Telly's Town Walk

Yesterday I watched Telly working in harness and met her instructor, Brian. My mind and heart are so overflowing with thoughts and emotions that writing is even harder than usual. I wish I could remember every moment of that walk forever. Instead I will only have a few pictures and my own stilted sentences to try to capture the culmination of months of focused work.

For those of you who don't know what a town walk is, here's a little background information. Seeing eye puppies return to the Seeing Eye in Morristown for training when they are about eighteen months old. Each puppy will go through thorough medical examinations, including x-rays to test for hip dysplasia. The dogs that pass the examinations will be assigned to an instructor who is training a string of 10-12 dogs, each at different stages in training. After two months of training, a dog will have a blindfold test and the instructor will send a postcard updating the raisers on their pup's progress. (You can read what Brian wrote about Telly here.) At any point in the training, a dog can be rejected and put up for adoption. When the dog has completed just over three months of training and is considered ready for class (meaning ready to be matched and trained with a blind person), the Seeing Eye invites puppy raisers into Morristown to watch their dog working in harness and talk with the dog's instructor. If all goes well, the dog may be matched with a blind person in the class that arrives a few weeks after the town walk. If there is no suitable match in that class, the dog can wait in the kennel for the next class. Dogs that are dropped from training because they aren't fit for guide work or can't be matched will undergo a "career change". This is the "nice" term for rejection. Call it what you like - changing the name doesn't lesson the blow. It's still heart rending. As I well know, a successful town walk is no guarantee that a dog will graduate.

The town walk is one of the highlights of puppy raising. The experience of watching the crazy puppy you raised, calmly and confidently guide her instructor defies words. Telly's work was flawless. We followed her, spellbound.

A Seeing Eye volunteer, Roger, who has raised twenty-four puppies, was our host for the walk. He met with Telly's instructor, Brian, before the walk to learn if Brian had an particular concerns. Then he walked with us, telling us about the work that Telly was doing. We weren't allowed to greet Telly and had to stay several yards behind her so she wouldn't be too distracted by our familiar scent and voices. I took lots of pictures. I think she looks positively regal with her harness on.

Telly guided Brian perfectly around the streets of Morristown. She is walking to the left of the sidewalk so he can be as far away from the cars as possible. We watched her guide him around obstructions in the sidewalk, around an open grate, and away from an overhanging sign so he wouldn't hit his head.

At this point, we got to walk on the opposite side of the street for a different view. The town walk is always the same route, and we always stop here for pictures.

Telly stopped at every curb to warn Brian that they had reached the street. After they crossed, she stopped at the curb on the other side of the street.

We watched Telly successfully perform some "traffic checks". Brian gave Telly the forward command, but she exercised "intelligent disobedience" and halted when she saw a car was coming. At one point when she was walking on the sidewalk she halted for a car that was wanting to turn off the street into the parking lot in front of her. I was so proud of her - I hadn't even noticed the car!

Here Brian praises her for a beautifully done traffic check. He says she's a very serious, focused worker. He hardly ever gets so much as a wag from her - she justs wants to keep on working.

This isn't a particularly good picture, but it makes me proud because it shows how seriously she's taking her job. She isn't distracted by the children in front of her. When I had her, she wasn't always able to ignore other people. Sometimes she thought they were "potential petters", or other times she thought they were sketchy characters that she needed to protect me from. And she was never able to ignore other dogs. That was my most serious concern. Unless a miracle happened, I thought she would be rejected after a couple weeks of training. But a miracle has occurred. It's amazing and mysterious and wonderful. Again and again, I marvel at the work the Seeing Eye does. During the town walk, a little, yappy dog walked right in front of her. She did nothing more than glance at it. I can't begin to describe how much that means to me.

Her work was perfect. Nothing distracted her.

Someday may she guide a blind person as confidently and capably as she's guiding Brian!

Brian and Telly

Roger, our host, held Telly while we talked with Brian.

Brian held Telly at rest so Roger could take a picture of just her. She kept turning her head back to see us. I think she recognized us.

I wish I could remember every word that Brian said about Telly. I wish he could understand how deeply grateful I am for the work he has done. How much I've dreamed about this moment. How much I long to hear that she has graduated. Brian said that Telly is ready for class. The next class arrives on March 29, and he has a couple individuals in mind as potential matches. Telly won't the the easiest match because she walks quite slowly. An older person will probably match her pace best, but it will have to be an active old person, because she's intelligent and will need more than a trip to church each Sunday to keep her attention. Brian is also training Telly's brother, Thor, who was in my club. They are kennel mates. He said they are both very good, serious, working dogs, but Thor is sensitive, while Telly is thick-skinned and cocky. That's the pup I remember! That's the dog I know and love! Brian said Telly didn't think much of him at first. Labs and Goldens will love you as soon as you feed them, but it took a few weeks for him to earn Telly's confidence.

I told Brian that this was my fifth town walk, but I've never had a dog graduate. He was visibly stricken for me. It was selfish perhaps, but it helped to share my grief with someone who would understand. He knows the effort it takes to train a dog, the overwhelming desire to see a dog working with a blind person, and the crushing disappointment that comes from fallen expectations. My dogs got so far into training. He knows that my lack of success is not due to any lack of effort or skill on my part. He could only empathize and repeat that though he could guarantee nothing, Telly is ready to be matched with a blind person. It's hard. I have so much hope - so much reason to hope - but my hope makes me frightened. The greater my hope, the more crushing the potential disappointment.

It's strange to think that my work for the Seeing Eye is done. For years, the Seeing Eye has been a huge part of my life. I've thought and talked and listened and read and worked. It was intense and involved. I feel as if I know the Seeing Eye. But now that contact will be over. For the Seeing Eye, I'm just a name on a long list of names to be crossed off. Volunteering for the Seeing Eye is so personal, and yet so oddly impersonal. I know that they are are grateful for the work that I, and other puppy raisers are doing. They are indebted to us, and they say so. I wish they knew how much I care for them. I will be forgotten, but I will never forget.

This is one of my longest posts. I guess it's more for myself, then for any one else. Writing helps me unscramble my confused thoughts. Hopefully it will help me remember.