Roselle – A Sad Day
June 28, 2011 by Mike Hingson · 43 Comments
It is strange for me to be writing this article while I have feelings of both sadness and joy in my heart. Nevertheless, it is something which must be done.
Michael and Rosell
I have the solemn obligation to inform you that my hero guide dog, Roselle, who was with me in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, passed away last evening, Sunday, June 26, 2011 at 8:52 PM. I am sad, of course, because I will miss Roselle so very much, more than any of my other guide dogs. I write with joy because Roselle is in a better place, no longer feeling pain, while I get to have so many fond memories of her.
Roselle was born on March 12, 1998 at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California. I heard right from the start that she was quite a mischievous little puppy. She went to Santa Barbara, California to be raised by several puppy raising families. Kay and Ted Stern had the joy and pleasure of spending the longest amount of raiser time with her. Kay and Ted introduced her to airplane flying, New York, snow, and even the theater. I must say that I think the culture did rub off on her.
After her time with puppy raisers she went back to Guide Dogs for the Blind for training. I think I first met her on November 22, 1999. It was obvious from the very beginning that we were a perfect match. Roselle was my fifth guide dog. I could tell that she would be an excellent guide from our very first walk together. What took me a few days to discover was that Roselle was also quite a character; I constantly referred to her as a pixie. Almost from the first night we spent together I found that Roselle was great at stealing socks. She didn’t chew them up; she just carried them around and then hid them somewhere only to bring them out later just to taunt me. She was always willing to give them up undamaged and ready-to-wear although a little bit damp. Her tail wagged through the whole experience. In fact, her tail hardly stop wagging during the almost 12 years I knew her. During my first week with Roselle I also discovered that she was a loud snorer. The Stearns told me later that she could snore with the best of them.
We came home to New Jersey on December 2, 1999. Later that evening she met my retired guide, Linnie. Linnie and Roselle seemed a bit uncomfortable with each other that night and into the middle of the next day. I decided that this awkwardness had gone on long enough and brought out a rope tug bone. I made each of them take an end and I grabbed the middle of the rope. They started off by teaming up and tugging against me. After about 20 seconds of this with mouths inching up toward my fingers from both sides I release the bone and let them go at it alone. From that moment on they were inseparable until Linnie died on July 4, 2002.
On September 11, 2001 Roselle and I were in our office on the 78th floor of Tower One of the
Roselle - Hero
World Trade Center when the tower was struck by American Airlines flight 11 which had been hijacked and was being controlled by terrorists. Our escape from that tower as well as the collapse of Tower Two is well known and, in fact, is the subject of Thunder Dog, a book written by me and Susy Flory, which will be in bookstores soon as well as be available on my website. All I want to say here is that Roselle did an incredible job. She remained poised and calm through the entire day. She gave kisses and love wherever she could and she worked when she needed to do so. I would not be alive today if it weren’t for Roselle. I cannot say enough about the incredible job she did. What Roselle did on 9/11 is a testimony not only to the Stern’s and the others who raised her, but also to her trainer, Todd Jurek, the entire GDB training staff, and all the people who make up the wonderful organization of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Most of all, what Roselle did that day and in fact every day she and I were together is nothing less than the strongest possible evidence I can provide of the value of teamwork and trust.
After 9/11, in fact in mid-January 2002, after Roselle and I had spent countless hours speaking to the media, and at several events including GDB’s Holiday Luncheon, and even riding on a float in the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day, Roselle and I were offered a position at Guide Dogs for the Blind to serve as the National Public Affairs Director for the organization. Over the next 6 1/2 years Roselle and I traveled hundreds of thousands of miles throughout the United States and the rest of the world speaking about trust and teamwork, guide dogs, and blindness in general in order to help people understand that the real handicap of blindness is not a lack of eyesight but a lack of proper education about blindness. Roselle took every trip with poise and confidence whether it was to Kansas or Korea. She was an incredible traveler and once even traveled from San Francisco to New Zealand, a 23.5 hour trip, without needing to go to the bathroom once. I did not fare so well.
