By Nickie Coby
Teen TalkMost people might think I am crazy for leaving home for a month during the summer to go to school.
Youíd expect a high school student to savor every minute of sleeping in late and not having a schedule. Youíd think the last thing Iíd want to do would be to get up at six every morning and work until seven every evening.
What brought on my deviation from normal expectations? Why on earth would I go 1400 miles away from home for 28 days of intense training?
The reason I made this decision was to get a Guide Dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind. I have been spending time learning everything I need to know to work with and take care of a Guide Dog.
If youíve seen me walking the streets with a cane, you know my blindness doesnít limit me. I can walk almost anywhere. But you may also have seen the difficulties I face: running into obstacles and having to figure out how to get around them, being smacked in the stomach by my cane hitting a crack in the sidewalk and always having to work to walk in a straight line.
My new Guide Dog, Julio, helps me with many of those challenges. He guides me around obstacles so smoothly I hardly know theyíre there. He walks right over cracks in sidewalks. He also helps me keep walking in a straight line. I can cross streets more easily because I donít have to wonder when Iíll get to the other side. If Julio is doing his job correctly, I know heíll stop when we get to the other side.
Julio isnít a wonder dog. He just does what heís trained to do.
I would compare it to driving. When you get in the car to go to work or school in the morning you first have to step on the gas to tell the car to go. You use the brakes to stop and the steering wheel to turn right or left. Your car never crosses the street until you tell it to and you canít just ask it to take you somewhere. You have to use specific cues to make your car do what you want it to.
Itís very similar for me with Julio. I have to tell him which way to go, when to start and when to stop. He will never cross the street without my telling him to. He cannot read traffic lights. I still have to listen for traffic to know when it is safe to cross.
Unlike a car, Julio is alive and has a personality.
He does not always listen. Sometimes I have to correct him or point out a mistake. I have learned how to do this in a way that is humane.
At school they taught us that Guide Dogs, like all dogs, need a leader. Julio will actually respect me more for correcting his mistakes. I have to control Julioís personality and work to make sure he is behaving properly. But there are advantages to his intelligence and personality. Julio can use his eyes and brain to disobey me when it is unsafe. Julio will not step out in front of a car or move in a direction where there is an obstacle that he cannot go around.
When you drive, it is important that no one is tampering with your car. You do not want someone to play with your steering wheel, gas pedal or brakes.
Thatís how it is with Julio. Having someone else pet or talk to him, especially without asking, distracts him from his job which can be guiding me or sometimes just standing, sitting or lying down quietly near me.
Just as you wouldnít put anything but gas into a carís gas tank, Julio only eats food specially designed for him.
I have to be extremely careful about giving him treats and he never eats people-food.
If he eats something that is not healthy for him or eats too much food and becomes obese, he will be unhealthy and unable to guide me safely.
He is not allowed to beg for food and he is not allowed to take food from anyone except me. So if you want to offer him a treat, please realize that you may be doing him more harm than good and ask me first.
Vandalism is something no one wants to have happen to their car. Having someone cause harm to your property is invasive and also expensive.
Not only do I rely on Julio to guide me safely, but he and I have developed a bond as you do with a pet. Many people say that this bond is stronger because he accompanies me everywhere.
This bond has been recognized by the legislature of the State of Minnesota and other states. Recently, a bill was passed by the Minnesota Legislature that allows the courts to seek restitution if a service dog is attacked by another dog. The cost of a Guide Dog is approximately $46,000. If a Guide Dog is attacked, the physical and emotional damage to the dog can cause it to have to be retired and replaced. At the least, lost pay, medical bills and the cost of retraining the dog can add up quickly.
Although Julio is obviously very different from a car and the comparisons go only so far, he still aids me in getting where I need to go.
With your respect, help and understanding, Julio and I will be an effective and safe team and it will have been well worth my time to have gone away to Guide Dogs for the Blind for a month. The independence I have gained will help me to participate more fully in the community.
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