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November 13, 2012 • Posted in blindness, guide dogs, Seeing Eye dogs, Uncategorized, visiting libraries, visiting schools by

Whitney and I had a ball at the Hamilton Branch of the Madison Public Librarylast Friday, and as always, the kids in the audience had some marvelous questions. My favorite one was

Whitney are becoming a good team.

this: “Your book says your Seeing Eye dog goes with you everywhere. Does she go in the shower with you, too?”

We’re heading to Champaign this Thursday To speak to an animal sciences class at the University of Illinois, and it’ll be interesting to find out if the kids in that college class read their texts as carefully as the little girl at that library in Madison did!

I plan on telling the college class what it’s been like transitioning to a new Seeing Eye dog, then going over some of the qualifications necessary to become a guide dog instructor. Most guide dog schools require instructors to have a college degree and then do an apprenticeship, and apprenticeships can last as long as four years. If I do a decent job explaining how complicated it can be to train dogs, train people, and then make a perfect match between the human and canine, the college kids might appreciate why the apprenticeships last so long.

Once apprentices finish their training and become full-time Seeing Eye Instructors, they’re assigned a string (a group) of dogs and given four months to train that string. Throughout the training, instructors pay close attention to each dog’s pace and pull, and they make careful notes about how each dog deals with distractions, what their energy level is, and all sorts of other characteristics. And then? We blind students fly in from all over North America to be matched — and trained — with a new dog.

Seeing Eye instructors have to be as good at evaluating people as they are evaluating dogs. Our instructors review our applications before we arrive on campus and then ask us tons more questions when we get there. Instructors take us on “Juno” walks (they hold the front of the harness to guide us through all sorts of scenarios to get an idea of how fast we like to walk and how strong of a pull we’ll want from our dog) and then combine all of this information with what they know about their string of dogs, talk it over with fellow instructors and the team supervisor, mix in a little bit of gut instinct, and voila! A match is formed.

Each Seeing Eye instructor trains more dogs than they’ll need for a class. If a dog has a pace, pull, or energy level that doesn’t match with a blind person in the current class, that dog remains on campus with daily walks and care, and perhaps more training, until the next class arrives. My first dog was one of those Seeing Eye dogs who went through a second round of training before she was matched with me. Back in 1991, the Seeing Eye knew that the dog they matched me with would be landing in the home of a very unique five-year-old boy named Gus, and that the dog would be in the hands of a woman who had never had a dog before. They must have figured Pandora would need all the extra training she could get!

Hanni was the perfect dog for everything going on during her years with me, Harper took a blow to save me from getting hit by a car on State Street. My fourth dog had big paws to fill, and it’s taken me a while to warm up to Whitney. Lately, though, I’m finally finding myself falling in love again.

My two-year-old Golden/Labrador Retriever cross is a hard worker who loves to play as much as she loves to work. Her curiosity gets her in trouble sometimes, but when she guides me down busy Chicago streets, she is directed, determined, and driven. The only time she lollygags? When she realizes we’re heading back home. She wants to go, go, go

Whitney’s confidence is contagious, and she’s smart enough to know when to bend the rules without getting in trouble. Hmm. Whitney and I just might make a perfect match after all.

Catherine Rategan On November 13, 2012 at 3:58 pm

LOVE YOUR NEW BLOG. VERY INFORMATIVE.

P.S. HAVE YOU READ THE BOOK EDGAR SAWTELLE ABOUT THE DOG BREEDER/TRAINER?

CR

*Catherine Rategan* Writer, Inc. 312-266-8146 http://www.rateganwriter.com/

bethfinke On November 13, 2012 at 4:44 pm

Yes, we read that book in our book club – I remember young Edgar Sawtelle discovering letters written by his grandfather to some guy who was supposed to be one of the original breeders of seeing eye dogs in Morristown, but I can’t recall if this part, like the book, was totally fiction or if the author based this part on breeding and lineage on fact. Anyone out there know?

