[nagdu] Pilot articles

[Brenda]

Those were really neat articles. I think it is important that there was 
an example of someone who did not pass and why among the successful 
handlers.

I thought it cost about $40,000or $50,000 to train a guide dog but the 
first article said it only cost about $8000. Just curious about this.

Brenda






On 9/30/2011 2:19 PM, Tracy Carcione wrote:
> When we were discussing Pilot a while back, Jeanine sent me this set of
> newspaper articles, which I think are pretty
> interesting, so I thought I'd share.
> Pilot Dogs Class
> Columbus Dispatch February 10, 2009
>
> Reporter follows in footsteps of blind
> Reporter follows in footsteps of blind
>
> As I slipped on the mask, my confidence faded to black along with my world.
> For four weeks I had interviewed Pilot Dogs students, followed them on
> walks, recorded
> their successes and setbacks. I understood basic guide-dog training: the
> commands,
> the routes, the common mistakes.
> I felt sufficiently prepared, then, for an experiment: taking a guide dog
> on a short
> walk, blindfolded.
> Yet the succinct advice one student offered before I left made no mention
> of skill
> or technique.
> "Trust your dog," he said. "That's all you need to know."
> Outside the school, my first impression of blindness seemed embarrassingly
> obvious:
> Wait. How can I walk like this? I can't even see. I can't see.
> Before I could speak, trainer Steve Hoyt offered instructions: "Find your
> dog; find
> your harness."
> Frantically, I waved a hand around in search of my black Labrador, a
> slight rush
> of self-pity washing over me.
> The comfort of finding Tory didn't last long as she and I set off for a
> walk around
> the block nearest the school.
> My harness hand bounced with the dog's wiggling stride as I staggered to
> follow her
> down the sidewalk. Not until I felt grass beneath my feet did I discover
> the crookedness
> of my path.
> When Tory paused at the first curb, I reached out my right foot to feel
> for it. Realizing
> that I'd stopped short, I pawed the pavement until I nearly stumbled over
> the edge.
> The sound of passing cars made my heart race, even though I knew I was in
> no danger.
> Seven-year-old Tory is a guide-dog veteran, and Steve, like all the
> school's trainers,
> wouldn't let anything happen to me.
> Still, the walk was terrifying.
> Working to gain control, I tried to visualize the route I'd followed many
> times when
> accompanying the students. I pictured the buildings I'd pass and the
> alleys I'd cross.
> I tried to show off my mental map when Tory stopped at a curb: I asked
> Steve whether
> we should turn right onto Rich Street.
> "This is the parking lot," he told me.
> I thought I'd have a huge advantage over the students, having studied the
> area first
> with my eyes. Blindfolded, though, I had no idea where I was.
> The walk was simple -- few decisions, no street crossings -- yet I
> struggled to manage
> it.
> And I'm not even Randy Bailey, who hadn't walked much in years.
> Or Elaine Brittain, fearful that a fall could break her bones.
> Or Phil Jackson, who can neither see nor hear his surroundings.
> Yet for me, even Tory swerving on the sidewalk proved problematic. I
> didn't understand
> what she was doing, worried where she was taking me.
> I slowed my steps, pulling on her in a moment of uncertainty:
> What if she continues into the street?
> Tory didn't, though. She wouldn't.
> "She's just taking you around some leaves," Steve told me. "She doesn't
> want you
> to step on them."
> In other words: Trust your dog; that's all you need to know .
> Amy Saunders is a Dispatch reporter.
>
>
> Meet and greet
> Training program begins with introductions of guide dogs, prospective owners
>
> The dog becomes its owner's means of navigating the world -- his eyes, his
> inseparable
> companion.
> But the relationship between the two doesn't begin that way.
> Raised by a foster family, the dog has spent more time as an average pet
> than a vital
> leader.
> And the person, typically blind or visually impaired for years, might not
> be used
> to handling an animal or even taking walks.
> The strangers gradually become a team at Pilot Dogs, a 58-year-old West
> Side school
> that's among 10 in the country training guide dogs and prospective owners.
> The four-week program is a boot camp of sorts: Students sleep in twin
> beds, eat cafeteria
> food and train for 12 hours a day, six days a week -- first in the
> school's Town
> Street neighborhood and, eventually, on COTA buses and the streets of
> Downtown.
