Visually Impaired Career Change Dog Wins Big in Obedience

GDB career change dog, German Shepherd Mika (formerly Britt), with her adopter, Lizanne Kaiser, took top honors while qualifying for the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) Utility Dog (UD) title. Each year, only about 30 German Shepherds in the U.S. complete the requirements for this title. En route to the UD, Mika won multiple 1st place titles. Also, Mika has earned a Temperament Certificate from the German Shepherd Dog Club of America, where she was top-scoring dog on the day that she earned the certificate. Even more impressive, Mika achieved these awards while having vision in only one eye. Her limited vision at times made successfully competing in the sport of AKC Obedience trials quite challenging.

Utility is the most advanced class in the sport of AKC Obedience. The dog, off leash, has to respond to the owner’s hand signals (no verbal commands allowed), and complete exercises in a number of disciplines, including scent discrimination, directed retrieves, jumping, and silent signal following. Some of the exercises require that the dog respond to commands given from 25-50 feet away, typically requiring that the dog would need good long-distance and peripheral vision and good depth perception. Per the AKC rules, the dog must walk on the handler’s left side, and the handler cannot repeat commands or signals. Since Mika is missing her right eye, she needed to pay close attention so as not to miss her handler’s cues.

Mika was adopted from GDB by Lizanne Kaiser and Broheen Elias in 2004. Mika was one and a half years old, and had completed a few weeks of formal GDB training before becoming a career change dog. When Mika was first adopted, she was fully-sighted, and she was fully sighted when she completed two lower-level AKC Obedience titles. However, when Mika started learning the advanced Utility exercises, she was diagnosed with “canine dry eye” (keratoconjunctivitis sicca or KCS). Despite various medications and a surgery, Mika's right eye still failed to produce tears. It was obvious that Mika was uncomfortable, and her eye would be susceptible to infection if it weren’t enucleated. Mika healed quickly post-surgery and began to reorient herself to having partial vision. Lizanne and Mika had to re-train a number of the exercises so Mika could better see the cues and perform correctly.

“Training and competing with Mika taught me a lot and helped me grow as a dog trainer,” said Lizanne. “I needed to be very clear and consistent in showing her what she needed to do to be successful. Mika sometimes took longer than other dogs to learn an exercise initially, and there were certain details where she was never going to be as precise as other dogs. But she has a strong will to do her best. I call her ‘my little worker bee’ because at Obedience trials she always gives it her all and gets the job done. Mika taught me that with the right winning attitude, you can achieve your goals and dreams.”

Mika, currently 7 years old and retired from Obedience competition, is now helping to train Lizanne’s newest dog, Dante (a rescued German Shepherd).

“We are so fortunate that GDB gave us the opportunity to adopt Mika,” Lizanne said. “Bob and Daphne Easton, her puppy-raising family, had already socialized her so well to all sorts of different people, animals, and situations. She came to us with a great foundation for AKC Obedience. I’d strongly recommend a career change dog for anyone looking for a dog for a performance sport. These dogs were bred to work and love having a job.”

Please note: GDB is no longer using the German Shepherd breed in our program. There are yellow/black Lab, Golden Retriever and Lab/Golden crosses available for adoption that would make ideal performance sport competitors; we encourage those interested in agility, obedience or sport training with a dog to apply on our website.

We've Got Mail: A GDB Alumna Pays Tribute to Puppy Raisers

Dear Puppy Raisers,

I have been using these incredible dogs for more than 35 years. I got my first dog when I was 18 and preparing to go to college. Although blind from the age of 14, I knew nothing about working dogs; indeed, I had never even met one. My first dog was named Whirl. She was a beautiful, delightful Golden Retriever. As with most Goldens, she had a happy, fun-loving personality, yet was an excellent worker. Whirl never met a tennis ball she didn’t love!

Immediately after returning from the school in California, I went to Arizona State University, which at that time had approximately 40,000 students. Whirl and I were sorority girls and spent four years walking all over that campus. After graduating, I taught high school for a couple of years before going to work at the Arizona Republic newspaper. Naturally, Whirl was with me every step of the way. Everyone loved her; it would have been impossible not to.

After Whirl had to officially “hang up the harness,” I went on to have four more Golden Retriever guides. Three of my dogs worked for nearly ten years each. Today, I have Portia, a precious little black Lab, who is sitting right here at my feet as I write this.