In 2004, Roselle was diagnosed with immune mediated thrombocytopenia, a condition which caused her body to attack her blood platelets. Through medications we were able to control the disease and Roselle was able to continue guiding. As usual, she worked like a trooper and never once exhibited pain nor discomfort.
When Linnie died in 2002 Roselle lost her major tug companion. For the next four years I mainly had to take up the slack as it were. We did care for some foster dogs from GDB, and in 2003 we adopted Panama, a 12 1/2-year-old career change dog from Guide Dogs. Panama wasn’t a great tugging partner because she didn’t have the strength to keep up with Roselle. In 2006, however, when Panama died at the age of 15 we decided to become a breeder keeper for GDB. Fantasia came to live with us. She was just two years old and was quite able to give as well as she got from Roselle. Again, Roselle found an inseparable friend and made the most of it. She still swiped the occasional pair of socks, but Fantasia was her main interest. Roselle taught Fantasia how to bark every time the doorbell rang and how to beg for treats, although I must admit treat begging came natural to both dogs especially when 8:00 PM rolled around.
In February 2007 during a normal checkup we learned that some of Roselle’s kidney values were changing for the worse. It was decided that the medication regimen on which Roselle had been placed as well as the stress of guiding were the causes for her kidney value changes. Roselle retired from guide work in March of 2007. It was a sad day for all of us, but Roselle took it in stride and soon made it very clear that retirement suited her well. After retirement Roselle loved to take walks most of the time, she loved her meals, her treats, playing Battle of the Bone with Fantasia and later with my current guide dog Africa, and of course barking at the ringing of the doorbell. Roselle was the loudest barker of the bunch. I have fond memories of Roselle, Fantasia, and Africa all tugging on the same rope, all battling each other across our living room giving no care to whatever was in their way.
In 2010, Roselle began exhibiting some chronic back pain. In March of 2010, while attending and speaking at the annual convention of the American Animal Hospital Association Roselle met Doctor Robin Downing, an expert in dog pain management. Robin noticed Roselle’s pain and while I gave three consecutive workshops she spent time with Roselle. I think they got to know each other pretty well that day because right after the workshops Doctor Downing, right there on the floor in the front of the conference room, gave Roselle a back adjustment which clearly helped Roselle and made her back feel somewhat better. We immediately upon our return home took Roselle to her vet and started her on a treatment of acupuncture, some other back adjustments, and herbs which altogether mostly eliminated her chronic back pain.
Earlier this year we noticed that Roselle was beginning to have a harder time standing up on her own, although once she was standing she loved to continue her daily walks. She stopped playing tug bone with Fantasia and Africa, but she still enjoyed lying in the sun, eating, kissing everybody in sight, and barking at the doorbell. Her ability to stand on her own grew worse throughout the first half of this year.
Last week she began exhibiting some other signs of distress and pain. On Friday, June 24, 2011 she had to be taken to her vet as she had begun vomiting blood. It is suspected that somehow she had developed a stomach ulcer. Also, it was discovered that her red blood cell count had dropped significantly. Friday evening she was taken to the Pet Emergency and Specialty Center where she was well known and would receive over night care. She had spent many hours with Doctor Harb and the other staff working through her IMT issues. They had also helped her in January 2009 when she developed gastric torsion and had to undergo emergency surgery to untwist her stomach.
Yesterday, Sunday, June 26, we visited her in the evening only to see her condition continuing to deteriorate. She was in a lot of pain and discomfort. There was no one cause for her discomfort, but Doctor Bowie of the PESC felt that some of her immune mediated related conditions had returned in addition to the possible stomach ulcer. After much consultation and discussion we all came to agreement that the best thing we could do to help Roselle was to assist her in crossing the Rainbow Bridge and go to her friends Linnie and Panama. At 8:52 last evening she crossed the bridge and, I am sure, is now more comfortable and has all the doorbells she wants to bark at.
