Our journey to add a four legged dog to our family.
Growing up my mom used a cane to get most places. As us kids grew and were able to guide her we would use the sighted guide techniques to help guide mom where we were going. In the early 2000s mom began to think about getting a dog. At the time, my dad was not a fan of having a large dog in the house that would come on trips and need extra care. So mom put the idea to the back of her mind.
After my parents separated in 2005, us kids told mom she should look into getting a dog again. It would help with many situations where sighted guiding is difficult (aka crowds, large groups, sporting events) and it would be nice for me to know mom was going to be able to get around when I left for college in 2008. Mom looked into different schools and tried to find the one that fit her needs. Most guide dog schools asked for her to be able to walk the dog daily. At the time we lived on a busy residential street and there were no sidewalks. So she didn’t meet those criteria. She finally settled on Guide Dogs for the Blind. She would go to their Oregon campus and be gone for 4-weeks at the time. It took a lot of work to figure out where us kids would stay.
Thankfully I had just gotten my driver’s license in June of 2006 and was able to help get my siblings to the different houses they would be at. I would stay at one house, but go home to make sure things were good there and also work my job!
It was a long time for mom to be away, but the training worked well. Since it was her first dog there were many questions she needed to have answered and things she would learn and then teach us once she returned.
Mom left for Guide Dog school in August of 2006. As I mentioned previously, she was gone for an entire month. Mom flew back from California with Lassen her first guide. (GDB has 2 guide dog campuses.) I will be sharing pictures of us first meeting him at the airport. Four young kids excited to have our mom back and one not so sure what to do guide dog!
Lassen quickly became a part of our lives. Mom taught us that he was not to be played with by us kids for the first couple of months so that he and mom could continue to bond. We also knew that we were not supposed to pet him while he was working. Which also meant that we were going to have to tell EVERYONE that we ran into.
We spent a lot of time learning how to walk in front of mom and not beside her so that Lassen would know how to follow us. We also learned that if we tried to walk beside Lassen that he would cut us off because he preferred to lead and not have people next to him. When we went to places that were crowded we would tell mom to move forward and then step into line behind her and Lassen, since a guide dog is much better at navigating a crowd. Plus, once people saw or felt a wet nose on their leg they tended to “part the waters” as we called it. This made navigating the mall, church, and other places so much easier.
There were many times us kids would talk to Lassen instead of mom about directions. We would say Lassen turn left, instead of Mom we are going left now. Or Lassen get your nose out of the bread, instead of Mom Lassen’s nose is very close to the bread. even though he was usually pointing out which one we were buying.
One thing we didn’t expect was for the dog to learn our routes. If we were going grocery shopping he knew our normal pattern and where the items we bought were located. At church he learned which rooms to go to and how to get there. He was quick at learning new routes and times. We also weren’t prepared to feel replaced. Mom had always needed us to help get from one place to another. Like across the parking lot to the car, or from one classroom to the next, or just going from the car into a building. Join me tomorrow for how we transitioned from the first dog to her second dog.
When Mom brought Lassen home she was not working yet. In 2008, she started a job at a local middle school. This meant Lassen had to transition from just a few basic routes to a new middle school that was not very easy to navigate. Around age 9 Lassen started showing signs that we was tired and not ready to work anymore. Mom had decided to retire him between age 8-10 depending what the dog decided. She spent a number of months without a guide as finding a school that fit her needs were different again.
Mom was no longer working, and even though the subdivision had sidewalks she was not comfortable walking them alone. This time Mom chose Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind for her puppy this time. She and James have been together now since 2013. James loves to work and has been a great dog to handle our crazy schedules. Lassen was allowed to stay with our family until we had to put him down in January of 2018. Thankfully Lassen was old, and tired and didn’t really care that there was a new dog to take his place. With the exception of maybe two times that I remember mom calling James and Lassen came to get in the harness!
I have heard though of retired guides trying to come work when the new puppy comes.
James has been great! Mom has lost more hearing and most of the time directional hearing is gone. With this new hearing loss, it makes things harder like walking through parking lots, crossing streets, and giving directions. James has stepped up and taken over caring for Mom even if she is certain where to go. He does a great job of following and helping mom feel confident that she can still make it through a crowd.
I have compiled a list of Guide Dog Schools in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. If you are interested in getting a guide dog, I hope this list helps you find your new four-legged companion.