> A test in the final week determines whether students can take their
> animals home
> and be counted among the 8,000 active guide-dog users in the United States
> -- a figure
> representing less than 1 percent of the estimated 1.5 million visually
> impaired Americans.
> The schooling is strenuous, particularly for those who don't work or who
> tend to
> stay close to home. Each year, a handful of the 150 students who enroll
> quit or fail
> the class.
> "You see a lot of different moods as they go through it: anxiety,
> excitement, depression,
> anxiety again," said Jay Gray, executive director of the nonprofit
> organization,
> which provides dogs to students at no cost.
> "It usually goes smoothly, but there's times it just does not."
> Five students -- including three featured in this three-day package of
> stories --
> began the challenge Nov. 24.
> During a two-day orientation, students practiced walking around the school
> and learned
> commands they'd need to instruct their dogs.
> On the third day, dogs and students started their training together.
> Randy: a world unraveled
> To catch up with his slender dog, 43-year-old Randy Bailey had to move
> faster than
> he had in four years.
> During that time, in fact, he'd hardly left his apartment. He had no
> reason to leave.
> His life had deteriorated in just nine months -- his health, his marriage
> and, ultimately,
> his sight.
> First, a rare stomach infection ravaged his body, leaving but 100 pounds
> on his 6-foot
> frame.
> Then, weakened by the illness as well as his lifelong struggle with
> diabetes, Randy
> in early 2004 suffered what he later learned was a series of strokes.
> His vision, a little out of sorts initially, was gone by that July.
> Meanwhile, his wife -- the mother of his four children -- divorced him
> after 16 years
> of marriage.
> And, shortly after he moved out of the house with the family's Shetland
> sheepdog,
> Rowdy was attacked and killed by a friend's much-larger Akita.
> Darkness and depression overcame Randy in a Greenville, Ill., senior
> center -- the
> only apartment he could find at the time of the divorce, the one he has
> rarely left
> since.
> "I was mad at the world, and I was scared to death," he said. "I cried a
> lot, I did;
> I was devastated. I still am, to a certain degree."
> As Randy's emotions eased, he began thinking of rejoining the world he
> once knew
> -- as a graduate of Northwestern University, as a high-school math teacher
> and, for
> the previous 20 years, as a fine-dining chef.
> Heeding advice given a year earlier by his teenage daughter, Kayla, he
> finally made
> a move by enrolling at Pilot Dogs.
> "I'm ready to get back living again," he said. "There's gotta be more for
> me than
> just sitting in my apartment 24 hours a day. There's gotta be."
> Randy found his opportunity on that first-day walk with Brice, as the
> vizsla, a lean
> breed of Hungarian stock, pulled him around the block fast -- enjoyably fast.
> Afterward, the dog -- which had cowered nervously upon meeting him -- was
> jumping
> onto his chair, body wiggling, her face in his.
> For the first time in two hours, he'd stopped petting her; she wanted his
> attention.
> Phil: a long wait ended
> In a stark, temporary bedroom, Phil Jackson finally met the dog he wasn't
> supposed
> to have.
> Therapists had discouraged him from attending guide-dog school, fearing
> the classes
> would overwhelm him. Blind and partially deaf for all his 40 years, Phil
> is prone
> to stumbling into walls and obstacles or mixing up his lefts and rights.
> A dog, though, could help him navigate his hometown of Bristol, Va., with
> the accuracy,
> speed and grace not afforded by his cane.
> A dog could lead him to the pulpit of his small Baptist church and help
> him develop
> skills for a job that provides the money his ministry cannot.
> Phil had wanted a dog for years -- and now, on the Wednesday morning
> before Thanksgiving,
> his anticipation heightened as he awaited her delivery.
> Three hours later, when a trainer announced the dog's arrival, Phil
> readied himself
> immediately, snapping forward in his chair -- arms out and waiting for
> Corky to fill
> them.
> The black Labrador bounded into the room, presenting herself in all her
> panting,
> wagging, jumping glory.
> "All right, all right
> !" Phil exclaimed as his hands felt for Corky's head and nose. "This puppy
> cannot
> realize
> how long I've waited for this to happen."