Roselle Love
How can I possibly say goodbye to a dog who is done all Roselle has done and who lived life to the fullest? How can I ever do justice to her life, work, and memory? Roselle has been one of the greatest blessings and gifts I have ever had the joy to let into my life. God surely broke the mold when she came into the world. Including Africa I have had seven guide dogs and also I have had the opportunity to see thousands of them at work. Roselle is unique without a doubt. She worked through the most trying time in our nation’s history, and she was right there unflinching for all of it. Her spirit never diminished and, in fact, grew stronger through the years after 9-11 which helps me be a better person today.
I thank God for the time Karen and I were allowed to have the wonderful creature which was Roselle with us. She touched everyone whom she met and I’m sure everyone’s path she crossed is better for knowing her. She kissed firefighters in the World Trade Center as we descended the stairs. She gave unconditional love to so many people wherever she went. She inspired us all and will continue to do so.
We are about to form the Roselle’s Dream Foundation. This has been in the works for several months. The purposes of the foundation include educating people about blindness, and as donations permit we shall assist blind children and later blind adults in obtaining some of the technologies which will assist them in learning and working in the world. Shortly the website http://www.rosellefoundation.org/ will be up and running. I hope people will honor Roselle by making donations in her memory to the Roselle’s Dream Foundation to help us in our work.
Roselle, your memory will always be with us and I know your spirit will continue to touch us all. I know you’re watching and you’re nearby us. Help us all to be better people and dogs, but most of all be yourself wherever you are. I hope you’re feeling better now. You have set a high bar of love for all of us. Be at peace and know that we shall try to love each other as much as you loved each of us on this earth.
God bless you all,
Mike Hingson
News Update – SPCA Keynote Speech
April 13, 2010 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
Blind World Trade Center Survivor to Address SPCA
Human-Animal Bond and Life-Saving Teamwork
On April 16, 2010 Michael Hingson will speak at a formal dinner and fund raiser on behalf of the Concord-Merrimack SPCA in Concord New Hampshire. “It was teamwork which permitted me and my guide dog Roselle to work together to escape from the terrorist attacks on 9-11, 2001,” states Michael Hingson, president of The Michael Hingson Group. “My guide dog and I each have a job to do which together permits us to travel safely.”
“Most people take having a pet for granted when, in fact, animals have at least as much to teach us as we have to teach them. Roselle’s and my story is living proof of the interdependent relationship which can be enjoyed by every pet owner. I hope to inspire the Concord-Merrimack SPCA donors to increase support for the local shelter and to work to become closer to their own pets.”
Michael and Roselle’s teamwork saved not only their own lives, but the lives of the others whom they led to safety the morning of September 11, 2001. Michael Hingson was working in his office on the 78th floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center when the building was struck by the first plane. At the time, Hingson was the Regional Sales Manager for Quantum Corporation, a Fortune 500 computer firm. His guide dog Roselle received recognition as a true hero.
Michael Hingson was selected to address SPCA supporters to bring awareness of the importance of the human-animal bond, and to enhance appreciation of the unsung “heroes” that enrich our lives every day. While Michael is in Concord New Hampshire, he will be available for media interviews.
Hingson is an internationally recognized public speaker and authority on teamwork and team building. His company, The Michael Hingson Group, INC., provides diversity training to corporations, as well as national distribution for the KNFB Reader Mobile, the only fully portable device which permit blind persons to read any printed material anywhere. More information about Michael Hingson is available at www.michaelhingson.com. Michael can be reached at info@michaelhingson.com or by phone at (415) 827-4084.
“Coming Home” – Day 8
November 22, 2008 by Mike Hingson · 2 Comments
November 20, 2008, 4:30 PM
Well here we are day 8, the final day of in-home training. Time sure flies! It’s a sad day, and it’s a happy day. It’s a sad time because it will be the end of our time together with Todd. Todd lived up to his reputation of being the best. As I said before I have never trained with Todd although he was the one who trained Roselle. I could not have asked for a better person to help Africa and I begin our journey together.
