Alumni News
Volume 18, Number 4
Theresa Stern, (formerly Duncan) editor
Send submissions to the editor via tape, phone, mail or e-mail
Alumni Association Mission Statement
The Alumni Association will support the vision of GDB of “using our power of partnering to improve quality of life” by building a strong sustainable community of support among our alumni. We will work to support alumni success with their guide, in building relationships with others, and actively participating in the greater GDB community.
Alumni Association Board of Directors Mission Statement
Connecting Our Community through Leadership, Advocacy, Communication and Outreach
We'd like to send our very special thanks to all of our alumni who, by their efforts or their example, refer others to our program.
Alumni News is available electronically, in Braille, and on audio CD. If you are able to access email and would like future issues sent to you electronically, please let Theresa Stern know at . Email allows us to get the news to you in a timely manner and is easy on the environment!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A MESSAGE FROM PAUL LOPEZ, GDB CEO and PRESIDENT
FROM YOUR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
1. Where Our Guides Come From (Series Article 5) Making the Match, by Jeff Senge
2. Reach for the Stars Scholar Chosen, by Deborah Kendrick
3. Traveling with Your Guide Dog to Hawaii, by Terry Christensen
4. New Student Residence Update, by Theresa Stern
5. A Reminder from Graduate Services, by Lynne Arceneaux
6. Calling All Public Speakers, by Joanne Ritter
CHAPTER CHAT
1. Feed the Drivers Event, by Mary Haney
FOR THE HEALTH OF YOUR DOG
1. Five Hazards Hanging in Your Handbag or Pocket, adapted from PetPoisonHotline.com
CALLING ALL PUBLIC SPEAKERS
AS WE SEE IT
1. Six Lucky Dogs Take Panama Canal Cruise, by Nancy Shugart
UPCOMING EVENTS
1. Pinot and Pups, by Debbie Hibbard
ALUMNI BULLETIN BOARD
IN MEMORIAM, IN MEMORY, IN TRIBUTE
GIFT SHOP NEWS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
by Paul Lopez, CEO and President
Hello GDB Alumni – My name is Paul Lopez and I’m the new CEO of your alma mater and I wanted to let you know that I am now officially on board and very happy to be here.
I want to extend our sincere appreciation to Morgan Watkins who has taken good care of the organization for the past year. Both he and Will are now back in Austin, Texas. Morgan has frequently told me through this process that this is the best job in the world, so I feel very fortunate to be here at GDB.
As many of you know who have read my bio on our website, I’m from Southern California, and I’ve spent the better part of my life working with companies, clinicians and patients to develop products and services to help people around the world retain their sight. My work specifically targeted two of the leading causes of blindness: age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema, as well as myopia in children. In addition, I’ve been involved in supporting the activities of several great non-profit organizations who are providing meaningful ophthalmic products and services (The Foundation Fighting Blindness, Orbis International, SEE International ). I have also been fortunate to be able to support ophthalmologists participating in surgical eye missions throughout the world.
I’m really enjoying being here at GDB; it’s a wonderful community. And what a great year we have to look forward to – it’s our 70th anniversary, we’re about to start construction on a brand new student residence, and we’re energized.
I’m very much looking forward to meeting you at our events and when you come through for class training.
From my wife and I, and everyone at Guide Dogs for the Blind – Happy New Year and safe travels with your dogs!
FROM YOUR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Where Our Guides Come From (Series Article 5)
Making the Match
by Jeff Senge, Alumni Association Board Chair
If there’s one question common to all GDB graduates, it would have to be, how did they match my dog with me? I’ve heard comments such as, “I’m amazed by how well they matched me with my dog,” and “How did they select the perfect dog for me,” from many GDB graduates. For most of us, this seems like a mysterious and magical process.
According to Dan Rollings, a Training Supervisor at the GDB Oregon campus, instructors constantly assess and evaluate the dogs throughout formal training for controllability, speed, and environmental sensitivity. These are the three primary components used later during the matching process. Controllability is the level of physical management required by a dog. Dogs are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being extremely easy to manage and five requiring the highest level of handling. Most dogs that advance to class-ready fall somewhere in the middle range.
Speed is also rated on a scale of one to five with one being the slowest and five the fastest. Once again, most dogs suited to doing good guidework are rated between two and four, with the majority of class-ready dogs falling in the three range. A dog with a speed rating of three is considered average and walks slightly faster than typical pedestrian sidewalk traffic providing a solid pull and well-defined line of travel.
The third component is sensitivity to working in different environments. As instructors work their string of dogs through the formal training process, dogs will react to environmental conditions in different ways. Instructors do their best to maximize team success by placing dogs into environments most compatible with each dog’s natural sensitivity level.
These three components--controllability, speed, and environmental sensitivity--are the building blocks of the matching process. It is important to note that although the majority of dogs are in the average range in these three areas, they all have slightly different attributes and personalities. By having the majority of class- ready dogs in the average range, the instructors have the most flexibility when it comes to the matching process. Since most clients fall into a similar average range when it comes to their ability to control a dog and their walking speed, starting with the majority of class-ready dogs in a similar category to the clients’ maximizes the likelihood for successful matches.
While dogs are complex, their attributes seem to come in packages. For example, often a fast dog in the four range also comes with a controllability factor of four which may be less desirable to some clients. Similarly, an easily controllable dog in the two range may be a slower than average dog. Based on years of experience, GDB knows the vast majority of their clients’ needs and preferences will be best served by dogs falling in the center of the spectrum while leaving some latitude to satisfy a few specific client needs with dogs falling slightly beyond the margins outside the center range.