> He promptly ignored instructions to remain seated. If the dog was wiggling
> her way
> toward the door, so was Phil -- on his hands and knees, willing to follow
> any path
> that led to Corky.
> "I've waited for you forever," he repeated.
> The meeting was momentous for Corky, too; her release from five months of
> training
> and kennel life was cause for celebratory jumping and crying.
> Such behavior confused Phil, who had never owned a dog -- or seen one.
> In his deliberate, Southern drawl, he sought the wisdom of the sighted,
> asking a
> trainer: "When she's crying like that and you look at her, do you see
> tears coming
> out?"
> Elaine: a 'lost soul' searching
> Sometimes, a sprightly, 50-pound black Lab is no match for an 83-year-old
> who, when
> seated, can't always reach her feet to the floor.
> " Nooo!
> No, Dee Dee! We have to wait our turn!" Elaine Brittain pleaded as her
> dog lunged
> for a door in hopes of following the just-departed dog of another student.
> At first, Dee Dee had seemed just the friend Elaine was seeking:
> affectionate and
> attentive -- and, as a bonus, petite and dark.
> "I can see you better," Elaine told the squirming dog upon meeting her.
> "And you're
> little and short - just my size, yes. You're going to live with me and be
> my helper
> because I need a bunch of help, Dee Dee."
> Only minutes into knowing the dog, though, Elaine was fighting for
> control. And the
> day before, even without Dee Dee yanking on her, she had lost her balance
> and fallen
> during a walk outside.
> "I'm afraid I'll fall again," she told a trainer, her voice quivering.
> "What worries
> me is she's so strong. Will she settle down? I sure don't want to fall."
> Concerns about her physical abilities had plagued Elaine long before she
> arrived
> at Pilot Dogs. She suffers from painful arthritis and degenerative vision
> that has
> turned her world into blurs and patches.
> Until recently, the 10-year widow had been content to live alone in the
> Highland
> County city of Hillsboro. She made regular trips to the salon, the post
> office and,
> on occasion, to a bar for country-music night and margaritas.
> She had been more lonely than independent, though, since autumn, when her
> boxer,
> Rocky, died of cancer.
> "I've been a lost soul ever since," she said. "He was a wonderful,
> wonderful dog;
> he surely was. I never went anywhere without him."
> With her sight worsening, she applied to Pilot Dogs at the urging of
> friends from
> her beauty shop. A companion could make her happier -- and maybe extend
> her life.
> Her mother, after all, lived to age 95.
> "I'm not giving up yet," Elaine said. "But if I don't get another dog, I
> might."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> T
>
>
>
>
> Public can lend a hand in a variety of ways
> Public can lend a hand in a variety of ways
>
>
> Want to help?
> > From puppyhood to Pilot Dogs, training and placing a guide dog with an
> owner costs
> about $8,000.
> But the dog -- including transportation to the West Side school and four
> weeks of
> classes -- is free to students.
> The nonprofit agency operates on a $1.4 million annual budget, with 20
> percent of
> the money provided by Lions Clubs International and the rest from
> memberships and
> donations.
> The school also relies on dog donations and puppy raisers.
> Potential volunteers can learn more by calling 614-221-6367or visiting
> www.pilotdogs.org.
> The basics:
> To donate money
> • Checks, payable to Pilot Dogs Inc., should be sent to 625 W. Town St.,
> Columbus,
> Ohio 43215.
> To donate a dog
> • About 90 percent of the school guide dogs come from breeding programs,
> but Pilot
> Dogs also accepts private donations of dogs.
> • The school uses seven breeds: German shepherd, Doberman pinscher, boxer,
> Labrador
> retriever, golden retriever, vizsla and standard poodle.
> • Females between 50 and 60 pounds are preferred. Dogs between 14 and 30
> months old
> are accepted for a probationary period while their temperament and
> training potential
> are evaluated.
> To raise a puppy
> • A foster family can raise a future Pilot Dog for about a year, starting
> when the
> puppy is 7 to 10 weeks old. Guide-dog puppies are raised like pets -- with
> housebreaking,
> obedience classes and exposure to different people and places.
