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

[Ava Foster]

That's a wonderful article! / I imagine if my Cocoa, a Lab, had been
school-trained, she'd likely have been placed with a city dweller. I
am not a big city person, but oh, is Cocoa a city dog! Subways, buses,
crowds, moving sidewalks, noise - they couldn't make her happier! /
The only thing she would have trouble with would be escalators - but
likely that comes from MY fear of her safety. I couldn't believe how
easily she took to all the mass transit and busy-ness of a large city
when I was training wth her! / My first guide, Jet, a Rough Collie,
would definitely not have liked working full time in a city; she loved
the chances we had to work out in the country, although she always was
afraid of horses. Cocoa is respectful, but not afraid. Jet came to me
from a working farm; I often wondered if she had been kicked or had a
bad experience with a horse before I had her. Ava

On 3/5/12, Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net> wrote:
> 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.
> story-page/video_play
> 1328531158.mp4/image240x180
>  PLAY VIDEO
>
> (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.
>
>
>
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