Assistance dog Kola, is always on hand to help owner and best friend, Jackie.
Dogs are color blind. They don’t see race. They don't care what ethnicity your background contains. They don’t care about color. All they are concerned with is serving the one who cares for them. If anyone knows the true meaning of “man’s best friend,” it is Juan Villarreal (age 53, Mexican-American).
Nearly blind since birth, Juan’s first seeing-eye dog, Crystal, saved his life one day by blocking the entrance to what he thought was a working elevator.
“She stepped in front of me and I kept saying ‘forward Crystal’ but she wouldn’t budge.” It wasn’t until someone rushed to the scene that Juan discovered the elevator door had opened onto an empty shaft five stories high.
Seeing eye/guide dogs are the most well known assistance dogs, and with careful training, these amazing canines help with all manner of human challenges. Only those in the top percentile, graduate from these rigorous classes, then most live with approved applicants free of charge. They provide care, companionship, love and trust while improving the lives of people throughout every segment of our society.
Crystal is now retired, an eventuality with all assistance dogs, based on their age, special skills and physical condition. Juan is with his second guide dog, Ivan, a young German shepherd from The Seeing Eye (www.seeingeye.org). Married with children, Juan lives in Tucson, Arizona and Ivan, like Crystal, is always by his side.
“Ivan is a very good guide dog and really looks out for me when he’s working,” says Juan, who takes great pleasure in activities such as going to the Mall, attending church and eating out.
“He thinks he knows everything.”
Juan says there is “no comparison” between having a guide dog and using a cane. “I’ve been a cane user and its really hard walking down the street poking and dragging that cane and then getting it stuck in-between cracks.” He adds that with a guide dog there is the confidence of knowing “you are never alone.”
Jackie Wall (age 18, African-American) is eagerly awaiting the start of her freshman year of college, where she plans to study English and Art. However, she will not be alone, Koloa, her muse, and constant companion/assistance dog from Canine Companions for Independence (www.cci.org) will transverse the college classes with her.
“I like to draw her, she is my poser,” says Jackie, whose sketch books are filled with drawings of her yellow Labrador retriever.
Born with cerebral palsy, Jackie relies on a powered wheelchair and the special skills of Koloa, who knows 45 commands and helps Jackie with daily tasks. Koloa opens doors, turns on light switches, picks up dropped items, and handles transactions with a cashier and much more. She also dispenses plenty of canine TLC.
“My bond with Koloa is one of the most important things for me because being in a wheelchair gets frustrating,” Jackie says. “You don’t know exactly why you are here because you can’t do a lot of stuff in a wheelchair, but now I have someone I am taking care of.”
Koloa has been with Jackie’s family, located in Batavia, Illinois, for two years. She gives Jackie a degree of independence unimaginable beforehand, says her mother, Connie Wall, “Koloa and her have become one. Jackie doesn’t have to depend on humans to do everything for her anymore.”
Nancy Otte (age 61, Caucasian) is a teacher of the deaf and hard-of-hearing in Fountain Hills, Arizona. Her and her assistance dog, Harley, a nine-year-old Australian Shepard from Dogs for the Deaf (www.dogsforthedeaf.org), have been a team for nine years.
Nancy’s hearing loss, categorized as “severe to profound,” makes Harley her ears to the world.
“Harley provides ‘sound work’ which involves alerting me with a paw on my body for a doorbell, alarm clock, phone, smoke alarm, someone calling my name and more,” Nancy says. “When he paws, I drop what I am doing and follow him to the sound.”
Before Harley, Nancy was always on alert listening for sounds “instead of thinking, learning and growing intellectually.” While it took a few years to learn how to trust Harley to not to miss a sound, the two now have a firm trust in place.
“I don’t need anyone to tell me when sounds are happening, and the people around me benefit by letting go of that responsibility,” Nancy says. “I look forward to many more years, more thoughts, more learning. I am amazed that all of this came about because of one four-footed, furry, tongue-wagging creature who has never spoken a word.”
For More Information: Please contact any of the organizations listed below. With the exception of nominal fees, which cover only a fraction of the training costs, all three organizations in this article place assistance dogs nationwide with no cost to recipients. With that said, all of these organizations welcome donations to aid in their continuation of this work.
The Seeing Eye: 14,000 dogs placed since 1929. $150 application fee/$50 per visit. 1-973-539-4425, www.seeingeye.org.
Canine Companions For Independence: 3,000 dogs placed since 1975. 1-800-572-BARK (2275), www.cci.org.
Dogs For The Deaf: 3,000 dogs placed since 1977. $50 application fee. 1-541-826-9220, www.dogsforthedeaf.org.
~Photo Courtesy Of Karen Jones