On the other hand, it is a happy day because of all that Todd has done to prepare Africa and because of all the work that Todd, Africa, and I have had the pleasure of accomplishing together over the past 8 days. Todd has helped lay a great foundation which will allow Africa and me to have many great adventures and wonderful travel experiences for many years to come.
You guessed it, Todd arrived promptly at 9 AM to begin this last training day. Africa was so excited to see him that I decided it would be a good idea to do a little bit of obedience work to refocus her before we left the house. I wrote in previous entries about the way obedience exercises can be used to regain a guide dog’s focus.
After obedience we left the house and headed into San Francisco and the Embarcadero area. We arrived near the Embarcadero at around 10 AM.
I should take a moment and explain what the Embarcadero is. It is a large complex of four sizable buildings which make up one of San Francisco’s premier shopping centers and office complexes. There is also a Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Embarcadero Center and there are several other major hotels in the general vicinity. In all, the Embarcadero Center and the surrounding area is quite a bustling place.
We parked a few blocks away from the Embarcadero so we can get in a nice walk and a train ride before going to the center itself. After leaving our van we walked about a block and then took a flight of stairs down into an open park. We decided to do some obedience exercises in the park to see how Africa would react around the hundreds of pigeons who made that area their home, at least during the day. Every so often Africa took a brief look at the pigeons but was not bothered by them at all. They did not prove to be any kind of distraction during her obedience work nor at any other time during the day.
I forgot to mention that before leaving the van I helped Africa on with her booties. Since we would be doing some escalator work that day the booties were called for. Africa seem to do a little better today with the booties although I have never felt that they really bothered her.
After leaving the park we walked another few blocks and finally reached the nearest Muni station where we planned to catch the subway. After going on a nice long escalator and walking through the turnstiles we waited for the train to arrive. While waiting Todd showed me how Africa had been trained to avoid the drop offs on subway platforms. I was aware of this, but I appreciated the reminder. Also it is good to see how much more subway platform training has improved.
The idea here is to make sure that when on a subway platform the blind handler is not put in danger of falling off the platform and onto the subway tracks. The student guide dogs are shown the edges of the subway platform and they are encouraged to look down onto the tracks to see how far they and their handlers would fall if they remain too close. The training of the dogs includes the use of clickers and food rewards to make sure that the dogs stay far away from the edges. Now the training goes so far that when a blind handler commands their dog to go forward and in so moving they might come close to or walk off the edge of the subway platform the dog physically turns the team away from the platform at least two or 3 feet before the team gets to the edge. When possible the dog will turn so that it is between the blind person and the platform. Of course, if there is a train in the station and the handler tells the dog to go forward toward the edge of the platform the dog will do so by going to the nearest door which would lead onto a train car. A dog properly trained will even distinguish between doors into the car and the space where two cars are coupled together. In all this training is quite extensive and is certainly gotten better over the years. I think that this is in part because more and more blind people are out in the workforce or are out traveling about cities and other areas where subways and trains are present.
After the train arrived and we boarded we took a short ride, (probably about six blocks), and then disembarked for our walk back to the Embarcadero Center. What we in fact did was traveled from one side of the Embarcadero Center to the other. This would make it possible for us to walk through the Embarcadero before returning to our van.
After leaving the train station and going up another long escalator we traveled two or three blocks before reaching the Embarcadero Center proper. We entered the center by going through a revolving door. Yes, the dogs are trained to do that. The easiest way to go through revolving doors is to drop the harness handle, heal the dog on the right side of the handler, and then walked together through the turning door. This keeps the dog on the inside of the turn as we go through the door and thus keeps it safer and less likely to have any part of it caught in the door. In effect, the handler is somewhat between the dog and the revolving door. There are some large revolving doors, such as the one at Portland airport, that permit the dog and handler to walk without the use of any special techniques. There was also a door like that at the Marriott World Trade Center. That revolving door was so large that it actually had a small flower gardens mounted to the insides of the doors so that as people were entering and leaving they got a nice view of some flowers to brighten their day.
