[nagdu] Fwd: [acb-l] Fw: Meet Klinger, the First Certified Running Guide Dog | Runner's World

The Pawpower Pack pawpower4me at gmail.com
Thu Oct 15 20:24:03 UTC 2015


As someone who runs/jores with a dog, I find it interesting that the training program only did 25% of runs under blindfold before giving the dog to the handler.  I would think it would be wiser to up that figure to at LEAST 75% of runs under blindfold. After all, the dog will be running 100% of the time with a blind handler.  


 Rox and the kitchen Bitches: 
Mill'E, Laveau, Soleil
Pawpower4me at gmail.com
Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 15, 2015, at 3:10 PM, Danielle Ledet via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Since we previously discussed this here, and I saw these 2 featured on
> CBS This Morning, but I wasn't sure where they were trained at.
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Jeanne Fike via acb-l <acb-l at acblists.org>
> Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2015 09:07:50 +0000
> Subject: [acb-l] Fw: Meet Klinger, the First Certified Running Guide
> Dog | Runner's World
> To: acb-l at acblists.org
> 
> 
> 
> for those of you with guidedogs
> 
> Meet Klinger, the First Certified Running Guide Dog | Runner's World
> 
> A pilot program is exploring how running guide dogs can be a safe option for
> visually impaired athletes.
> 
> By Ali Nolan <http://www.runnersworld.com/person/ali-nolan>  Friday, August
> 21, 2015, 1:30 pm
> 
> 
> Richard Hunter, a former United States Marine and avid runner, started
> losing his sight in 1989. Klinger, a German Shepherd, will be his first
> running guide dog. Photo by Yanush Sanmugaraja
> 
> 
> 
> On Saturday, the Guiding Eyes for the Blind <https://www.guidingeyes.org/>
> school in Yorktown Heights, New York, will hold a graduation ceremony and
> welcome a new fleet of guide dogs to their homes outside the academy. Among
> the pack is a special German Shepherd named Klinger, who will graduate as
> the first-ever certified running guide dog.
> 
> Klinger, at 2 years old, is the only dog to have been raised and trained
> through the school's Running Guides pilot program. After six months of
> specialized training and more than 200 miles logged, Klinger will finally
> get to start living with his new handler, Richard Hunter.
> 
> 
> 
> Hunter, 48, was a second lieutenant in the United States Marines when he was
> diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa in 1989. The condition causes a gradual
> decline in vision and left Hunter legally blind. As Hunter's sight
> diminished, he found his life changing in dramatic ways, but it didn't
> prevent him from setting goals and continuing to race in endurance events.
> 
> "There were a lot of things I couldn't do anymore," Hunter told Runner's
> World Newswire <http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/newswire> . "But I knew I
> had to focus on what I could do, especially as an example to my three
> daughters. The Marines taught me to love running, and one thing I could do
> was run."
> 
> Hunter built up a solid record racing. He qualified for his first Boston
> Marathon <http://www.runnersworld.com/boston-marathon>  in 2008 by running a
> 3:18 at the 2007 California International Marathon. He's run four more
> Bostons, and now does triathlons, finishing the 2011 Florida Ironman in 11
> hours and 55 minutes, making him the second visually impaired athlete with a
> guide to complete an Ironman in less than 12 hours.
> 
> But in 2013, two hours into a five-hour bike ride while training for Ironman
> Lake Tahoe, Hunter and his guide were struck nearly head-on by a vehicle.
> 
> "I went all the way through the windshield headfirst and woke up inside the
> car," he said. "I had my helmet broken in two. I was helicoptered to the
> hospital and later sent home in a neck brace with a hospital bed that I had
> to use for three months."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Despite suffering two facial fractures and a broken neck, Hunter trained for
> and ran the 2014 Boston Marathon
> <http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/boston-marathon>  nine months after the
> accident. Still, Hunter knew something needed to change.
> 
> "My middle daughter, Lindsay, had grown increasingly concerned about my
> safety after the accident and started asking when I was going to get a guide
> dog," Hunter said. "I told her if a guide program would ever allow me to jog