> • Pilot Dogs provides a leash, collar and brush, and reimburses families
> for veterinary
> and obedience-school costs (but not for food).
> • When the puppy reaches 12 to 14 months of age, it returns to Pilot Dogs
> for three
> to five months of guide-dog training. About half won't make the cut.
> Breeders get
> first dibs on adopting those dogs, followed by the puppy raiser and then
> those on
> a public waiting list.
>
> Peaks and valleys: Training intensity leaves guide-dog students on an
> emotional roller
> Coaster
>
> James D. DeCAMP
> Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee prepare for a walk. The plaque behind them
> honors Charles
> W. Medick, a Pilot Dogs founder.
> Eventually, they travel to stores, ride buses and cross busy Downtown
> streets like
> anyone else.
> To start, though, guide dogs and their new handlers learn to find doors,
> to turn
> left or right, to stop at the end of sidewalks -- all in an effort to
> develop walking
> skills that the sighted take for granted.
> Working up to street crossings takes repetition and patience during a
> four-week stay
> at Pilot Dogs, a West Side training school for guide dogs and blind or
> visually impaired
> people who would own them.
> At 7 a.m. six days a week, students gather for breakfast before starting
> 12 hours
> of obedience classes, lectures and walks lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours.
> Students venture out one or two at a time, with their dogs leading the way
> and a
> trainer giving instructions and monitoring their progress.
> Before accepting about 150 students a year, the nonprofit school reviews
> applications
> as well as medical and personal references, hoping to select those with
> the health
> and personality to withstand the commitment.
> Most applicants are accepted to Pilot Dogs or another school, but the
> physical and
> emotional demands of the training inevitably prove too much for a few
> students, who
> quit or fail the class each year.
> For the five enrolled in the final class of 2008, the second and third
> weeks proved
> increasingly challenging.
> Fatigued from walking and aching from arthritis, Elaine Brittain, an
> 83-year-old
> widow from Hillsboro, worried that her age matters more than her efforts
> during the
> program.
> Randy Bailey, on the other hand, felt as if he were coming back to life --
> taking
> long walks for the first time since illness and misfortune five years ago
> left the
> 43-year-old blind and alone in Greenville, Ill.
> And for Phil Jackson, 40, partial deafness along with complete blindness
> severely
> hindered his abilities to walk and control the dog he wanted for his life
> as a pastor
> in Bristol, Va.
> This story tells of the trio's training experiences in the two weeks
> starting Nov.
> 27.
> Elaine: proceeding with caution
> The homeless man wanted money from her, of all people -- the little,
> 83-year-old
> hunched over in jeans a couple of inches too short, walking down the
> street with
> her guide dog.
> Both Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee brushed past him, silent and unfazed.
> During training, a handler's focus must remain on the walk --
> distractions, after
> all, are everywhere.
> "Find the curb," Elaine instructed the black Labrador retriever, who led
> her to the
> sidewalk's end.
> Elaine slid her right foot over the brink to determine the crossing's
> identity: Is
> it a street? An alley? A parking lot? Or a dangerous piece of uneven
> pavement?
> Determining her whereabouts, she directed Dee Dee to turn right as the two
> continued
> through the West Side neighborhood near Pilot Dogs.
> Unknowing, Elaine headed toward a second obstruction: two cars on a
> sidewalk, parked
> nonchalantly outside an auto-repair shop.
> It was up to Dee Dee to steer her master around the vehicles -- and up to
> Elaine
> to follow the dog's chosen route: muddy, uneven ground between the cars
> and a concrete
> wall of the shop.
> "She's so good; Dee Dee, you're such a good dog," Elaine said -- not that
> she usually
> tells the dog otherwise.
> A week after Elaine and Dee Dee met, their work together was turning from
> frightening
> to fruitful.
> Less often was Dee Dee bolting toward other dogs or students, to the
> terror of her
> elderly caretaker. And on occasions when Dee Dee still acted like a puppy,
> Elaine
> was quicker to correct her with a sharp "No!" and a jerk on her leash.
> Still, Elaine constantly reminded herself that she thought -- no, she knew
> -- that
> she is too old for four weeks of such intense training.
> "The stress is bad; I'm just nervous," she said. "When I'm tired, I have
> trouble
> because I'm weak and I'm not used to all this exercise."