After entering Embarcadero 1 we decided to locate a Mexican restaurant called Chevys for lunch. Chevys was located on the third floor. To justify the use of Africa’s booties we used escalators to get up to the restaurant. I was curious to see how Africa would do with her booties during the down time of our lunch period. I wanted to learn if she would get bored and try to take them off or whether she would even care. I was pleased to see that she left him alone and just decided to take a nap. Meanwhile, Todd and I had some nice fragrant quesadillas which Africa ignored. Good for her!
By the time lunch was over it was about a 1:45. We walked back to the van, going through the pigeon park on our way, and made it back to our vehicle by around 2:30 PM. Since Africa had worn her booties all day I took them off before we left San Francisco. We arrived back in Novato a little after 3 PM. In all it was another great training Day. It was a perfect end to our training and to our work with Todd.
I cannot end the discussion of this part of Africa’s and my adventures together without once again acknowledging Todd Jurek and the wonderful job he did with it for us and that he does every day. He is a master trainer who deserves the high accolades and great reputation that he has. I saw it with Roselle and I saw it again with Africa except that this time I got to be a part of the training process with Todd. Todd deserves and has my highest praise. I must say that he is not alone, however. I have found that all of the trainers at Guide Dogs for the Blind are excellent and much attention is paid in the training department to ensuring that they all have good people skills. They are great teachers.I urged anyone who wants a guide dog to consider Guide Dogs for the Blind as the school they attend. With leaders such as Todd Jurek, Adam Wasco, and Terry Barrett you can’t go wrong.
Now, our training is over. However the adventure has just begun. I will write again soon about Africa’s and my first weeks together. I’m sure the time will pass quickly and it won’t be long until December 4 and we fly to Minneapolis for a speaking engagement. This will be Africa’s first time on an airplane. Check back again soon for our next installment.
“Independence Day” – Day 7
November 21, 2008 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
November 19, 2008, 9:09 PM
Thus far my work and bonding with Africa have been progressing well. Already we have had many adventures. Yesterday Todd informed me that today our first route was to be the infamous “independent route”. It is a route that is considered “independent” because the trainer does not walk with the student and dog. Usually, the student is told their starting location and then, when dropped off, they are asked to make their way to the Guide Dog lounge.
The route is not overly challenging to anyone who has good mobility skills. In a training center where blind people are learning to walk as blind people they will travel many independent routes including some where no instructor is observing them. These are true independent routes where blind people are expected to gain confidence in their own ability to travel from place to place. The GDB independent route is designed to get the dog used to walking without their former trainer nearby. The route can be a bit of a test of a blind person’s orientation and mobility skills. However, GDB is not really providing orientation and mobility training so it is expected that blind students are already capable of walking routes independently especially one of the difficulty of the kind Africa and I traveled.
Once again Todd arrived at 9 sharp. After discussing Africa’s adjustment and behavior from last evening, (no problems), off we went to downtown San Rafael and our walk. Todd dropped me off at third and Lootens St. it was my job to get to the GDB downtown lounge while Todd did his best to stay out of Africa’s sight. To explain further, at this point in our training Todd is still a security blanket for Africa. She knows him better than me. In a sense she relies on having him around and although I am the one giving her commands she has not totally made the transition of loyalty from Todd to me. During our first six days of training Africa would look around from time to time to see if Todd was close by. Today would be something different as Todd would not be in sight, or at least that was the theory.
To get from third and Lootens to the lounge all I had to do was to walk up Lootens to 4th St and then to walk up 4th St until I got to the lounge which was located between E. and F. I brought along my BrailleNote Sendero GPS system in order to do some experimentation toward developing some possible GPS training for GDB.