What I want to convey to you is two-fold. First, I want you to know how much each of these dogs has meant to me. Because they exist, I can do so much more, be so much more. Prior to getting Whirl, I felt embarrassed about being disabled. In fact, my greatest reluctance about getting my first dog was that now “everyone would know.” For the previous four years, while with a boyfriend, or group of girls, no one really knew that I was “different.” The fact that I had no independence was irrelevant – at that time in my life, the most important issue to me was that no one know I was blind.

Getting Whirl completely changed my life. We could do anything together: walk down the street, cross intersections, go into stores. I came to literally trust her with my life. But most importantly, my shame vanished. I went from embarrassed of being me to incredibly proud of being us.

Because of the autonomy a Guide Dog provides, I have been able to get an education, work at a variety of jobs, even walk my son to school when he was a little boy. Just having Whirl, Nomi or Rosie at my side has helped me to be a stronger, more confident woman. Moreover, when in public with my dog, I have had the utter joy of seeing how very helpful, kind and thoughtful people can be.

Which brings me to my second point: how much I appreciate you. I cannot thank you enough for all the time and “heart” each of you has invested in this program. Whether it is caring for the puppies day to day, taking them to vet appointments, or introducing them to the home environment on the weekends, each of you is playing a priceless role in another person’s future. That puppy who chews your shoes, or just refuses to learn the “down” command, or throws up at the most inconvenient time, may one day make the absolute difference in someone’s life. Perhaps it is a person who is alone and homebound, or is an individual who uses a cane and never really feels safe, or maybe, just maybe, there is another young person out there who is profoundly ashamed of being blind. The puppy you know and love today may very possibly release her from that shame tomorrow.

Blindness is extremely difficult. It is a very hard way to live. There are far more challenges than you could ever imagine. However, because you selflessly raise these dogs, love and care for them - all the time knowing you must say goodbye to them one day – because of you, life becomes more about choices, and less about challenges.

God placed these wonderful dogs on this earth to help His children. After all your hard work, when that dog is presented to its owner, I know God smiles.

God bless you all.

Debra Cooper

My Camping Experience

By GDB Alumna Tracy McGee

Over the Memorial Day weekend my son Colin, my guide Fazio and I had the distinct pleasure to be among the many blind/visually impaired folks that attended the Oral Hull Foundation for the Blind's long camping weekend. We had an incredible time! Since my eye sight has decreased so significantly over the past 8 years, camping has not been on the top of my list of things to do; I've always felt like a fish out of water. But being a single parent to an 8 year-old boy, camping is an activity that I'd like to engage in more often. After my experience at Oral Hull, I now know just how fun it can be and we're already planning to go back.

Oral Hull is a 23-acre park three miles from Sandy, Ore. Serene and wooded, the unspoiled natural beauty of Mt. Hood, Oregon's loftiest peak, forms a fitting background for this wonderful place. It is an accessible camp that leaves the camper feeling independent by providing the appropriate tools, such as rail-lined pathways, as well as an onsite O&M instructor. Attention to details like these lends to a safe and comfortable experience for each camper.

During our long weekend, the activities were abundant, the social interactions were enlightening and entertaining, and the opportunities to widen our horizons were plentiful. Jeff Lann, Oral Hull's executive director, packed the weekend with such things as swimming in a wonderfully warm indoor pool; creating a number of arts and craft projects (which I had not done for many years - my son and I both thoroughly enjoyed craft time!); learning about the art of drumming (we played the drums, learned about their origin, and felt the natural syncopation that takes place when a melody is played - boy oh boy was that fun!) - and that's only scratching the surface! One of the most amazing experiences that we took part in was a lesson on the universe with the guidance of an astronomer. He used large balloons of various shapes and sizes to illustrate the planets, and passed out tactile displays of the night sky, including the star formation on an average night as well as maps of some of the more popular constellations. Wow, was that an educational, mind-boggling and simply fascinating activity!

We also went to a play in Sandy, which was fantastic. Prior to attending the play, the director came to Oral Hull and provided us with background information. When we got to the playhouse, we got the opportunity to touch and feel each component of the set, and were introduced to the actors and actresses. They all told us about themselves so that we would have a voice and a history to paint the picture in our minds of each of the characters. I am sure for many blind/visually impaired individuals going to a play may not be at the top of your list, but this particular experience has opened my eyes to how awesome going to the theater can be.

My goal in sharing my experiences at this wonderful place is in the hopes that you will give it a try yourself. Come and bring your family, your friends (sighted or not), and most importantly your guide, and have the time of your life. Visit the website, or better yet, visit the camp! www.oralhull.org