> With some classmates now covering up to 2 miles, Elaine often noted how
> much slower
> she was on simple trips around the block. No matter that most of the other
> students
> were half Elaine's age; she was bothered by her lack of progress.
> At the end of the second week, Elaine's physical condition became more
> unstable.
> Tangled in Dee Dee's leash, she fell in the school lobby and smacked her
> head so
> hard that she was unsure what had happened.
> The rest of the day, she wasn't her usual, feisty self.
> Rather than bantering with her classmates during lunch, she ate mostly in
> silence,
> speaking up only to complain of soreness from the fall and stiffness from
> arthritis.
> The next week, Elaine still spoke of the spill as something of historical
> significance
> -- how it made her wary, even more than she already was, to walk Dee Dee
> in the slippery
> December conditions.
> "I'm still afraid, and I'm counting the days till I go home," she said.
> "It seems
> like we've been here a long time."
> Elaine and her classmates had 11 days to go.
> Randy: on cruise control
> A dog's responsibilities end here, at the tangling of highways where the
> sounds of
> speeding cars overwhelm all other noise.
> Now that Brice had guided her handler to this place -- a West Side
> entrance ramp
> to I-70 and I-71 on Town Street -- Randy Bailey listened for the traffic
> he could
> not see.
> A rush of cars heard to one side of the pedestrian suggests nothing in
> front -- signaling
> an opportunity to cross the street.
> Discovering that moment can be nerve-racking and time-consuming --
> especially at
> this crossing, marred by the noisy Rt. 315 overpass above.
> As Randy and Brice, a vizsla, waited for their chance, a truck breezed by
> them and
> caused the collar of Randy's jacket to flutter open.
> "Whoa, that was close," he said, stepping back in recognition of the danger.
> Several minutes passed before Randy could make the call, cross the street
> and continue
> the walk back to Pilot Dogs.
> Before long, though, he regained a quick pace that had, at times, put him
> more than
> 50 yards ahead of classmate Kevin Dickson.
> Near the end of the walk, trainer Wayne Mathys quizzed his two students on
> their
> location.
> "Are we at State and ?" Kevin began, describing an intersection a few
> blocks away.
> "Town and Grubb," Randy interrupted, providing the correct answer.
> In his second week, Randy -- blind for four years, fewer years than any of
> his classmates
> -- was proving himself a confident walker with a keen, natural sense of
> direction.
> Adjusting to blindness, caused by a stroke at age 39, has taken much longer.
> A therapist taught him to walk with a cane and provided him with devices
> that detect
> the color of a shirt and the denomination of currency. A personal
> assistant helps
> him with errands and finances.
> Still, Randy bloodies and burns his fingers when trying to cook, as he did
> during
> his 20 years as a fine-dining chef. He isn't yet proficient at reading
> Braille.
> And despite his walking abilities, he had tripped and fallen several times
> at Pilot
> Dogs, twisting both ankles.
> Yet Randy was determined to excel with Brice. He'd always been a
> perfectionist, and
> this time he needed these skills to impress others, too.
> His four children -- ages 13 to 17 -- didn't know that their father had
> left Illinois
> to enroll in guide-dog school.
> The dog was to be a surprise for the kids, who've struggled watching the
> toll that
> blindness has taken on him.
> "I can tell it in their voices -- this intimidates them," he said,
> pointing to the
> dark sunglasses that never leave his face. "This is not what they're used
> to."
> Phil: a bumpy ride
> Literally out of the school gate, Phil Jackson started making mistakes.
> He turned the wrong direction, dropped his dog's harness and spun in
> circles as he
> tried to recover.
> Trainer Mike Tessmer offered corrections as loud as his voice would let
> him. But
> illness had reduced his shouting that day to a hoarse whisper -- and Phil,
> partially
> deaf since birth, strained to hear him under normal circumstances.
> At the first two curbs on the walk, Phil aimlessly continued into the
> street instead
> of stopping and turning to remain on the sidewalk.
> He stepped on Corky's feet, making the black Lab yelp, and tripped badly
> enough that
> Mike had to grab and steady him.
> The blindness and deafness impairing his balance, Phil then veered into
> the street
> while crossing an alley -- unable to sense his own direction.