Before starting out I notified Todd that I would be stopping at RadioShack along the way. RadioShack is located between C. and D. streets and thus it was right on my way to the lounge. With all the preliminaries out of the way I embarked on this latest adventure. Of course, on principle, I had programmed the route into the GPS system so I allowed it to tell us where we were and how to get where we needed to go. I even had it tell me when we got close to the RadioShack.
The trip went well. When I was in the vicinity of RadioShack I asked a passerby to help me locate the specific door. As often happens in such cases the person I asked said “I don’t know where that is”. When asking the question I indicated that I knew it was close by, but as usual, people don’t seem to pay attention to that part of my question. I informed the person again at RadioShack should be within just a few feet and finally the person looked around and, what a surprise, saw the store, one door away.
Anyway, I went into RadioShack and purchased a small speaker which I needed. I then left the store and continued on my way to the lounge. As I walk toward D. street Africa began looking around for Todd. She had done a little of this during the first part of our walk, but now she became more intense about it. With some encouragement and praise I refocused her. We continued to walk past a D. toward E. Street. Again, Africa looked around for Todd a bit. Todd informed me later that he had a real hard time keeping completely out of sight and that Africa spotted him more than once. I figured as much. It is almost like a game of cat and mouse between Africa and Todd. However, Africa needed to learn that Todd was not the boss and that she had to focus on my commands. She really did a pretty good job. She is a very bright dog and I think she got the message.
After crossing E. Street we continued on to the lounge without incident. I don’t think Africa looked around for Todd once on that final block. When I got to the lounge I discovered that there was a GDB van there with some trainers and some applicants engaged in a multi-day assessment. One of the wonderful programs offered by GDB is a process by which some potential students can come to GDB for a three day assessment of whether or not they would be good candidates for using a guide dog. Most people only go through a home interview and a telephone interview. Some people have more challenges which require a more in-depth assessment on both sides. These people come to GDB and spent some time working with a guide dog as well as doing Juno work to see how well a guide dog will fit their needs and lifestyle. I think there were four students at the lounge when we arrived.
About a minute after I arrived at the lounge Todd appeared. He was very pleased with the walk and Africa’s behavior, Africa searching for him notwithstanding. The important thing was that Africa re-focused when I asked her to do so. Todd and I both felt the walk was good, Africa’s guiding was good, and that we were progressing well.
We decided to walk back down 4th St and find a place to have lunch. Eventually we settled on The Broken Drum, a microbrewery between and B streets. Although a bit noisy, the place wasn’t too bad. It was a little bit of a different experience for Africa, which is why we decided to stop there. She was not bothered by the noise and distractions at all, no surprise to me.
After lunch we returned to the van and traveled to GDB for a consultation with the veterinarian staff. Every student has a vet consult to learn about the medical history of their guide.
All of the reports on Africa were very good ones. The only interesting thing that I learned was that Africa has swallowed a couple of socks in her lifetime. No surgery was required to remove them from her system, however. Meeting with the vet staff is always good because we learned much about our dog’s behavior and habits from the puppy reports they share with us. Forewarned is forearmed. Now I know that Africa is a potential scrounger. And she looks so innocent too!
After the vet consult we returned home and called it a day. I must say that if all of our training progress sounds too positive and too good to be true it isn’t. Sometimes things go extremely well and sometimes they do not. Sometimes progress depends on how the student reacts to unexpected behaviors of the dog. As I said before this is as much a training time for the student as it is for the dog. It’s a time to sharpen our skills and to be reminded of how to encourage the best behaviors out of our new guides. I’m very pleased that training is going so well with Africa.
I remember a time with my third dog, Klondike, when he showed a fear reaction to walking in downtown San Francisco. It took a lot of work to encourage him to do his job. We worked through the problems and then Klondike guided for 10 years. For my part, I learned a lot from the challenges I faced with Klondike during training. Terry Barrett, now GDB Director of Training, Admissions, and Graduate Services, was the training supervisor during my class with Klondike. I will never forget Terry’s encouragement and wisdom. His ideas and suggestions stay with me always and always come to mind whenever I faced a training challenge. It is good not to have major difficulties at this point in our training, but I know that if they occur GDB and I have the tools to surmount them.
