Our Project . . . Kathy Daly's Visit

Kathy Daly is a Puppy Placement Coordinator with 4-H Clubs in New Jersey. She places Seeing Eye puppies in the homes of 4-H Club volunteers. She also helps educate the public about Seeing Eye dogs.

On January 24, 2003, Kathy visited our school and gave a presentation about Seeing Eye puppies and how they are trained to become guide dogs for blind and visually impaired people. Kathy brought a Seeing Eye dog named Honor with her.

Honor is a 2 and a half year old German Shepherd. He is used in the Seeing Eye's breeding program. Kathy used him for some demonstrations.

She talked and showed us two short videos produced by the Seeing Eye. She also left some pamphlets, a magazine, and a comic/cartoon book produced by the Seeing Eye.

The following is a summary of some main points we learned from her visit:

Kathy's Job:

Kathy manages 106 puppies and families. People email and call her with puppy questions 24 hours a day.

She drives between 1000 - 1500 miles per week checking on them.

She places the puppies in homes when they are about 7 or 8 weeks old, and teaches families to train them before they are old enough for formal training at the Seeing Eye. The puppies are raised by these volunteer families. They are with these families to learn how to interact with people and kids, and to experience everyday life, chores, etc.

Each month Kathy makes reports about the puppies. Reports include the dog's disposition, how they handle being around loud noises, people, children, etc. This information helps when it is time to match the dog with a blind owner.

When puppies are between 14 and 18 months old, they are returned to the Seeing Eye to start formal training

Kathy and Honor go to schools and puppy clubs in the county to educate the public about the blind.

She's been doing this since 1981.

Kathy explained that the hardest part of her job is when she has to take the puppies back to the Seeing Eye. Some families get very attached. The families receive postcards about the puppy after it leaves. They are allowed to come to the Seeing Eye school and see the puppy with its new blind owner, but they can never be in contact with the dog again after that.

If a dog doesn't work out (too aggressive, etc.) it can be adopted by the family that trained them.

Seeing Eye Puppies:

Not every dog can be a Seeing Eye dog. German Shepherds, Labs and Golden Retrievers are the breeds that make the best Seeing Eye dogs.

Dogs raised in kennels can't be guide dogs. They must be used to people and exposed to everyday life.

The Seeing Eye breeds it's own dogs on a breeding farm. Kathy's dog, Honor, is active in this breeding program.

Seeing Eye Dog Training:

Trainers only give verbal praise and affection to the dog, not food rewards. If a dog makes a mistake, instruction is given again.

What do the dogs learn?

They learn to walk on a lead, and to stop at curbs and corners.

Some of the commands the dogs learn are "Come", "Rest", "Down", and "Forward".

These dogs are trained to go to the bathroom on command. This enables them to remain focused when walking with the blind.

Dogs can learn schedules, and they remember locations (i.e., a bus stop).

Dogs learn to follow the person in front of them for situations like following a hostess in a restaurant.

The dogs must also learn intelligent disobedience. This is when the dogs use their judgement and consciously disobey verbal directions in case of dangerous situations. The dog chooses the safest route even though this may be contrary to the verbal directions it was given. The dog will disobey a command that is not safe.

How much does a Seeing Eye Dog cost?

A blind individual is charged $150 for a Seeing Eye guide dog. If the blind person was in the Armed Services, then the owner only pays $1.00. This cost includes the 4 weeks of special training, room and board.

Kathy said that the actual breeding and training cost per Seeing Eye dog is about $45,000.

A Seeing Eye dog has a tattoo in their ear, and a tag identifying the dog as a Seeing Eye Dog. The blind person has a card that looks like a driver's license. This card states that the person is blind and describes the Seeing Eye dog. They also have with their card a copy of the law that allows Seeing Eye dogs in public buildings.

Issues:

Kathy talked about one of the big problems blind people face when they are in public with their Seeing Eye guide dog - interference!

People should not pet, call out to or feed Seeing Eye dogs. Sometimes people also offer help that interferes with how a blind person and their dog walk together.

Kathy said it is important to make people aware of Seeing Eye dogs so they will understand that interfering or distracting a dog interferes with the dog's job.

Dorothy Harrison Eustis and Morris Frank founded the Seeing Eye in 1929.






To walk with a sense of purpose without fear, to have independence - this is what people who are blind gain from having a guide dog.

A Seeing Eye dog and his blind owner work together. The person provides directions, and the dog provides the eyes. They are a team.

The Seeing Eye has found that the best breeds to use are: German Shepherds, Labradors, and Golden Retrievers.

Only 6% of the blind population have dogs.

It costs about $45,000 to breed and train a Seeing Eye dog.

The most important message that Kathy tries to give is that when a Seeing Eye dog is "in harness" they are working and people should not try to pet them or feed them or distract them in anyway.