> "Stop! You're in the street!" Mike said. "Phil, you're a little unsafe, OK?"
> During the second week of class, Phil was frequently disoriented inside
> and outside
> the building -- becoming lost on the way to his room, crashing into
> chairs, prompting
> classmates and dogs to scramble out of his way.
> And with Phil focusing so much on his own travel, Corky's movements often
> became
> an afterthought.
> Without daily reminders of the rules, guide dogs can revert to typical-dog
> behavior,
> ignoring duties and commands in favor of inspecting smells and surroundings.
> Returning from the walk, Corky darted toward another student's dog while
> Phil trailed
> silently behind her. Mike, watching the lack of control, threw his hands
> up in frustration.
> "We blundered a couple of times this morning," Phil casually acknowledged
> after the
> walk. "But I'm not upset with that; it's my own stupid fault."
> The next week, though, Phil started to recognize that his problems might
> be unfixable.
> At times, he couldn't hear the quiet engines of late-model cars or judge
> the distance
> between him and oncoming traffic.
> And although his "Corkster" was sweet and kind, willing to let Phil nap on
> her, she
> nonetheless was a spunky, young dog with her own agenda.
> So Phil began speaking of not passing the class -- of the possibility that
> he might
> return to Virginia and his church without the dog he'd wanted for so long.
> "If it's meant to be, if Corky is meant to be a part of my future life and
> my ministry,"
> he said, "it will happen. If not, it won't.
> "But I know right now I'd love to take this puppy home, I really would,
> because we
> have bonded
> so well."
>
>
> Blind Trust: Some students go home with dogs; others must try again
> Trials and triumphs
> Blind Trust: Some students go home with dogs; others must try again
>
> James D. DeCAMP
> Kevin Dixon, left, with Nelson, Randy Bailey with Brice and trainer Mike
> Tessmer
> wait for a COTA bus to take them back to Guide Dogs.
> The four weeks of Pilot Dogs training culminate in the day that students
> head home
> -- with or without a guide dog.
> For 12 hours a day, six days a week, students and dogs at the West Side
> school develop
> a relationship that can provide the mobility and the confidence to change
> a blind
> person's life.
> The dogs don't become theirs, though, until the students prove their
> skills in a
> walking test Downtown. While critiqued by a silent observer, a handler and
> canine
> must board a bus, cross streets and enter a store without help.
> In the days before the test, the pressure built for the school's final
> class of 2008,
> including some students with health or abilities that seemed increasingly
> uncertain.
> A sick, sore and tired Elaine Brittain, 83, thought of giving up -- even
> if it meant
> returning home to Hillsboro without her dog, Dee Dee.
> Phil Jackson, a 40-year-old pastor from Bristol, Va., feared that he and
> Corky lacked
> the discipline needed to pass the class.
> And, though confident about the test, Randy Bailey, 43, of Greenville,
> Ill., had
> another one looming: that of a divorced dad trying to impress his four
> children.
> The three -- along with two other classmates -- faced their fates on Dec.
> 17 and
> 18.
> Elaine: against the odds
> Freezing rain pounded on Elaine Brittain's metallic-blue coat and soaked
> Dee Dee's
> fur as the pair shuffled down High Street.
> "How you doing?" trainer Mike Tessmer asked.
> "I'm still with ya," Elaine replied meekly.
> Sore from a fall and from arthritis, and now weary from a bad cold,
> 83-year-old Elaine
> was growing more reluctant to walk -- especially Downtown.
> She mentioned repeatedly that her little hometown didn't have buses and
> escalators.
> So what if Downtown Columbus did? She hadn't been there since 1945.
> Skipping the Downtown test wasn't an option, though, if she wanted to go
> home with
> her black Lab. She had to practice, despite her fear of the icy conditions.
> As she waited for a bus, Elaine asked Mike to catch her if she fell.
> "Well, sure, but it'll cost ya," he joked, trying to brighten her mood.
> Her worry -- the one she'd had all along during the training -- proved
> well-founded
> as she stepped off the bus, climbing down the last and biggest step.
> "Ooh!" she cried in pain as her left knee buckled, launching her forward
> into Mike's
> waiting arms.
