Wednesday, November 15, 2000
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Wednesday, November 15, 2000 |
| Local families learn
to love puppies, then let them serve others
By PAT NEWMAN
WANTED: Committed individuals with a love of dogs to accept full responsibility for a puppy for one year. Must teach the pup house manners and basic obedience skills, reinforcing those skills daily. Care givers must be willing to give up the dog at the end of 12 months. The canines will then receive professional training to become guide dogs for the blind. It's a tough job, but Bobby and Sandy Arrington and their two children are up to the challenge. The Fayetteville family learned this week that they have been accepted as puppy raisers for Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. "We're very excited, but we're also a little concerned that we have to turn it in," Sandy Arrington said this week. They expect to receive their puppy in early December. The Arringtons were visited last week by Julie Aichroth, puppy program director for Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc., not-for-profit organization in Palmetto, Fla., which has been training and providing guide dogs to blind individuals since 1982. Prospective puppy raisers are interviewed at home by Aichroth or a staff member. "She explained to us what is to be expected, and we talked about our concerns," Arrington said. Socializing the "foster puppy" is a major part of the year-long training, according to Arrington. Taking the dog along on daily outings and having it experience rides on public transit systems are ways the dogs prepare to become the "paws for independence" for the visually impaired. "Maybe I can take the dog for a ride on my daughter's school bus," laughed Arrington, who admitted she didn't normally ride MARTA. The family first learned about the school's puppy raising program when daughter Katie's youth group at Fayetteville First United Methodist Church, the Mission Maniacs, opted to raise $1,200 to sponsor a dog for their annnual project. Sandy teaches the Bible lessons for her daughter's group and became interested in taking on a puppy. The Maniacs succeeded in raising about $400 last weekend for their puppy sponsorship, proceeds from the sale of canine-inspired crafts, at the church's annual fall fair. "We're one third of the way to our goal," said Becky Davenport, coordinator for FUM's youth activities. As sponsors, the boys and girls will name a guide dog puppy, receive a picture album and get periodic updates of the dog's progress. The sponsorship donation covers medical expenses, transportation, equipment, training manuals, evaluations and staff support for a future guide dog puppy. Aichroth, in town last week to meet the Arringtons and touch base with metro Atlanta individuals who are raising puppies for Southeastern, said people who get involved in the program have a real desire to do it. They must also have the time to commit to raising the puppy for a year. "There is five minutes of obedience training per day and you spend the rest of the day applying it," Aichroth said. The dogs are also taught there is "OK time," or supervised freedom when they can just have fun. Aichroth has been involved with training dogs for 16 years. "I had an interest in dogs and read the book, 'Follow my Leader' when I was growing up. It had an amazing influence on my life," she explained. Following a three-year apprenticeship with Southeastern, Aichroth became the puppy coordinator. When the dogs return to the campus of Southeastern on Florida's west coast near Bradenton, they receive medical checkups and are evaluated for further training in the program. Friendly dogs who are willing to learn progress to mastering 40 basic commands over the course of four to six months. The dogs also are taught intelligent disobedience, or refusing to obey a command that could endanger their blind or visually impaired masters. Finally, the dogs are teamed up with students who may become their lifelong partners. Together they work for 26 days, learning commands and assessing reactions to various situations, and forging a bond of love and trust. The training continues when the team leaves the school and returns to the student's home and work environment. This is the path the Arringtons' prospective foster puppy will travel. For information about Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. and its puppy raising program, phone (941) 729-5665.
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