[bksvol-discuss] Re: O_T Guide dogs open up world for blind couple
- From: "Julie Morales" <inlovewithchrist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 00:00:58 -0800
OK, you really do get around, don't you? *smile* I hadn't checked this
folder yet and had no idea it had been sent here, too. Thanks, and take
care.
Julie Morales
Email and Windows/MSN Messenger:
inlovewithchrist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
When God puts a tear in your eye, it is because He wants to put a rainbow in
your heart.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shelley L. Rhodes" <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 7:55 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] O_T Guide dogs open up world for blind couple
smile, is about one of our volunteers.
good article Julie.
Guide dogs open up world for blind couple
By STEPHANIE TAVARES, Californian staff writer
e-mail: stavares@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Posted: Sunday November 14th, 2004, 9:15 PM
Last Updated: Sunday November 14th, 2004, 10:13 PM
Six years ago, Julie Morales had a completely different life.
Living in rural Virginia, the then-19-year-old depended on limited public
transportation and friends and family to get her where she wanted to go.
Morales,
who had been legally blind since birth, often felt frustrated that
circumstances made it difficult to do things she knew she could do.
About a month ago, Pilot Dogs Inc. gave Morales a new guide dog after a her
previous guide dog had difficulty transitioning to Bakersfield.
Guide dogs have given Morales a new measure of freedom and have become and
important part of her life.
"I couldn't believe it. It was something totally different. Everything was
just emotional," Morales said of her first experience with a guide dog.
Morales was outgoing and independent even before she got her first guide
dog. She never let her less-than-perfect vision get in the way of what she
wanted.
But she was surprised by how the animal changed her life.
"It was more than what I expected," Morales said. "The first walk was
incredible. I was independent before, but once I got my dog I moved around a
lot faster
and I felt more confident. I didn't have to worry about running into things
like before. Now I walk just as fast as anybody on the street."
Julie Morales spent about two weeks in Ohio getting to know Mercy and
practicing walking around town, through revolving doors, up and down
escalators and
onto public transportation to make sure the two were compatible. At night,
Julie took classes on how to care for the dog.
First-time guide-dog owners have to go through four weeks of training.
Mercy's training was even more extensive.
Before she even got to start guide-dog training, Mercy lived for a little
more than a year with a foster family in Columbus, Ohio, learning basic
obedience
and being exposed to as many different types of distractions, public places
and people as possible.
The school chose to give Mercy to Morales specifically because she had been
fostered in a large city.
"We try to find a good match between dog and owner, to match the owner's
needs with the dog's characteristics," said Pilot Dogs Inc. Development
Director
Diane Miller.
About 150 German shepherds, golden retrievers, Labradors, standard poodles,
boxers and Doberman pinchers graduate from the guide dog training program
each
year.
About the same number don't make it through the rigorous health, temperament
and training tests each dog must pass in order to become a guide dog.
Dogs that don't pass the tests are adopted out to families in Ohio.
All of this training is paid for by private donations and fund raising by
the Ohio Lions Club, which sponsors the nonprofit. Pilot Dogs Inc. even pays
for
the airfare and lodgings for people coming to pick up their new guide dogs,
some from as far away as Israel.
But not everyone who wants a guide dog can get one. There are strict
requirements people must meet, in addition to being legally blind, before
Pilot Dogs
will OK their applications.
"The owner has to be physically and mentally capable of caring for and
benefiting from the dog," Miller said.
Until last April, Morales' husband, Lino, was among the thousands of blind
people across America content to walk around with just a white cane. But
after
seeing how much better Julie got around with the aid of a guide dog, he
tried it out and has become a guide dog fan.
"Basically I enjoy the freedom of having a dog," Lino Morales said. "He's
given me a lot more confidence than I once had."
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