairment. It's all about confidence."
Even though the dog is a worker, it gets its own needs met, as well, Ritter says.
"They want to be around you all the time," she says. "They think, 'This is the person who feeds me. This is the person who grooms me.' From the dog's point of the view, this is heaven."
Sixty years ago this month, Guide Dogs for the Blind first incorporated at its original location in Los Gatos. Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson, who both worked with organizations for people with visual impairments, became interested in the idea of using guide dogs, especially for those wounded in World War II. The two had become familiar with The Seeing Eye program in New Jersey and wanted to start a similar program on the West Coast. In 1941, Donaldson and Merrihew began to publicize their idea.
With support from American Women's Voluntary Services, they rented a Victorian farmhouse in Los Gatos and began training nine students to work with four donated German shepherds. Among the first students to graduate from the school on June 1, 1942, was World War II veteran Sgt. Leonard Foulk.
Since then, Guide Dogs for the Blind has expanded to include dog breeding, raising and veterinary care and has moved its headquarters to San Rafael, Calif. There the organization houses, feeds and trains guide dogs as well as the people who hope to use them. It has also opened a second location in Boring, Ore., for guide dog and student training. And it has provided more than 7,500 guide dogs to individuals who are blind.
"A really big misconception is that people who are blind are totally blind," Ritter says. "The people we try to help are the people who have lost their travel vision," which includes peripheral and nighttime vision.
The program requires every potential guide dog owner to go through a lengthy application and screening process, a process that includes a home visit to each candidate to make sure a guide dog is appropriate.
"If you don't need a guide dog, you're going to take short cuts," she says. "That's going to ruin the dog's training."
And for each guide dog owner, the process of learning to work with and trust a dog with his or her life can take years.
"When clients come to us, they don't really understand how much the dog has been trained," Ritter says.
In 1995, Guide Dogs for the Blind compiled five years of research, training and other data into a program called Balanced Educational System of Training Guide Dogs, which they've made available to approximately a dozen other well-known guide dog schools in the nation.
One of the organization's own guide dogs, Roselle, has received numerous awards for leading her owner to safety from his office on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
The program was recognized by President George Bush, Sr. on its 50th anniversary.
And Guide Dogs for the Blind does all its work without receiving public money or charging fees. Ritter says the program relies solely on private donations, most of which are from individuals, and countless volunteer hours.
Volunteers participate in the organization in a variety of ways. Some serve as custodians who care for the dogs used to breed future guide dogs. Volunteers also assist in the day-to-day activities in San Rafael, helping with on-site puppy-raising and dog-training facilities at the student campus, and in administration. They also serve on the organization's board of directors.
But perhaps the most interesting of the volunteers, at least to those who can't imagine taking a puppy into their homes only to let it go after about a year, are the approximately 1,000 puppy raisers across the western United States.
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Joyann accompanies Betsy Horn to a Safeway store in Saratoga. Legally, potential guide dogs can go anywhere except inside restaurant kitchens.
One of the family
The Horns got Joyann after Mindy's friend talked about wanting to raise guide dogs. Betsy thought raising a guide dog would be a good fit for Mindy, who loves animals.
Originally, when the Horns contacted Guide Dogs for the Blind, they volunteered to sit for dogs that other families were raising. But the facility had puppies that needed homes. (The facility usually places puppies with families when the puppies are eight weeks old, and Joyann was 10 weeks old.) So the Horns took Joyann home in March.
As it turns out, Joyann came at an opportune time. Gritze, the Horns' Burnese Mountain dog, unexpectedly passed away three weeks after Joyann arrived.
Although the Horns had had Gritze for nine years, raising Joyann brought new challenges. The little puppy came with a thick training manual.
According to the manual, Joyann can only eat dry dog food--kibble--so that she won't learn to beg. The Horns aren't allowed to hand-feed her, and instead of reinforcing her positive behaviors with food, they do it with praise.
People who raise potential guide dogs aren't allowed to throw them balls, either, because the dogs aren't supposed to learn to chase. When Mindy plays with Joyann, Mindy holds the toys, and Joyann grabs them from her and runs away.
In addition to exposing Joyann to various social situations, the Horns must teach her basic obedience, such as to obey the commands "sit" and "stay." They also teach her appropriate household behaviors, such as not to chew on things--Joyann had trouble with this one, as she loved to chew on shoes, socks, doorjambs and just about everything--and they must teach her to go to the bathroom on command. Joyann is learning to "hold it" so that she doesn't "go" in inappropriate places.
Joyann must wear a leash outside at all times, even in unenclosed areas. She always wears a dragline, so that if she misbehaves or tries to run away, Betsy or Mindy can jerk on it and tell her "no."
Once a week, Joyann accompanies Betsy to her volunteer job at the Saratoga High college and career center. Students often approach Joyann and squeal, "Oh, it's a puppy!" This is a good thing because it teaches Joyann how to deal with distractions she would likely encounter while working with a person who is blind.
Betsy finds the high school campus helpful for another reason--the smell of food is everywhere. This helps Joyann get used to the smell and learn to resist the temptation to eat it, Betsy says.