Here’s how the process works: A string of eight dogs is trained by an instructor pair consisting of two instructors. In Oregon, there are six instructor pairs working on a ten-week cycle. This means, every ten weeks, each instructor pair gets a new string of eight dogs to train for six clients who arrive when the string is class- ready (see my past articles on training in summer and fall 2011 Alumni News.)
During the final phase of training, these instructors review application and in-home interview information of incoming students to assess whether the class-ready dogs they have available will meet their needs. In some cases, they may phone a student to inform their pre-match decision.
While a high percentage of dogs entering training make it to class-ready, a few don’t for various reasons ranging from behavior to health. The same holds true on the client side of the equation. However, most dogs and clients who enter training make it to graduation. A dog that is one of the original eight in a training string is called an “original”. Since there are typically eight original dogs in a string and only six clients in a class, two class-ready dogs may be passed-back. In the meantime, they will receive a couple more weeks of advanced training until they are matched in a subsequent class. According to Dan, every effort is made to match pass-back dogs with the right client in the following class, so they can get out and be working as quickly as possible.
Instructors do their best to recognize the individual attributes of dogs and clients and match them in a complementary manner, but as most of us probably already know, great partnerships don’t develop without compromise. For a team to succeed, both the human as well as the dog must be willing to accept and work with the other’s individual characteristics. Dan spoke a little about this reality of the matching process. Building this level of understanding in the relationship is essential to achieve a successful match. When you succeed, this is where the magic begins. The magic in the match will develop between the client and dog as each provides the other with what they need to succeed as a team.
I would like to thank Dan Rollings for all his help with this article. He really broke the client-dog matching procedure down to a level I could understand, and shattered some of my previous assumptions about the process. GDB Guide Dogs are trained to established standards, most of the class-ready dogs fall within the average performance range, and selecting the right human for each dog rather than right dog for each human is the way it’s done. As Dan kept emphasizing, there’s no magic in the matching process. It’s mostly dependent on instructor experience with their string of dogs along with their intuition for how clients will accept and work with each dog’s individual characteristics. As Dan said, “You’re really training to the magic.” The magic really happens after the match as the human-dog relationship develops.
I hope those of you who have followed the five part series, Where Our Guides Come From, in the Alumni News have found it informative and enjoyable to read. I know I’ve learned a lot about the breeding program, puppy raising, formal guide dog training, and how we are matched with our guides along the way. Thanks to to members of the GDB staff at all levels who provided support for this series and gave of their time and talent to make this series of articles possible. In addition, I would like to express my thanks to the entire GDB staff and all the volunteers for all they do day-in and day-out to provide us with these wonderful guides. Gratitude and recognition also goes to GDB’s generous donors whose support make this all possible. Final thanks goes to our guides who devote their lives to keeping each of us safe while traveling. While asking little, they provide such an amazing gift.
Reach For the Stars Scholar Chosen
by Deborah Kendrick, Alumni Association Board Member
It’s great to see someone who is soaring personally and professionally, doing it all with a smile and the desire to lead by example. When that person also happens to be blind, it is truly rewarding to have some hand in helping that person climb even higher. That has been the joyful experience of the GDB Alumni Association Board’s Nominating Committee in presenting the 2011 GDB Reach for the Stars Scholarship to Jamie Sibson of Austin, Texas.
In her professional life, Jamie is a career guidance instructor for the Chris Cole Rehabilitation Center in Austin. She is a wife and mother, active in her daughters’ (ages 6 and 9) sports teams and school activities. She is also achieving top grades in a program at Texas Tech University where she is working her way toward a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling.
Jamie and her husband are both graduates of Guide Dogs for the Blind, and Jamie says that she sees her personal and professional life all flowing smoothly together in her ongoing mission to present a positive image of blindness to the world around her and to help other blind individuals fulfill their aspirations, too.
The nominating committee, chaired by Becky Andrews, includes Roxanne Calibraro, Terry Christensen and me. We had an extremely challenging task this year in selecting just one scholarship winner. The pool of candidates was impressive, indeed, but, Jamie Sibson stood out for her ability to simultaneously manage work, school, family, and community involvement and do all of it with passion and obvious pleasure.
Congratulations, Jamie!
The Reach for the Stars Scholarship has been granted for the last five years, due to a generous gift from GDB alumna Gina Harper. Any GDB grad who is currently in an undergraduate or graduate program is encouraged to apply. Watch for application details in an upcoming issue of Alumni News.
Traveling to Hawaii with Your Guide Dog
by Terry Christensen, Alumni Association Board Member
Editors note: Thinking of getting away for a relaxing visit to Hawaii? Sipping tropical drinks on the beach as the sun sinks slowly in to the deep blue of the Pacific? It’s important that you think ahead! Please read Terry’s article below to get the info you will need to prepare for paradise!
For Guide Dog travelers, Hawaii has long presented challenges, but as with international travel, there have been recent changes in the law that allow easier access for those using guide dogs. Here is some information on how you can insure your trip is a successful one, being proactive is your best bet!
As things stand now, any service dog entering Hawaii must have a microchip implant. Also, any service dog user must provide “a physician’s statement which certifies the user is disabled and the service dog is required because of the user’s disability.” In lieu of a physician’s statement, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture will also accept a certificate of training of the service dog by a training program accredited by Assistance Dogs International, Inc. The identification card issued by GDB satisfies this criterion.