Tomorrow is our last day of training! Todd suggests that we go back into San Francisco where we can ride the subway, called the Muni, and then walk around Embarcadero Center. It sounds like a pretty full day with lots of distractions and lots of good guide exercise for Africa and me. Come back tomorrow to read the results.
“Traffic” – Day 6
November 20, 2008 by Mike Hingson · 1 Comment
Tuesday , November 18, 2008, 7:54 PM
Today was one of the most extremely informative, if not most fun, times during the training and formation of a guide dog team. Today we did traffic checks.
One of the most important jobs a guide dog must perform is watching for traffic whether it is moving, standing still waiting for a light to change, or whether an individual car might be blocking our path. Any pedestrian should always be alert to the traffic around them. For those of us who choose to use a guide dog the dog can help us a great deal to address the issues regarding traffic. Here are a few scenarios.
1. Suppose you are walking down a sidewalk and suddenly encounter a car sitting in a driveway with the engine running. How do you determine what to do next?
2. As you’re walking down a sidewalk you come to a driveway or small side street. As you begin to cross suddenly a car races around a corner in front of you or shoots in front of you from the driveway or side street. Do you have time to react? What do you do?
3. You are crossing an intersection or driveway and hear a car coming toward you from one side or the other. You are walking appropriately, but the car doesn’t slow down. The driver is timing his or her street crossing to go just behind you. (Make no mistake drivers do that.) Again, do you have time to react? What do you do?
4. Now, how do you handle any of the above scenarios if the vehicle happens to be a quiet or hybrid car?
These are only a few of the situations that any pedestrian will encounter while walking anywhere around cars. Blind people whether they use dogs or canes have to answer these questions just like anyone else. We use our hearing and strive to be at least as aware as other pedestrians of what is around us.
The hybrid question is a very serious one for those of us who happen to be blind. It is our belief that hybrid vehicles should make a sound that will allow them to be monitored by blind pedestrians, cyclists, and others who may not be looking directly at a hybrid vehicle when it is near them.
No matter what the circumstances both dog and cane users are able to walk on our streets and sidewalks successfully and competently. Although I travel well with either a cane or a guide dog I prefer the guide dog especially when it comes to traffic issues. “Traffic checks” are the processes used by guide dog instructors to teach dogs how to handle any traffic scenario they might encounter including hybrid cars. Schools such as Guide Dogs for the Blind that have been using traffic checks extensively for years have found that hybrid cars, although a challenge, are not really harder for the dogs than standard vehicles. I’m sure instructors would agree that a little more vigilance is in order and so they work to make sure that their guide dog charges watch as best they can. It is still a team effort when dealing with traffic checks. The guide dog user must let the dog do its job, but it is still important for the user to be aware of what is going on around them. Read on and you’ll see how Africa and I handled a variety of different traffic scenarios today.
Guess what, Todd arrived at 9 a.m. sharp. It was off to San Rafael for our date with Adam Wasco and the GDB hybrid car. At 9:45 we were at the Guide Dogs lounge and ready to go. We turned right out of the lounge on 4th St heading toward F Street with E street behind us. We had walked no more than a few feet when we encountered a car sitting in the driveway blocking our path. Of course, it was that crazy driver Adam Wasco. Africa stopped a few feet away from the car just as she was supposed to do. I hopped her up to the car so that I could see in fact that it was a vehicle blocking our way. She got lots of praise for stopping a few feet before we reached the car. The reason for stopping early is that we would not know the intent of the driver if in fact a driver was in the car at all. If she went right up to the car before stopping and the vehicle began to move we might be clipped or worse.
