More than just a friend...
Engines roar as cars speed across the intersection, birds are chirping, and somewhere in the distance children can be heard playing at a playground. The stereo system of one of the cars passing by produces such a low base that the ground begins to vibrate. Max ignores all the commotion and waits patiently for the traffic light to change. As it turns green he starts walking, guiding his owner safely to the other side. Max is four. He knows his way around, he is good-natured, obedient and fearless, he loves to play, but does not get distracted when walking outside. Max is a trained guide dog.
You have probably seen a guide dog, or seeing-eye-dog before. Did you ever wonder how a puppy becomes a guide dog?
Max was an eight-week-old Golden Retriever when he was placed with a volunteer family to be raised as a guide dog. But Max was not the only one who had to be prepared. On the “Guide Dog for the Blind’s” website the following statement can be found: “It takes the help of volunteers, top veterinarians and trainers to develop a qualified Guide Dog. It takes preparation on the part of the blind person, too.”
The future owner of a seeing-eye-dog must undergo some “training” as well.
But first let us go back to Max and his four legged colleagues. Guide dogs are not just pets to their owners, they are companions who enhance the independence and increase the self-confidence of a blind person.
So how does a dog know where a blind person wants to go?
Blind people generally know their own communities and can direct their dogs wherever they want to go. The basic commands are "forward," "right," and "left." In a new location, blind men and women, like sighted people, ask for directions and communicate them to the dog by using the proper commands.
*questions contributed by TheSeeingEye.Inc