Puppy Raiser Making Guide Dog Friends in Poland

Contributed by puppy raiser Dana Pardee

Dana and Guide Dog puppy Amato

At the beginning of February, I had the opportunity to represent Guide Dogs for the Blind in Poland. I have been studying in Katowice, Poland since September and since the day I landed I have been researching the use of guide dogs in Poland. I came across the name of the only guide dog school located in Poland and from that moment on, I was anxious to meet with them! So, on February 1st en route from Berlin back to the south of Poland, I stopped in Poznań and met with the director, two trainers, and a member of the board of directors of Fundacja na rzecz Osób Niewidomych Labrador-Pies Przewodnik.

Their program is very young; it was only recognized as a non-profit organization for the public advantage in 2004. They currectly have 10 puppies in training with volunteer puppy raisers (mainly located in Poznań). Puppies are purchased from breeders at around 7-8 weeks of age (after being assessed by trainers) and are placed with a family. They are then raised by that family until they are around 14-18 months of age. However, the process of raising is different then it is in the US, mainly because Poland does not have the same access laws for dogs in training. When talking with the trainers, they said this happened to be one of the most challenging aspects. People in Poland just do not have the same understanding of a “service dog” as they do in the US. Therefore, people are less willing to allow access for the dogs.

In 2003, to gain support for the program, the foundation created an initiative in which volunteers visited businesses throughout Poland to educate employers and to distribute stickers that would allow raisers to recognize the shop as being guide dog friendly. This created much more access for the puppies, but it was mainly centralized in the Poznań area. New legislation and access laws are being reviewed and written, so the foundation is eagerly awaiting their approval. These new laws have been found to benefit the puppy raisers, but more importantly the trainers who take the dogs into public for the formal guide training.

When the dogs reach their formal traning, they are taken in by the trainer and taught various routes and the key aspects of guidework. The foundation works very closely with the Slovic guide dog school Vicvikova Skola Pre Vodiacich Psov UNSS. Trainers from Slovakia routinely travel to Poland to assess dogs and assist the Polish trainers. The foundation is also a member of the International Guide Dog Federation, so they are receiving assistance from many different schools. The foundation may be small, but they are very eager to learn from the larger organizations.

What I thought was going to be a quick meet-and-greet and some quality puppy time in fact turned into a business meeting in which I fielded questions about GDB’s programs. They asked questions concerning everything I could think of; from selection of the breeders and puppies, training techniques and phases, assessment, to how the potential guide dog users are screened. Thank God I pay attention at meetings and Fun Day presentations! I did my best to represent GDB and provide useful information. The foundation may be young, but they have already suffered their fare share of hardship and are trying to learn from their mistakes. The few people who are trying to keep the foundation alive through their volunteer efforts are truly passionate about what they are trying to achieve, and it was an honor to represent GDB and provide them with any little bit of help that I could.

This meeting also made me realize just how much work has gone into GDB to make it what it is today. I read the stories of Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson and their humble beginnings, yet it almost hard to imagine all the hardship and effort that they initially faced. But being able to see a guide dog school in the initial stages, trying to gain support and build their program really made me appreciate the program that I work for. We are a community that supports and encourages each other. I think as a community it is our duty to continually educate people, whether they be from the U.S. or Poland, about guide dogs and all the potential that they provide. I would also like to say thank you to all the members of GDB, past, present, and future, who have made our program so amazing. I hope that someday the passion and commitment that GDB has maintained for 58 years will continue and spread, perhaps all the way to Poland – and beyond.

To read more about the Polish Guide Dog Foundation, follow this link (don’t worry, it’s in English): http://www.fundacja.labrador.pl/informacje,lang=en

Dog Attacks Against Guide Dogs: Working for Change in Portland

During the past couple of weeks, dog attacks on our Guide Dogs have been the subject of great concern in the city of Portland, Oregon. One of our dogs in training was attacked by a loose, aggressive dog, and in a separate incident, a working guide was attacked by two dogs that had been left tied to a sidewalk post. Here are links to news coverage of both incidents:

• Guide Dog trainers worry about attacks by street dogs (The News Tribune)
• Guide Dog attacked (KOIN-TV)

GDB takes dog attacks very seriously, as they often can end a working dog's career due to injuries, stress or fear as a result of the attack. We are happy to report that authorities in the City of Portland have been made aware of the disturbing trend, and are working with us to address the issues.

