Leader Dogs for the Blind
Update - Issue 3, 2011
Great Moments Happen Every Day
Every day great moments happen on Leader Dog’s campus. Puppies are whelped, a client takes the first walk ever with his or her new guide dog, someone learns to cross a busy five-lane street safely using hearing and a cane, and a dog in training learns to stop when a car is backing out of a driveway. But a vast majority of the greatest moments don’t happen on our campus or even in Rochester; they happen in South Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania and Spain—the places our clients are living their lives.
For over 70 years Leader Dog has provided thousands of people who are blind the tools and skills needed to travel safely and independently. And this is not an insignificant accomplishment because the alternative may mean barely traveling at all. As Leader Dog Client Deborah Grove told us, “My father lost his sight and gave up. He sat in a chair for 20 years and then he died. I don’t want to live that way. I thought getting a dog would motivate me to get out there. She’ll put a schedule to my life and give me more confidence when I’m out alone.”
But all the skills and tools we provide to our clients are only as good as what they do with them when they return home. For instance, Deborah, who didn’t want to sit for 20 years is working on her master’s degree in Nursing Education and the tools she received from Leader Dog will help her meet her goals.
Our strength lies not in what we do for our clients; it lies in what we empower them to do for themselves. Take James Lockwood, a quiet kid fresh out of high school when he first came to Leader Dog in 2004. When he returned for his second dog in 2011, he walked in the door a confident man, a college graduate on his way to a promising career in an Attorney General’s office. Leader Dog Scout was at James’ side all through college and James credits Scout with helping him become more social, leading him to joining student government in college, which began his interest in studying law.
The tools and skills we provide to all of our clients are the same; it’s what each individual does with these skills after he or she leaves our campus that is so unique. I’d like to thank all our donors, volunteers, puppy raisers and breeding hosts whose continued support allows us to empower our clients to get back into life and to make great moments happen to them every day.
Susan H. Daniels
Chief Financial & Administrative Officer
Chief Executive Officer
Seeing Possibility
By Maggie Worth, Freelance Writer, Reprinted by permission from Fayette Woman magazine
Audrey Demmitt is a school nurse. Every day, she treats injured, ill and upset children. At J.C. Booth Middle School in Peachtree City, Georgia, her principal, Ted Lombard, estimates that she averages 1,000 visits every month. School nurses all across the country do the same thing; but unlike most other school nurses, Audrey is severely visually impaired.
Her visual impairment has never impeded her ability to provide students with quality care. She does need to lean in a little closer to students and she uses assistive technology to help her complete paperwork, but she’s known for quick, accurate assessments. “When a student walks through her door, she doesn’t even have to look at her computer,” Lombard says. “She knows the student’s name, how old he is, his medical history, everything. She also knows who his parents are and what kind of insurance they have. It makes things much faster and she’s always right on target.”
She’s also never let her physical limitations keep her from trying to improve the lives of her students. In fact, she spearheaded a fitness program that won a “Fit Kid” award from the State of Georgia. To top it off, the students love her.
They also love the new companion she’s been bringing to school for the last few months.
Sophie, a young golden retriever, is trained to assist individuals with a visual impairment. After Sophie completed her initial training, Audrey flew to Michigan for a month of team training.
Audrey calls her a miracle. Now that she has Sophie, she can do things she hasn’t done alone in years: take a walk around the block without tripping over curbs, go to the grocery, and even walk home from school.
Sophie has made her presence felt around school, too. Lombard says he has been thinking about a therapy dog for the school for some time, but Sophie, even though not trained for the duty, has filled the role beautifully since her arrival.
“I have a student,” Audrey explains, “who often has anxiety attacks during class. It normally takes him about a half hour to calm down. The first time he came in after I got Sophie, I let her out of her harness, which is her signal that she’s not working and can just be a regular dog. She went right to him and laid her head in his lap. Almost immediately, he began talking to her and petting her. A few minutes later, he was ready to go back to class.”
Audrey was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa in her early twenties. With each decrease in her vision has come a career change. Audrey earned her RN-BSN from the University of Arizona at Tucson 22 years ago. She began her career as a mission nurse, serving in Bolivia. Then, on a trip home, she met Kevin [her husband]. Fluent in Spanish, she began nursing pregnant Hispanic teens in Phoenix. By the time she was diagnosed, she was a neonatal ICU nurse. Before long, her vision impairment, while minor at the time, was severe enough to prevent her from measuring the tiny dosages needed for her tiny patients. So she reinvented herself and began working in physician’s offices.
Eventually, she moved to Booth Middle School, where she has been happily and effectively working with students for eight years. What she never did was give up.
“Did you know that only about 25 percent of visually and hearing impaired people in the United States are employed?” she asks. “Most of those are underemployed. I was encouraged to just stop working many times. But I just wasn’t going to do that.”
Now Audrey finds herself at a crossroads once again. She still feels comfortable treating students and the school and parents have campaigned to keep her, but paperwork has become increasingly difficult and she feels it will soon be time to move on. She will likely reduce her hours at the middle school to part time next year.
Also under serious consideration is a return to school for a Master’s degree in counseling. Since working with families has always been her favorite part of her work, it seems a natural fit.
Whatever it turns out to be, she’ll be doing something.