> Steadying her on the sidewalk beside him, Mike took Dee Dee's leash as the
> bus drove
> away.
> Elaine shriveled her face in despair, beginning to cry.
> "You did great, Elaine," Mike said softly.
> As the test approached, Elaine became discouraged, so tired and sick that
> she began
> saying she didn't care whether she passed. Going home was her only goal.
> When the big day arrived -- following a night of freezing rain -- she was
> relieved
> to learn that the students would be spared the bus portion of the test.
> A school van dropped Elaine off at Long and High streets so that she could
> head south
> toward the CVS store she would visit as part of the test.
> Despite her fatigue and the slippery streets, she crossed four roadways
> and entered
> the store problem-free. She and Dee Dee had taken on the real world
> independently,
> just as they were supposed to.
> Within 24 hours, Elaine learned that she passed the test (trainers
> considered previous
> bus experiences in deciding a student's outcome).
> Her confidence returning, she playfully announced to her classmates: "I'm
> going home,
> kids!"
> Elaine looked forward to some rest after a demanding and draining four
> weeks. She'd
> cried from pain, both physical and emotional, but she didn't resent the
> times that
> made her almost quit.
> > From the suffering came the joy of Dee Dee, a new best friend.
> "It's sure been an experience," Elaine said just before leaving for
> Hillsboro. "But
> it's one I'm real glad I took."
> Phil: too many obstacles
> On a busy Downtown street corner, Phil made his final bid for a guide dog.
> "Corky, forward!" he declared.
> He stepped toward a "Don't Walk" signal, his partial deafness muffling the
> sounds
> of oncoming traffic.
> And failed the test -- again.
> Phil and Corky weren't safe together. They'd proved as much during two
> tests -- the
> first one and a next-day retake -- by walking toward cars and wandering
> out of crosswalks.
> After his four-week effort, then, Phil would return home without the dog
> he'd wanted
> for so many years.
> Pilot Dogs trainers recommended that Phil spend three to six weeks at a
> rehabilitation
> center for the blind, a place where he'd already trained for much of 2005.
> Then, with his improved walking and traffic skills, he could return to
> Pilot Dogs
> for a three- or four-week class and a different, more mature dog.
> School officials recognized problems between Phil and Corky but hoped the
> pair would
> click in the final week -- it has happened before. This time, though, the
> differences
> couldn't be overcome.
> "The dog basically got bored with the work," said Jay Gray, executive
> director of
> Pilot Dogs. "It wasn't (Phil's) fault; it was the team's fault."
> Corky, he said, might better serve someone with more skill and experience.
> Phil had envisioned Corky lying at his side as he preached about healing
> and hope
> that first Sunday back at church.
> As much as he'd loved and bonded with his black Lab, though, Phil wasn't
> discouraged
> by returning to Virginia alone, only thankful that he had another chance.
> "If you've been as blind as long as I have, for 40 years, there's nothing
> more exhilarating
> than that first walk around the block," he said.
> "It's like a whole new world."
> Randy: full speed ahead
> When Randy Bailey's children called him on his birthday in December, he
> revealed
> the secret he'd been keeping from them for three weeks: He was in Ohio,
> working to
> obtain a guide dog.
> He was taking charge of his life for the first time since losing his sight
> five years
> earlier.
> So instead of visiting him the day he turned 43, the four kids -- ages 13
> to 17 --
> planned to greet Randy at his apartment when he returned home to Illinois
> with Brice,
> a vizsla.
> Now that Randy looked forward to walking -- or doing anything, for that
> matter --
> their monthly visits could be more active.
> Randy is considering a move to his hometown of Bloom- ington, Ill., where
> opportunities
> are greater than those in the one-stoplight town of Greenville. He might
> even return
> to school, become a teacher again.
> The plans are certainly nothing like the future Randy imagined when his
> blindness
> set in. He and his wife had recently divorced, and, despite his
> introverted nature,
> he could do little by himself.
> "I figured I'd sit in darkness until the Lord called me home," he said. "I
> was scared
> to death."
> Now, with Brice, he won't be sitting or waiting.
> Nor will he be alone.
> "It's a new chapter," he said. "Actually, it's a whole new book.
> "I know this will change my life tremendously."
>
>
>
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