Kim On November 13, 2012 at 5:55 pm

I bet training the people is much more challenging than training the dogs. Trainers at The Seeing Eye sound like dedicated, unique folks. This was your best blog yet about the work done at The Seeing Eye. Kudos!

bethfinke On November 14, 2012 at 10:54 am

Well, shucks. Thanks for the compliment –I consider it high praise coming from a dedicated Safe & Sound follower like you, Kim! And while the instructors would never admit it, from my observations over the years I’d say you are absolutely correct: *much* more difficult to train humans.

Maureen Naset On November 13, 2012 at 6:46 pm

Hi Beth – It was great to read that you and Whitney have become such a compatible twosome!! Hope you’re doing well.

bethfinke On November 14, 2012 at 10:55 am

Doing *very* well, thanks. Good to hear from you again, Maureen, and hope things are going well with you and your brood, too.

Deborah Darsie On November 14, 2012 at 12:36 am

So, which of you is more skilled with ‘intelligent disobedience’…you or Whitney?
Reading about your developing relationship with Whitney is quite interesting. My 2nd puppy was partnered with someone in need of a successor dog, it has been quite interesting her journey with Everest as they figure out each other.

bethfinke On November 14, 2012 at 11:05 am

Thanks for the note, Deborah, always good to hear from you. No doubt you’ve heard of something called “second dog syndrome,” where we come to train with our second dog and can’t help but canonize our first dog? No doubt Everest’s human companion will eventually come to the same conclusion I have: they’re *all* great dogs!

bethfinke On November 14, 2012 at 11:07 am

And P.S., Whitney is wayyyyyyy ahead of me when it comes to intelligent disobedience!

Katherine Reed On November 14, 2012 at 9:28 am

Your mention of your guide dogs took me for a walk down memory lane in Champaiagn Urbana; learning that Pan really could fit by your feet in my little Nissan pick up and sharing your placement of Pan with friends and Hanni’s coming into your life. I share your stories about your dogs with my grandchildren and with the diabetes social worker at Children’s Hospital Central California where I now work.

bethfinke On November 14, 2012 at 11:14 am

Wow, talk about a walk down memory lane – so fantastic to hear from you, Katherine – I still use many, many of the skills you taught me when volunteering as a grief/bereavement counselor. Not only do they come in handy when times are tough, they buoy me in every ay life, too. I recall that little Maya has a December birthday – send her my best.

Hava On November 14, 2012 at 5:04 pm

I love hearing the stories of matches made on “dog day” at TSE! I can’t imagine how exciting it must be. The anticpation must be something like a 5-year-old waiting for Christmas.

bethfinke On November 15, 2012 at 6:59 am

Yes, and in a large class it can be 20+ five-year-olds waiting in anticipation — just imagine!

Jacqueline Houtman On November 14, 2012 at 9:29 pm

Thanks for finding me on Saturday and introducing me to Whitney. She seems like a dog who is eager to please. I hope she got some good exercise in.

bethfinke On November 15, 2012 at 7:03 am

It was our pleasure catching up with you, Jacqueline, and yes, Whitney *did* get some exercise that day, including a romp in a dog park. Madison is lovely, and…so are you!

penn nelson On November 15, 2012 at 12:01 pm

Beth, I just put down my kindle after finishing “Long Time No See” I’m not sure whatever I would say would be adequate but suffice to say I now know what has made you what you are today; a fun loving intelligent person who has learned what life is all about!
Thanks for sharing your story and thanks for your wonderful blogs!

I don’t have your email so if you get this and want to send it to me that would be great!

Penn

bethfinke On November 15, 2012 at 6:31 pm

Wow! I had no idea my memoir was available on kindl! Thanks for letting me know, and thanks also for the fine compliments — I’m blushing!

Bob On November 15, 2012 at 10:17 pm

You didn’t answer…..does she go into the shower with you?

Carl On November 15, 2012 at 10:19 pm

I bet any money the kids in the animal sciences class will be every bit as engaged as the little girl in Madison.

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