Guiding the guide puppies

Love 'em and leave 'em -- that's the tale of Dakota, an 18-month old "goldadore" who is a puppy in training in the Southeastern Guide Dogs program. Dakota (a mixed golden retriever and Labrador retriever) has been in residence at the Treasure Beach home of Charlie and Taunnie Novak since the dog was 9 weeks old and will soon leave the Novaks to go to K-9 college at the Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. training center in Palmetto.

It is the only guide dog school in the southeastern United States.

The Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. is an internationally recognized not-for-profit organization that relies on private contributions and volunteers to fulfill its purpose of providing the "gift of mobility" to blind persons with the aide of trained dogs. The facility maintains its own breeding program.

Its primary breed is the Labrador retriever. It also includes in its breeds golden retriever, Australian shepherd, smooth coat collie, Hungarian Vizsla and German shepherd. The breeds are selected for their temperament, friendliness, physical characteristics and intelligence. All dogs used in the training are either neutered or spayed.The Novaks bred and showed dogs for more than 20 years. In fact, Taunnie was a show judge. They gave up the show dog business in 1985 but never lost their love of dogs. A few years ago the Novaks were on a plane to Baltimore and ran across an article in the airline's magazine about the Southeastern Guide Dogs program. After investigating the requirements as a puppy raiser, they began attending the required training meetings and soon after had their first puppy.

Being a puppy raiser in the program has its rewards and its challenges. Taunnie is the official trainer since the dogs are expected to become one-on-one companions. Dakota is the third puppy Taunnie has raised in the program and as such will soon be the third mature puppy to leave the household.

About the Southeastern Guide Dogs and program:

Puppies are placed with puppy raisers at nine weeks of age and begin basic training.

At approximately 20 months they return to the Palmetto site for additional training where they learn to execute 40 commands. This takes from four to six months.

Once trained they are paired with their selected blind companion where they co-train for 26 days at the Palmetto campus.

The guide dogs usually continue to work for about eight years. As they slow down and their response is not as sharp as it should be, the dogs are retired--usually placed with a family that does not require guide services.

Not everyone is in a position to raise a puppy and provide the required preliminary training. Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. offer a sponsorship program. A donation of $1,750 covers the cost of medical care, transportation and staff visits while the pup is in its basic training adoptive home.
St. Augustine resident Ursula O'Connor recently sponsored her second puppy by handing over a check payable to the Southeastern Guide Dogs, Inc. to Taunnie Novak Feb. 26. With that sponsorship, O'Connor gets to name her sponsored pup and get updates on its progress.

To learn more


Call Southeastern Guide Dogs area coordinator, Thresa Shaver at (904) 266-4011 or Taunnie Novak at 471-2579. If you'd like to pledge to the Walk-a-Thon on Taunnie's behalf, you may send checks made payable to Southeastern Guide Dogs, and mail to: Taunnie Novak, 243 Pizarro Road, St. Augustine, FL 32080.

Additional information is available online at: www.guidedogs.org.

While in the household, Dakota has learned basic skills and responds to commands like find the stairs, find the door, find the chair, find the elevator, find the car, find the sidewalk, left, right and forward. To accomplish the training, Dakota goes on daily family outings --"he goes everywhere that we go," Taunnie said, including to grocery and department stores, to church, even to the movies. "We took him to the I-Max movie at World Golf Village last week," Charlie said. "Dakota was so entranced with the big screen. He seemed to really enjoy it."

While training, the dogs are given the same privileges as fully trained guide dogs in public establishments.

When Dakota's not in training, he's a regular playful puppy, but put on his blue vest, the dog becomes "another person" and is ready to work. The vest is the preliminary step to more formal training when harnesses are used and the mission then becomes "Love 'em and lead 'em."

Dakota will go on to K-9 college in Palmetto in May for four to six months of advanced training. Then he will meet his matched blind person. There they will co-exist and train for approximately 26 days. The new owner will learn to feed and care for Dakota and be co-trained in the commands. The dog will also be trained to develop the skill of "intelligent disobedience," to disobey commands that would put the guide dog team in danger.

Each guide dog "team" (one dog, one student) costs up to $30,000 to train and graduate. Southeastern raises almost $3 million annually through gifts from individuals, foundations, service clubs, bequests and fund-raising events.

The Novaks participated in the programs 19th Annual Walk-a-Thon on March 5 in Palmetto. Last year Taunnie collected more than $2,300 in pledges for the program. This year's pledge total was more than $2,600.

While the puppy raisers receive no payment or reimbursement for expenses in raising the dogs, the Novaks are gratified with their experience, except when it's time to say goodbye.

"I'm not looking forward to that," Taunnie said as she accepted a snuggle from Dakota. "It gets harder and harder to say goodbye," Taunnie said. "It's like giving away one of our children."

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