The Fayette Citizen-News Page
Friday, August 13, 1999
Senoia resident provides helping hand to student

By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

 

 

When Alice Stacey returns to classes at McIntosh High School Monday, she'll be accompanied by her new best friend, Malcolm, a 17-month-old Golden Retriever.

Malcolm will be the first animal ever allowed to attend classes with its owner in a Fayette County school.

Wherever Stacey goes, Malcolm will precede her, making sure the path is clear. The two are a team. Malcolm is Stacey's guide dog, a canine companion whose eyes and ears see and hear for the 18-year-old woman with the soft laugh and white-blonde hair.

Members of McIntosh's Key Club lined the halls and filled the stair wells and classrooms Wednesday to familiarize Malcolm with the sights and sounds of a typical high school day. Stacey, who is a senior, put her dog through his paces, carefully choosing her words. “Malcolm, find classroom,” she directed. Holding the leather harness, Stacey moved confidently down the hall, adding another command, “Malcolm, find first.”

Stacey and Malcolm move into the first classroom and find a desk. “Malcolm, sit.” After a little nudge from Stacey, the dog settles into a comfortable posture on the floor. Stacey acquired Malcolm just two weeks ago from Sally Sue Bradley, founder and trainer of Canine Vision, headquartered in Senoia. The three-year-old center is the only site in a five-state area that trains labradors and retrievers to be guide dogs for vision-impaired people.

The kennel and actual training school are on 15 acres in Villa Rica, in Carroll County. “Malcolm started his training at 12 months,” Bradley explained. Now Stacey and Malcolm, under Bradley's watchful eye, are orienting themselves to school, Stacey's neighborhood, the grocery store, bank and mall.

By carefully counting steps, a system Stacey developed when she used a cane and a keen sense of direction, the two can zero in on any place or any thing. “They even found the peanut butter at Kroger the other day,” Bradley said proudly.

Stacey was born with a visual impairment and bilateral hearing loss, but it has not impeded her progress in making A's in her classes and ranking 18th in her class of 400 students. Making friends has not been as easy. “It's been very hard to make friends,” Stacey admitted. In fact, she recalls past incidents when insensitive students yelled at her to get out their way.

“I have some good friends, though,” she said.

Listening to books on tape is one of her favorite things to do. Add that now to playing with Malcolm. Lunch break for Stacey means playtime for Malcolm and Wednesday, Bradley and the two mapped out a spot where he could relieve himself and cut loose for 30 minutes. Once the harness and canvas panel which reads, “Please don't pet me, I'm working” is removed, Malcolm runs with abandon.

A cool drink of water and a lot of affection from the Key Club and Stacey bring out his playful nature. “Petting guide dogs when they are working with their owners can be distracting to them,” explained Bradley, possibly putting their owners in harm's way.

Malcolm knows how to block Stacey from entering the street when a car is approaching and pause before an obstacle. Next week, the two will ride the school bus, which Stacey hopes will be on time for Malcolm's sake.

Bradley estimated that the cost of raising and training a guide is $10,000. Donations make it possible for people like Stacey to have a dog and expand her horizons as far as college and career.

“There are 18,500 visually impaired people in Georgia,” Bradley said, but this is the only school to train dogs.

While she estimated that only about 2 percent of the vision-impaired population over 16 make good candidates for having guide dogs, the numbers are still overwhelming.

Civic organizations like Kiwanis and Key Club have been active in raising funds for Canine Vision. For information on Canine Vision, or to make a donation, phone Sally Sue Bradley at 770-599-0680 or write her at 2305 Luther Bailey Road, Senoia 30276.


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