The Horns hope that Joyann will be able to accompany Mindy to school for half days in the fall.
When Joyann is around 13 to 18 months old, the Horns will receive a letter from Guide Dogs for the Blind saying it's time to bring her back. Although Betsy told herself at first that she'd remain emotionally detached from the dog, Betsy admits that it will be hard to give her up. Guide Dogs for the Blind even recommends picking up another puppy to train right away to lessen the heartbreak of losing one.
The Horns will probably replace Gritze with another Burnese Mountain dog before they return Joyann, Betsy says. Although she's had a lot of fun raising Joyann, she says, "I want a dog we can keep."
Mindy Horn, 15, of Saratoga High School, hugs Joyann, a puppy she is raising to become a guide dog.
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Working for a living
When the work of puppy raisers is done, the work for the dog is just beginning.
Every guide dog spends about five months in intensive, on-site training by professional guide dog trainers. The dogs learn to safely lead, assist and protect their charges--leading someone to a destination following a straight path, stopping at all elevation changes and avoiding ground-level and overhead obstacles.
The dogs need to be able to take direction and not be distracted from their most important duty--to ensure the constant safety of their owner.
The organization breeds all its own dogs from healthy, well-established parents and uses only Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds and Labrador/golden retriever mixes. Those breeds are of the right size, are easily cared for, have stable temperaments and are eager to please.
Of those dogs that enter the program, only the most qualified dogs are actually selected.
Ritter says that more than half the dogs the organization raises are ultimately dropped from the program before being assigned. Some of the dogs have skills better suited to other forms of dog-person assistance, such as serving as hearing dogs or dogs for people who use wheelchairs. Other dogs aren't healthy enough to perform reliably for a person who is blind. And a few, Ritter says, just aren't up to the task. When that happens, the dog is offered back to its puppy raiser or is found a home through the organization's placement program.
Even the most qualified guide dog doesn't do the job alone, however.
"A lot of people have the misconception that the dog does all the work," Ritter says. "That's not true."
Guide dogs must work with owners who are capable of communicating with the dogs. Thus, the individuals who wish to receive guide dogs must also go through a 28-day, on-site training process to practice communication techniques, learn what they can and cannot expect from their dogs and what they must be responsible for.
For instance, guide dogs require clear direction. They cannot be expected to divine a person's destination and know how to get him or her there. It is also up to the human in the partnership to decide when to cross streets or enter areas--the person must listen for traffic and command his or her dog appropriately. However, a guide dog is trained to disobey if it perceives danger.
During the training process, potential owners spend most of their time getting to know the dog, as well as learning to care for and develop a good working relationship with their new partner. "The pairing decision is taken very seriously by the school's staff," Ritter says.
"It's an art," she says.
New guide dog owners must establish a feeding and relieving routine for their dogs so that the owners can plan their days around those needs.
At the end of the training process--graduation--new owners are formally presented with their dogs. They also have a chance to meet the dog's volunteer raisers.
"Our school encourages making connections," Ritter says. "Most people value connections with someone very different from themselves."
The dog-person team's relationship with the organization doesn't end there, however--a fact that Ritter says sets her organization apart from other guide dog schools. The staff makes follow-up visits to ensure that the team is working well and to address any previously unforeseen questions or situations. Guide dog owners also have access to a network of other experienced guide dog owners.
Generally, after about eight years, a guide dog is retired, a decision that is made in conjunction with the organization's staff. Decisions about what to do with the dog are up to its owner, who can either keep it as a pet or give it to family or friends. The dog could also be returned to its volunteer raiser or found a home through the organization. Then the guide dog owner can apply for another dog and take a shorter training course with the new dog.
Etiquette
Because of the stringency of the training program and the professionalism expected of the dogs, Ritter says, it's important to ask an owner before petting a guide dog. This is to avoid distracting the dog from its primary duty.
It's best to avoid interfering with a guide dog team unless the owner asks for assistance. In that event, directions should be given to the owner, not the guide dog.
Ritter says that the organization is now conducting an awareness campaign to remind people to keep their pets from distracting guide dogs, either by running up to them, jumping on them or barking at them.
"It's a problem that we share with every pedestrian," she says.
As challenging as raising a potential guide dog can be, Betsy says she would recommend it. Every two weeks, she and Mindy meet with two leaders from the organization and other people who are raising future guide dogs. The leaders make sure the dogs don't exhibit any problem behaviors, such as acting too aggressive or timid. The leaders make sure the dogs receive proper health care. Because of the group, Betsy says, she doesn't feel alone in raising Joyann.
She adds that raising a future guide dog is a great activity for parents to do with their children.
Betsy sees raising a potential guide dog as a win-win situation. If Joyann graduates from the organization's program, Betsy says, she will be proud, and Joyann will help someone. But if Joyann doesn't graduate, Betsy says, the Horns will get to keep her.
Guide Dogs for the Blind will hold open houses June 28 and 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, at its San Rafael location. For more information about the organization and the open houses, call 800.295.4050 or visit www.guidedogs.com.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
