[nagdu] Seeing Eye Dogs a Tough Breed in New York City

[Tracy Carcione]

I have one of the City dogs this article talks about, so I thought it was
interesting. I expect the same sorts of things apply to Boston.  I don't
think cities on the West Coast have the same level of crowds as the big
East Coast cities.


Seeing Eye Dogs a Tough Breed in New York City
February 6, 2012 7:03am | By Serena Solomon, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — If a guide dog can make it here, it can make it anywhere.

New York City's seeing eye dogs have challenges not found anywhere else —
including subways, sirens, crowds and even Central Park carriage horses.
And the
pooches must deal with them all if they're going to get a Big Apple
placement.

“This city can be overwhelming to many a dog,” said Joan Markey, a master
instructor with
 the Seeing Eye,
a non-profit guide dog school, who has trained more than 500 dogs.

“I want to see that they have the initiative and the drive to work the
crowds that you can only get in New York City."

Markey, along with other instructors, drove several animals into the city
on a recent Tuesday morning for a process akin to "Survivor" for guide
dogs.

“Anything our blind students might encouter, we need to take the dogs
through,” said Markey, comparing most dogs to tourists on their initial
city experience
— both captivated and intimidated by a sensory overload of sights, sounds
and smells.
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(DNAinfo/Serena Solomon)

To pair a visually impaired person with the right dog, instructors like
Markey must determine not only skill levels, but also the dog's
temperament, personality
and anxiety levels. Some revel in the energy of the city. Others are
better suited to a town or country life.

On the recent morning, a chocolate Labrador called Tootsie, was being put
through her paces.  A “platform test” was the first challenge for the
two-year-old.
Tootsie was required to notify Markey when she came too close to the
platform.

“’I am going to fight you to protect you,’” said Markey, commenting from a
dog's point of view.  The act is known as “intelligent disobedience.”

As Markey directed the dog towards the drop-off to the tracks, Tootsie’
attempted to dig her claws into the platform and pull against her harness
to notify
Markey of the danger ahead.

“Good girl, good girl,” said Markey, as she rewarded Tootsie with lavish
pats.  After several excursions into New York, Markey is leaning towards a
city
placement for the dog.

For Ocho, his Big Apple experience has not been so sweet. The German
Shepherd lacked the confidence of Tootsie with his tentative approach to
escalators
and lack of initiative when weaving through crowds.

“You want to showcase them where they would do best,” said instructor Joy
Planas, 29. At this stage in his training, Ocho would probably suit a
country
post, according to Planas.

The Seeing Eye began in Tennessee in 1929 and is now based in Morris
Township, New Jersey. Each dog is bred by the Seeing Eye and is a German
Shepherd,
Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever or Labrador Golden cross. More than
15,000 dogs have been paired with a blind partner by the organization, and
all
are about two-years-old when they go through training.

For Golden Labrador Erin, the first guide dog of Brooklyn resident Eliza
Cooper, it took only two years of city living for her to burn out of the
job.

“She just started to slow down and not want to work, said Cooper, 25, who
works as a social media manager for the
“Dialogue in the Dark”
exhibition at the South Street Seaport. “And she let me know it.”

Erin was originally placed with Cooper when she attended at a small
college in Connecticut a year before relocating to the city for work. They
lived on
the Upper East Side and Cooper partly blamed the chaos of the
 Second Avenue Subway
construction for adding to the stress.

“The worry to keep me safe got to her,” she said. Erin has now retired to
a family in New Jersey.

Cooper is now paired with Harris, a three-year-old male Labrador who has
an ability to just “get the job done” with less worry.

“It is actually fascinating. His whole attitude is different,” said
Cooper, who has been blind since the age of three due to an eye condition
called glaucoma
coupled with cataracts.

“City dogs just have a level of toughness that other dogs don’t have,” she
said.