By PASHA ALDEN
Helen Keller said: “One never knows what miracles may be wrought.” This is surely true when sharing life with these incredibly kind and taciturn friends, without whom many people with disabilities would not achieve mobility, independence and dignity. In this article we will explore the role of assistance dogs in the life of those with disabilities as they travel through life.
The journey begins here – in the heart of home as we move around on verges and pavements, in malls, or bundu bashing with dog or cane, country walks where there are no pavements when moving about can be quite the adventure.
For travellers who are blind it is the long cane or guide dog that is synonymous with independent travel. For some with physical disabilities, for instance those in wheelchairs, it is the service dog and children with autism look to the autism support dog to provide stability and calm at home, at school or in public.
The story begins at the South African Guide Dogs Association for the Blind (GDA), providing guide dogs since 1953, when Mrs Gladys Evans brought the first guide dog to South Africa.
Life for assistance dogs begins here, at the Association’s premises in Johannesburg. The pups are born and raised in the Association’s very own puppy block. Imagine – an entire block of golden, cream and black exquisiteness!
I am glad I am no puppy raiser – I would fail dismally, no dog would pass with me, as resistance is futile! But let us get back to the dogs and their wonderful service.
The Association trains Golden Retrievers and Black and Yellow Labradors, as these breeds are most suited to become working assistance dogs. Dogs are selected for temperament and intelligence and carefully matched with the handler.
[pullquote]Communication between handler and dog happens verbally and with foot position and hand signals.[/pullquote]
While dogs wear the harness and lead, they are linked with their handler and consider the handler a part of them. For the handler, the guide dog is an extension of themselves and may for this reason, among others, not be denied access to a public space. The latter within reason. This would even include hospitals, where once a patient was allowed to meet her guide dog away from patients in the ward and even have her assist her with physiotherapy after a serious operation.
Communication between handler and dog happens verbally and with foot position and hand signals.
Once the pups are old enough, they are placed with a voluntary puppy raiser. This is a special person who fosters the pup for approximately 16 months. The dog is house trained, exposed to as many situations as possible whilst they wear their bib that states: “One day when I’m grown, I’m going to be a Service Dog”. I am sure some of them think: “It goes without saying: I shall have impeccable manners. After all who knows, I may one day meet the king while staying in all kinds of places and have many adventures with my handler.”
When the dog is about 18 months old, they commence training. Factors such as temperament, as well as physical strength of the dog are taken into account when selecting each dog for a specific task. For instance, dogs to serve people in wheelchairs need to move slower and be sedentary. A petite person may need a medium dog of a very docile nature, while a stronger person can control a stronger dog.
Guide dogs are taught to wear a harness, stop for traffic, avoid obstacles, and find and stop at steps, stop before a closed door, and find the down and up kerb. They can also learn with a clicker to find chairs if you have the same table at a restaurant. Dogs can also learn to find certain places of significance.
My guide finds the doctor, the beautician and the pharmacy in Grahamstown, and well-known shops at the mall.
Service dogs are taught commands such as fetching, bracing, picking up objects, and turning lights on and off for those in wheelchairs who cannot reach a standard placed light switch. For the child with autism on the high support spectrum, the Autism Support dog holds them and stops them from running and calms them.
The dedicated trainers at the South African Guide Dog Association patiently train the dogs in all the above tasks. The training methods used are positive reinforcement and conditioning.
[pullquote]The dog continued to walk to the kerb and act all confused.[/pullquote]
Speaking of training, I share a comical incident that happened to my guide dog Laika during her own training as a guide dog:
The service dog trainer gave several commands to the service dog in training. The dog continued to walk to the kerb and act all confused. This sequence of exchanges went on for a while much to the consternation of the trainer in this encounter.
Then, Laika’s trainer arrived on the scene and asked her colleague to look down.
“Know your dog!”
It was not his service dog Luigi, but Laika, guide dog in training, who knows no service dog commands. Talk about confusion. In fairness to the trainer, I must point out that Luigi is the son of my guide dog Laika, so the trainer may be forgiven for the momentary confusion as they are so alike in appearance.
Next time, when you are out and about and you come across these amazing dogs, here are a few important points to remember.
- Do not pat the dog in harness or jacket, as it is working. Once the handler of the dog is seated, and the harness is removed, then it is fine to ask if you may pat the dog.
- Do not give the dog a command – it is the job of the handler to do so, like a mother and their child.
- Do not feed the dog.
- Do not call the dog.
- To kindly pedestrians beside us at crossings: do not strike up a lengthy conversation with us as we may be listening for the traffic, unless the waiting for the traffic seems eternal, assistance will be most welcome.
- To motorists: do not park on pavements. Already in short supply, these are uneven and tricky to manage without unnecessary obstacles.
- Respond to traffic signs.
- Do not park on allocated pedestrian crossings, or even worse – drive straight through them. I can tell you that two of my guide-dogs have saved my life on three occasions in cases where motorists drove with great speed in town at a yield sign.
- Do not make eye contact or photograph the dog when it is working; This is rude to the handler, often not aware you are taking a photo or distracting the dog.
- Finally, ignorance is not always bliss. Often remarks are out of place when the observer thinks the guide or service dog is doing wrong. It is a team effort between handler and dog and most situations are fluid. Ask if unsure before passing an ignorant judgement.
In the next installment of Able Beyond 20/20 we shall have a glimpse into accessibility for those in wheelchairs, and service and guide dogs in the supermarket, in the workplace, at the airport and travelling on trains and aircrafts.
- Pasha Alden is a Braille advocate and ability activist. Her column, Able Beyond 20/20 appears monthly in Talk of the Town.