Letters from our Alumni
Dear Leader Dog,
I know you love to hear how your dog’s perform. My husband, Roland, Cortina and I visited Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park a few weeks ago. Cortina did an outstanding job. At one point I decided to turn back on a trail that had gotten too difficult for me. I told Cortina to turn around which she did and we started walking back. Then Cortina moved in front of me to block my way. I told her to stop blocking me, but she just wagged her tail and licked my hand. She again tried to stop me from continuing forward. She kept at it until I started to listen to her. When I checked the path in front of us, I found that it was pretty steep and not very smooth. To my right I was able to make out a tree and told her, “Go to tree.” She guided me to the tree which I then used to help me get down the path without any difficulty. I gave Cortina a lot of praise and a dog biscuit. She is a real Leader Dog who lives up to the LDB mission.
Julianne Stetson and Leader Dog Cortina
Dear Leader Dog,
Attached is a picture of Sonar, my Sigma Alpha Iota sister Ashley Miller and myself at the 2011 Madison Wisconsin Race for the Cure that was held on June 4th. Sonar and I were one of two Leader Dog teams walking out of 13,000 participants and we did really well. Sonar had no problem with the mobs of people, strollers, little kids and pets or the heat but when it came to walking in the middle of the street and NOT on the sidewalk...well, let's just say he was sure that I was wrong! Our team is called Super Pink! (Super for me, Pink for Ashley) which I started because Ashley had a cancerous lump removed about eight years ago. She has been cancer-free ever since and I am so grateful for her clean bill of health. We plan on participating again next year!
Jen Williams and Leader Dog Sonar
Team Super Pink
Dear Leader Dog,
Six years ago this month I experienced a joy in my life that has had a significant impact on my life. That joy gave me the opportunity, with the limited eyesight that I have, to be able to walk down the street with my head held high so that I might experience the joys that God so graciously provided for my life.
For six years now I have been able to go places independent of anyone helping me to make sure I don't stumble or turn the wrong direction. I have had the joy of sharing my experiences with my friends, my community, children of all ages and just about everyone who crosses my path of the impact that Leader Dog has had on my life.
I can't say enough how much I appreciate what you do to help individuals like me to lead a life that can experience joy and success. I have reengaged with my community by serving on many community boards, continued to be a successful business person and served as an example to my fellow visually impaired friends that with the help of people like those at Leader Dog we can enjoy life as God intended.
Blessings,
Mark Harris and Leader Dog Callie
Dear Leader Dog,
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all of the wonderful instruction that you provided my wife Sheila last week. From the moment I saw her coming down to the baggage claim area of the airport, I knew that she had a life-changing experience. She was getting around without assistance from anyone. When I met up with her, I found a confidence and independence that is going to take some getting used too. But, I think I really like it.
So, can you give some suggestions to an old guy like me about what to do with this new woman? SMILE!
Fondest regards,
Roger Rousey
Getting My Pair of Furry Eyes
Meeting and training with a new Leader Dog can be exciting and a little overwhelming. We learn about one clients’ experience from an excerpt of entries from the journal she kept during training. (Note: For accuracy, this should be read with a Southern accent since Mytchiko hails from Mississippi.)
Two Days to Leader Dog
My name is Mytchiko McKenzie and I am legally blind. I’m a college student at SMCC (Southwest Mississippi Community College) and for the past seven months I have been going through the paper work to get a dog from Leader Dogs for the Blind in Michigan. The time has finally come for me to go and get my guide dog that will act as my pair of really furry eyes.
During the process of applying for a dog, I met with Mr. Carlos Gallusser of Leader Dog a few months ago. Mr. Carlos interviewed me, took a video of me using my cane skills and led me through my first “Juno” walk.
A “Juno” walk is when a human pretends to be a guide dog [named Juno] by pulling the harness and leading a visually impaired person. The visually impaired person gives the same
commands to the person that they would give the guide dog. If I had any reservations about getting a guide dog, they vanished when I went on my first “Juno” walk. The difference between
walking with a cane and walking with "Juno" in harness was like the difference in night and day. I began feeling an almost overwhelming sense of relaxation and relief. I was able to enjoy
my surroundings without worrying about what was in front of me. I felt as if I were floating, my movements and gait were so smooth.
In order to go to Leader Dog in May I had to take my college finals a week early. I am proud to say that I have finally finished five essays, six tests, four comprehensive finals and two presentations in the span of eight days. I’m happy to no longer have my head buried in my books like an academic ostrich.
Traveling to Leader Dog
I’ll have to admit, today was filled with bittersweet moments. I was excited to finally be getting on a plane, but I was sad to leave my family. I am thankful they went with me to the airport to say goodbye.
My First Day of Training
Sleeping was very hard last night. I think I woke up every hour on the hour. Partly due to the time difference, but partly because I still can’t believe I’m here. It’s a good thing there is a free coffee/espresso machine here. “Yay for copious amounts of caffeine!”
I JUST LEARNED THAT WE ARE GETTING OUR LEADER DOGS TOMORROW!!! I can’t express in words how excited and nervous I am!
I have quickly realized the process of training with the dog is not as easy as I thought. This morning [during Juno walks] we worked on saying the directions we wanted to go and planning our routes as we walked. I no longer have to pay close attention to my immediate surroundings the way I did with my cane; instead I can pay attention to the squirrel I hear up ahead of me or the traffic at the end of the block. Ms. Linda, my instructor, says things will be different when I have a dog, but even if my dog gets distracted, I will be amazed at the mental freedom I will have when I walk.
I wonder what my dog will be like. Tomorrow needs to hurry up and get here.
My First Day with my Dog
TODAY IS DOG DAY!!! I don’t think I could stop myself from being excited if I tried. I only know my dog is a girl. I hope she likes me. I can’t wait to meet my furry eyes!!!