Canine companionship helps
Guide dogs not only help their owners get around, they also provide friendship and security. For Brandi Burdette, an undeclared sophomore, the companionship of her dog Mamie has helped in many aspects of her life.
Brandi and her brother were both born with a disease called retinitis pigmentosa. According to www.jwen.com/rp/rp.html, RP is a hereditary disease which causes degeneration of the lining of the eye.
Although she can sometimes see the outline of figures or some light on a bright day. Burdette is legally blind and uses a guide dog on a daily basis.
Burdette said most people wouldn’t know she is blind if it weren’t for the dog by her side.
“My parents made it a point to teach me to look at people when I talk to them and to dress appropriately, just so I don’t look like I am blind,” she said.
She has had Mamie with her for the past year and is grateful for the help she provides.
“I used to use a cane which was awful in some situations like the snow,” she said. “But my dog helps me find my way through the paths in the snow and makes life a lot easier.”
Burdette said having a dog has changed her life a lot.
“I feel more confident going places by myself and I get around a lot better because [Mamie] walks really fast,” she said.
Dogs like Mamie are trained in various schools around the country. Guide Dogs for the Blind, based in California, is one of these schools which provides dogs for users around the country for free. Nancy Roberts, a system specialist for Information Technology Services at Utah State University, is also a volunteer who raises dogs before they are taken to the school to be trained.
“The schools provide all the services for free and work entirely on private donations,” she said.
Roberts is a member of a local 4-H organization called Paws with a Purpose. She said the puppies come to her when they are about eight weeks old and stay until they are ready to go to school to be trained.
“I spend about a year giving them basic training such as sit, lie down and housebreaking them,” she said.
The training they go through while they are with a raiser is basic, but needed for life after they are with their blind owners, Roberts said.
“They have to get used to being around people and other animals without getting distracted,” she said.
Some of the training the 4-H group does includes a trip from Smith’s to Lee’s Marketplace on the bus.
“The trip helps them get accustomed to many different things,” she said. “They have to learn to get on and off the bus, and in the supermarket there are plenty of foods and smells that can distract them.”
Roberts said many different breeds can be used as guide dogs, but there are some things to look for in a good dog.
“The dog must be a good size and weight and have a willingness to please. It also must be fairly intelligent so it doesn’t lead the owner the wrong way,” Roberts said.
One major distraction is the natural tendency for people to want to pet the dog, she said.
“We don’t want the dog to be distracted from its work,” she said. “It could pull the person into a pole or off a sidewalk.”
Generally, guide dogs are not supposed to be pet by the public, but it is up to the owners to make that decision, Burdette said.
“If someone asks and I am not in a hurry, I will tell [Mamie] to sit so they can touch her,” she said. “I love dogs and realize other people do too. But it is annoying if they don’t ask because she can get distracted from helping me.”
Burdette said she would recommend having a guide dog to any other blind person.
“To be able to use a dog you have to be able to get around with just a cane though,” she said. “You have to be able to get from point A to point B. Otherwise, the dog won’t help at all.”
Burdette plans to keep the dog until it retires in seven or eight years.
“Maybe if I am not in an apartment by then I will keep her as a pet because it would be hard to leave her. She is my best friend,” Burdette said.