Volunteers lay foundation for guide dogs

TOWN OF DEWITT – A dog is, as the saying goes, a “best friend” to their human companion, but they can also be of great service.
To help with the second part, organizations like Guiding Eyes for the Blind comprise the list of accredited schools located across the country that are shaping young pups into assistance dogs for the blind and visually impaired.
Keeping tabs on the care of up to 400 canines at a time, that Yorktown Heights-based nonprofit oversees several regional puppy-raising programs, including some in Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Colorado as well as one that sits in Central New York.
The 12 puppies currently monitored by the local offshoot have all been taken in by assigned volunteers, who in each case are tasked with providing a safe home to their matches for about a year and a half.
A combination of Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds, these dogs are brought on walks in various environments in order for their “reference library” of sensory experiences to become well-stocked.
According to regional co-coordinator Mary Oonk, Central New York serves as a quality place for puppy raising because of its mix of inclement weather and its summertime humidity.
Additionally, spots on the map like Clark Reservation State Park contain all of the flat terrain, slippery surfaces, rocky inclines and cliffsides that a designated guide dog hopeful needs to be accustomed to, Oonk said.
The local puppy-raising volunteers embarked on a pack walk at Clark Reservation on New Year’s Day. This was separate from the pair of Friends group-organized hikes occurring there the same morning.
With leashes firmly gripped, they followed the Mildred Faust, Dry Lake and Big Buck trails and waited up for each other if any of the dogs relieved themselves or got carried away. The walkers also stopped for a view of Glacier Lake in the fresh, 50-degree air and rewarded their dogs with treats for displays of ever-improving behavior.
The puppies in the Guiding Eyes for the Blind program are usually turned over to these nurturers at about the eight-week point. Apart from playing and walking with their temporary pets, the puppy raisers end up teaching basic obedience while leading the way for increased socialization.
Once they grow to a certain extent, the dogs are returned to Guiding Eyes, at which point they undergo further evaluations and months of formal training at the Westchester County headquarters.
The final stage of this disciplinary process involves guidance of a blindfolded trainer through the crowds, car traffic and subway stations of New York City.
If deemed dependable enough to guide someone with complete blindness, lost peripheral vision or any other eyesight impairment, the dogs are then handed off to a compatible longer-term partner in a fitting locale.
“Some dogs just aren’t quite suited for the responsibility that comes with being a guide dog,” Oonk said. “Just like how people have all different career paths we like or choose, dogs can be the same way.”
Several dogs born into the program have alternatively gone on to become either therapy animals in hospitals or narcotics and explosives detectors for police departments.
Founded by Donald Kauth in 1954, Guiding Eyes for the Blind breeds its own dogs and has its employees name each litter’s offspring by way of an alphabetical cycle, sometimes with honor given to the memories of other loved ones.
For more information on the organization, visit guidingeyes.org.