After determining that the car was stationary and not planning to move in the next few moments I commanded Africa to go forward and we went around the car and on our merry way. After reaching F Street and crossing it, now headed toward G. We had walked no more than a few feet when suddenly out of a driveway shot a car right in front of us. Africa stopped and moved back quickly pulling me with her. This again is exactly as what she is supposed to do. Lots of praise and food rewards were the order of the day. It is important not only to tell Africa that she was doing a good job but to heighten her sense of desire to be especially vigilant concerning traffic. There’s nothing like a good food reward to help make this possible. Madman Wasco shot out of the driveway and turned right and went on his hopefully not so merry way. Where is a cop when you need one?
We reached G where we prepared to cross. Just as we started across, you guessed it, here came our ever vigilant Adam to race across in front of us forcing Africa and me to move back. We finally made it across G and went down toward H.
For the rest of the route which took us up to H, over to 5th, and then back down to and across F Street Adam performed every kind of scenario imaginable to cause Africa to react appropriately to keep us safe from his vehicle. Finally we turned right on F and headed back down to 4th St. where we turned left and returned to the lounge. What was most noticeable about Africa’s behavior was that she did a good job of looking around her for cars. On many occasions, she saw Adam his vehicle long before I heard it and began to react. Since Africa’s job is to react to conditions around her it is my responsibility to let her do her job and follow her if she feels that we are in danger or that there is a problem. The result during this walk was that we stayed well away from danger. Africa kept us safe.
I must stop and make one comment here about dogs versus canes. Could a cane traveler do the same things that I was able to do with Africa? The answer is yes. I am not sure that in some of the situations we faced, I, as a cane traveler would have been able to react quite as quickly or at least as far in advance as I was able to do with Africa. It is all a matter of me being aware as much as possible of what is happening around me. The problem is heightened, as I said earlier, by the concept of hybrid cars. If I can’t hear them I can’t react to them.
I don’t want to leave the subject of traffic checks without acknowledging Adam Wasco for his part in our training. Adam is a great guy with a wonderful sense of humor which brings out the best in us all. He is fun to kid since he gives is good as he gets. He is a longtime veteran of the Training Department at Guide Dogs for the Blind. He knows his job and does it well. He is one of the best trainers I know second only, of course, to Todd. The fact that he is able to drive a vehicle so well and in such a safe manner that he is able to perform the traffic checks we required is a testimony to his skill. I very much appreciate his efforts in helping me and all those who receive guidedogs from Guide Dogs for the Blind.
After we returned to the lounge and sent Adam off on his evil way, Todd and I decided to further Africa’s training by teaching her to target traffic light poles in general and the buttons on these poles in specific. It is very helpful if a guide dog can point out the location of the button to change the traffic signal so that the user doesn’t have to spend a long time hunting for the pole. This is best accomplished with the use of the clicker.
We left the lounge and went to the corner of C and 5th St. which is frequently used during guide dog class training to accomplish the training we had in mind. The process is very similar to that which we used in teaching Africa to find the elevator. First, I would click and reward Africa every time she found my hand which was resting on the pole right below the button. Over a short time we moved back longer distances and I rewarded Africa every time she found the pole first with a click than with food. Again, within about five minutes she was targeting the button on the pole like a pro. We will have to do this more than once, I’m sure. However, we laid the foundation and I’m sure Africa will pick up the new technique in no time.
We returned to the lounge and headed off to Novato for a wonderful Chinese lunch and a short walk around downtown before heading back home. We accomplished a lot today both with traffic checks and with the new light pole training. It was a busy day for Africa and I’m sure a somewhat stressful one although she handled it well. Africa and I spent the rest of the day playing ball, being silly and in general bonding. She’s doing well around the house both with Roselle and Sherlock, the strange cat. Africa and my wife, Karen, seem also to be bonding well. Africa has no fear of the wheelchair and I think if given the chance would love to take a ride on Karen’s lap. That isn’t going to happen, however.
Tomorrow we get to take an independent route where Todd will not be walking right behind us. This will be Africa’s first time of walking without Todd there as her security blanket. She is very used to Todd and I think relies on having him around. It’s time to start breaking that tether. Come back tomorrow to see what happens.
