[Njagdu] Secaucus resident sets her sights on canine eyes

[Ginger Kutsch]

Woman's best friend
Secaucus resident sets her sights on canine eyes 
by Kate Rounds
Reporter staff writer Hudson Reporter 
04.03.11 - 12:03 am
http://hudsonreporter.com/printer_friendly/12594059 

She's a two-year-old black female lab. She has a name, but her
human companion would prefer that it not be known. That's because
when they are walking together, well-meaning people call out to
the dog.

"She gets distracted when she's supposed to be helping me," said
Secaucus resident Trisha Ebel. "People are uneducated as far as
seeing-eye dogs go."

Ebel is visually impaired.

"When I was in my 20s I was diagnosed with glaucoma," Ebel
explained. "My vision got worse and it was getting difficult to
travel by myself. I'd met a few people with Seeing Eye dogs who
efficiently and quickly got around with a dog."

We'll call the dog Rover for the purposes of this story. Ebel had
to retire her first dog, who still lives with her, but as more of
a family pet than worker.


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"I can accomplish any task with the dog at my side." - Trisha
Ebel

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That dog, Rainy, is a golden retriever. Ebel said, "She is very
low key and sociable, but two years ago, I started having to
travel by train and plane, and she was not stable enough to do
that. She was distracted and unsafe for me."

The new dog, Rover, came to her on Feb. 7 after an extensive
training session with Ebel at The Seeing Eye, Inc. in Morristown.

Ebel said she lived there for 27 days while she and Rover worked
together and got to know each other. 

Rover "is a real fireball," Ebel said. "She's really eager and
confident. She's a tough dog that can handle anything and gets
along with other dogs."

When the harness is off, she becomes a regular dog, "playing
around and running around like mad," Ebel said.

A match made in Morristown

At the Seeing Eye headquarters in Morristown, dog and companion
start to bond. "It's a beautiful campus," Ebel said, "with a
private room and bathroom, gourmet food, and acres of trails to
walk."

But, she said, "It's a first-class boot camp, and you do a hell
of a lot of work."

She said that the Seeing Eye organization has its own "breeding
station" in Chester, where black and yellow labs, shepherds,
golden retrievers, and sometimes large poodles and boxers are
raised to be the eyes for humans who are either blind or visually
impaired. Shorter haired dogs are used for people who might have
allergies. 

The puppies stay for eight weeks and then go to the Seeing Eye
center for four to six months of continuous training, which
includes lots of walking and riding on planes, trains, and buses.

During the program, dog and human work side by side with a
trainer and attend lectures.


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Any dog wearing a harness is a working dog and should not be
approached. 

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"We learn every aspect of feeding, health, grooming, what to know
about the dog, and other dogs, too," she said.

Ebel said that the dog was chosen for her by Seeing Eye, Inc.
"Before we're matched, there is a long interview," she said.
"They find out every aspect about my family life, if there are
kids in the environment, about work and traveling, how tall,
thin, and strong I am, and how fast I walk."

A full life

Ebel lives with her husband and two kids in their late teens on
the north end of town.

"My family loves the dog, but there are boundaries," she said.
"When we're working they don't even want to make eye contact with
the dog, but when the harness is off, she's a goofball." 

Ebel does not let her visual impairment stop her from enjoying
activities with her family and friends.

"When my husband and I ride the tandem bike, we leave the dog at
home," she said.

Ebel ice skates and plays soccer and dodge ball with a ball that
has bells in it so she can hear where it is.

"I have visually impaired friends and friends who were born
blind," she said, "and there is nothing you can't do except drive
a car or perform surgery."

When Ebel is playing a sport, she ties Rover up in a place where
she can see her and she is trained to sit.

"The public is not usually a problem," Ebel said. "A lot of
people are not educated on the dos and don'ts, and their first
instinct is to ask if they can pet the dog. But you can't do that
with a Seeing EyeR dog because they get distracted."

Any dog wearing a harness is a working dog and should not be
approached. Ebel said she often does presentations in schools to
educate kids about the proper etiquette when they spot a Seeing
Eye dog.

New best friend

Once you leave Seeing Eye, Inc., Ebel said, you own the dog. "But
if there are any problems, the support from the staff is
unbelievable," she said. "They're excellent at what they do. They
know so much about dogs and what they're thinking."

They even make house calls.

"A trainer can come and help or you can go there," she said. "No
dog is perfect. You have to work on it."

Ebel, who went to Clarendon grammar school and Secaucus High
School, said Secaucus is a good town for someone who is not able
to drive. 

"You can walk to the store down the road or the post office, and
it's convenient to walk to shops. It's a law that you are allowed
to go into a store or restaurant with a Seeing Eye dog."

Rover makes it possible for Ebel to do many things.

"I can accomplish any task with the dog at my side," she said.
"The dog was trained to go to New York City with crowds of people
and weave in and out without bumping into anybody. She's
amazingly smart."

Ebel works for DeWitt Associates, a Midland Park company that
works with and trains blind and visually impaired people on
computers and other technology. She's an associate computer
instructor in sales.

"A driver drives me to and from work," she said, but with Rover,
she "takes trains and buses all over the place." 

Feeling of freedom

Having a dog can give a visually impaired person a new life.

Ebel said with a Seeing Eye dog, you gain independence. "We did a
lot of night walks. It was totally dark, but I felt totally free
without a worry in the world," she said. "It was the greatest
feeling ever."

It can take a long time to be matched with the right dog,
according to Ebel. And it can sometimes be awkward when you're
first placed with a dog.

"You still have to work with her every day and perfect the
match," she said.

But after a couple of weeks with Rover, "I totally loved her."

Kate Rounds can be reached at krounds at hudsonreporter.com..