"We had a very productive meeting with city officials last week," said Oregon Director of Training Brad Hibbard. "Several agencies and departments were represented and I was very happy with the outcome. All of the attendees were engaged in the meeting and the Commander of the Central Precinct made it clear that this has become a priority for his department."

The agencies and departments that were in attendance include:

• Commander of the Central Precinct
• Deputy District Attorney
• Chief Animal Control Officer for Multnomah county
• Sergeant in charge of the Street Crimes Division
• Sergeant in charge of the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team
• Portland Business Alliance (who oversees the Clean & Safe security detail in downtown)
• Lead officer for the Bike Patrol team

Some of the outcomes from the meeting include:

• A system was developed for the Police Department, Animal Control, and the District Attorney’s office to work together more effectively on this situation. There was much discussion on which laws are the most effective for the scenario when a service dog is attacked.
• It was determined that “911” will be called for emergencies; for cases of “interference” (the definition of which can be broad) we have a direct number to the bike patrol officers who are generally be able to respond within minutes.
• The Portland Business Alliance offered monies to hire an additional Animal Control officer that might be used primarily in the downtown core.

We are also beginning to make contacts with Portland agencies that work with the street kids and their dogs. We want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to educate that community in an attempt to avoid creating an adversarial situation. Many thanks to GDB Board member Ruth Ann Dodson for helping us make the right contacts and supporting this initiative.

A Windy Walk

Contributed by Ernest Jones of Walla Walla, Washington.

Ernest's guide is black Lab Randy.

The wind was howling as if in a great hurry to remove the last leaf from off the trees as my guide and I set out for our morning walk. Though I really don't like walking when it is so windy one can't always wait for the perfect day before he heads out. Thus on this windy day we started down the road to find what new discoveries we might come across.

In case you have never thought of it, hearing is very important to all of us, but all the more when one can no longer depend on eyesight. Since I have relatively good hearing, I can't say how the deaf manage when out walking in adverse weather, but for me I depend on my hearing.

My guide and I walked down our narrow country lane. Not only was it very blustery but it was still dark with the sunrise about one hour away. Yet knowing the wind was to continue most of the day and also knowing the traffic would be much heavier later as those going to school and to work nearly flew down the country road, I wanted to get our walk in early.

The cows in the nearby fields were quiet and even the usual vocal birds, including the pheasants were silent; only a few barking dogs could be heard above the wind. I had to keep up a constant vigil for approaching traffic, especially those coming towards us as sometimes we must walk on the pavement instead of the shoulder of the road.

My guide acted like nothing was different than any other calm morning and was pulling hard, encouraging me to walk faster. We made a left turn onto a narrow dead end lane and walked to the end of the pavement where we paused a moment to listen to a pair of mallards playing in the gurgling stream. This stream flowing several feet below the surface of the land kept the ducks protected from the blowing wind. The early hour was with us and the road was all ours.

As we once again neared the main road I heard the approaching car and immediately grew more attentive. Reaching the intersection we paused to wait for the car to pass before crossing the road.

The section of road I was most concerned about was still ahead of us. This was a place where rain often produced massive puddles that could extend from the road's shoulder into the center of the road. Let me add here that my guide will not, if he can help it, walk through the puddles, so it is likely he will take me into the middle of the road to avoid them. Approaching where I knew puddles often existed I stopped my dog so I could listen as I checked for any nearby traffic. Hearing nothing but the wind we preceded and I gave a sigh of relief when once again I felt the gravel/dirt shoulder under my feet.

This morning I decided to change our route and we were walking in the opposite direction around the loop. At first the wind came from behind me and fairly pushed me along. But when we turned to face towards home the wind buffeted straight into me and I found myself leaning into the wind just to remain on my feet. I was concentrating completely on our safety and on getting home out of this wind and I think my guide was thinking the same when suddenly a couple dogs gave a chorus of barking only a few feet to our left. I jumped and felt my guide also jump and turn to see just where these dogs were. Fortunately they were behind a fence so could not get any closer to us but I will say they got our full attention. You need to try this sometime and enjoy the thrill one feels when he becomes fully awake.

We were also fortunate that morning for we only had to deal with 2 passing cars and both respected us, thus this morning we did not get a cold shower. Try taking a walk when your full attention is on the wind and have a car plow right through one of the many water puddles; if the wind has not awakened you the sudden deluge from the passing car will, but very likely the wind will blow dry you before you reach home.

Get out and enjoy life; have a great day.