> with a dog, I would do it right away because I would be able to train more
> freely."
> 
> * * *
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It was at that Boston Marathon where Hunter met Thomas Panek, the CEO of
> Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a nonprofit that provides services for
> individuals who are visually impaired and have special needs. Panek was also
> a marathoner who used a human sighted guide for racing, but for day-to-day
> activities he had his guide dog. The two discussed Hunter's idea of a more
> dedicated guide dog running program.
> 
> From there, Panek brought the idea to his board and staff members at Guiding
> Eyes. His team decided to explore the best way to make running with a guide
> dog safe for both the handler and animal.
> 
> "What we realized was that people were running with their guide dogs
> anyway," said Ben Cawley, a trainer at Guiding Eyes. "A lot of handlers were
> taking their dogs running, and we wanted to make this a formal program to
> increase safety. So we took a really conservative approach as we developed
> the program."
> 
> Knowing that an increased pace would magnify the challenges the dog faced
> when navigating busy streets, Cawley and the other trainers decided on a
> walking pace in areas of high traffic. They also limited the number of
> routes the dog would learn to two, and they started with a 5K as the goal
> distance.
> 
> The handle was modified in consideration for the ergonomics of the dog and
> human, and the handle allows the dog's front legs full range of motion. The
> school also knew it had to choose the right dog.
> 
> Besides his love of running, there were other things that made Klinger an
> obvious choice. "Klinger has a nice drive to work," said Jolene Hollister,
> another trainer who worked closely with the dog. "He wants to have a job and
> purpose and wants to please his handler. He also has an undying amount of
> stamina. He loves to play ball, and that was our first step in building up
> his endurance."
> 
> After lots of games of fetch and retrieve, Hollister started taking Klinger
> on mile-long runs, gradually getting him going. The team would introduce
> distractions and things like intersections and street crossings for Klinger
> to clear. Once he was able to navigate those obstacles, they increased pace.
> To ensure total safety for when Hunter would become Klinger's owner, the
> trainers ran 25 percent of the runs blindfolded.
> 
> Hunter has been running with Klinger for three weeks on the routes near the
> Guiding Eyes school. After graduation, Cawley will travel with Hunter back
> to his home outside of Sacramento to help Klinger adjust to two set routes.
> In addition to normal guide dog duties, Klinger will guide his new handler
> through three to four slow runs per week.
> 
> http://www.runnersworld.com/sites/runnersworld.com/files/styles/article_main
> _image_2200px/public/richard-and-klinger-fdr-sunrise.jpg?itok=w2nGZstK
> 
> <img class="media-element file-default" typeof="foaf:Image"
> src="http://www.runnersworld.com/sites/runnersworld.com/files/styles/article
> _main_image_2200px/public/richard-and-klinger-fdr-sunrise.jpg?itok=w2nGZstK"
> alt="" />
> 
> Klinger will run with Hunter three to four days a week and, just like human
> runners, have designated rest days. Photo by Yanush Sanmugaraja
> 
> "On a busy sidewalk, we go at about a nine-minute pace," Hunter said. "But
> on a clear trail, we can get down to eight-minute miles."
> 
> All of Klinger and Hunter's runs are primarily for training. Because guide
> dogs do their best work away from large crowds, Klinger will not be Hunter's
> eyes in races.
> 
> The Guiding Eyes team will be monitoring the new running duo's progress and
> looking to see how many years the pair can run together. But even if the
> exploration phase takes time before they bring more dogs into the running
> program, Hunter is hopeful that this will change running for the visually
> impaired.
> 
> "One of my greatest passions is helping my fellow visually impaired and
> blind peers," he said. "I know blind runners who have trained for races
> exclusively on treadmills. This could get them outside or get some to lace
> up sneakers for the first time."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Danielle
> 
> Email: singingmywayin at gmail.com
> 
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