814-Lan caster Farmiag, Saturday, March 21,1987
Franklin Courtly 4-H Families Devote Time,
Love To Raising Seeing
BY BONNIE BRECHBILL
Franklin Co. Correspondent
CHAMBERSBURG—Danny La-
Bonte, a slight, soft-spoken 13 year
old, is developing a warm
relationship with Irene, a four
month-old black Labrador puppy
he has had for six weeks. Every
day after school, he plays with
Irene and takes her for walks. At
night, she sleeps on plastic on the
floor beside his bed, attached to the
bed by a leash. The first few nights
Irene spent in the Laßonte home,
Danny slept on the floor next to
her.
In January 1988, Danny will give
Irene away. After that, he will see
her only once more in her lifetime.
Danny, a first-year 4-Her, and
the six other members of the
Seeing Eye Club of Franklin
County are raising puppies for The
Seeing Eye, Inc. of Morristown,
NJ. Club members get the puppies
from Morristown at eight weeks of
age and return them after 11
months. Those 11 months are filled
with firm, loving training.
Danny’s mother, Marsha
Laßonte of Shippensburg, thinks
the Seeing Eye project is much
more work than other 4-H projects.
“You don’t leave the animal
outside in a pen,” she noted. “You
interact with it all the time.”
The Seeing Eye project, even
more than most 4-H projects, is a
family affair. A mother who ob
jects to a dog in her child’s room or
under her kitchen table would be a
big obstacle to a 4-Her who wished
to become involved.
Besides performing the usual
tasks of feeding and walking the
dog, the 4-Hers must keep the dog
as their constant companion to
accustom it to the type of
relationship it will have with its
blind master.
The dog must he obediently
under the table at mealtimes. No
one is permitted to give the dog
table scraps. The dog is also not
allowed to have food treats for
good behavior, as all rewards must
be verbal.
Whenever the dog is outside,
someone must be with it. In short,
the whole family—not just the 4-H
-er must devote themselves to
making an obedient, well
mannered dog out of a lively
puppy. Their only reward is
knowing how much that dog will
mean to the blind person who
receives it.
Danny’s family has always had
dogs and cats, but was “out of
practice on puppies,” according to
Mrs. Laßonte. “I had forgotten
nts of the Franklin County Nursing Home enjoy an opportunity to make friends
with a guide dog puppy.
about the garbage chewing,” she
said. “It’s going to be hard for
Danny to give her up, though.”
Club leader Donna Boyd and
daughter Kelly know all about
giving up a dog. “We cried for
three weeks after we returned the
first one,” Donna said. “This time
we’ll be better prepared.” Their
110 pound German shepherd,
Vinnie, returned to Morristown
March 17. They picked up a black
Labrador puppy the same day.
For the 11 months that 4-Hers
are “foster parents” to the pup
pies, they must bring them to
monthly training sessions to
practice commands the dog must
know to assist a blind person. The
club also goes on outings to
bowling alleys, nursing homes and
shopping malls, to accustom the
dogs to situations they will en
counter as guide dogs.
Donna Boyd leads the training
sessions and gives the 4-H handlers
useful tips she has learned while
helping Kelly raise two guide dog
puppies.
When the dogs and kids arrive
for a training session, some from
as far away as Hagerstown, Md.
and Fulton County, Pa., the
puppies greet each other en
thusiastically. “Let them play a
little, but don’t let them get nasty,”
Boyd advised.
A recent training session began
with the handlers and their puppies
forming a circle. For the benefit of
the first-timers in the grpup, Boyd
gave detailed instructions on how
the puppy must be handled. “The
dog works on your left side,” she
said. “Take the leash in your left
hand and coil the extra in your
right hand. Don’t wrap it around
your hand. Use the dog’s name
first, then give the command. Be
sure you start out walking on your
left foot.”
Six dogs received the command
“Forward.” Some, such as Atlas,
handled by Rhonda Garlmg, 16, of
Chambersburg, circled ef
fortlessly. Other, younger dogs
romped under their masters’ feet
and tried to drag, rather than lead,
them around the circle.
When the dogs are commanded
to stop and sit, Boyd told the
handlers, “Give your dog words of
encouragement when he does
something right. Give commands
in a firm, low-pitched voice, but
when you praise him, do it in a
high-pitched voice. This will help
him leam the difference.”
Rhonda and Atlas demonstrated
a figure eight maneuver. Atlas, a 6
month old golden Labrador, is her
Eye Pups
third Seeing Eye puppy.
Rhonda recently visited her
second Seeing Eye puppy, Dora, in
Morristown.
Dora, like all Seeing Eye puppies
raised by 4-Hers, returned to
Morristown training center at the
age of one year. She was given a
physical, spayed, and allowed a
month to adjust to the kennels. She
then worked with a sighted trainer
every day for three months, in any
weather. It was during this
training period that Rhonda was
allowed to see Dora. She followed
the dog and trainer around the
streets of Morristown and watched
as Dora learned various
techniques she will need to assist a
blind person.
One important lesson a Seeing
Eye dog must learn is when to
intelligently disobey a command
his master gives. For example, the
dog must disobey the command
forward if obeying it would put his
master in danger from an ap
proaching car or an obstruction on
the sidewalk.
When the three months of in
tensive training are up, Dora will
be placed with a blind person and
undergo more training with him or
her. Rhonda will then be sent a
picture and letter telling her where
Dora will live. She will never be
permitted to see Dora again after
the dog is given to the blind
master. “That would be too
emotionally difficult for the dog,”
Rhonda explained.
The Seeing Eye, Inc. covers the
costs of raising the puppies, who
have been bred for intelligence,
size and temperament. When the 4-
Hers get the dogs in Morristown,
they receive a leash, collar and
brush for the dog, along with a
training manual. The Seeing Eye
reimburses the family for the dog’s
food. Local veterinarians who
perform the required check-ups on
the dog may send their bills
directly to The Seeing Eye.
Ninety-five percent of the
puppies raised by 4-Hers pass The
Seeing Eye’s physical and are
accepted into the training
program. The few that are
rejected are offered back to the 4-
Her who raised them. If the 4-Her
is unable to take the dog, it is given
a physical to determine if it
qualifies for police or narcotics
work. Many of the rejected dogs
pass that physical and enter the
field of law enforcement.
A common reason for rejection
by The Seeing Eye is carsickness,
an obviously undesirable trait for a
dog who must accompany his blind
Danny Laßonte, left, and 11-week-old Irene, compare notes
with Chris Richards and Keena. Both dogs are black
Kelly Boyd is working to train Vinnie, her 11-month-old
German Shepherd.
owner everywhere.
Tory, an 8-month-old German
Shepherd being raised by Luke
Sanders of Fulton County, was
often carsick on the hour-long
drive over the mountains to
Chambersburg for the monthly
meetings. However, frequent car
trips with the Sanders family have
gradually accustomed Tory to the
motion of the car, and Luke is
confident that she will pass her
physical and be admitted to the
training program.
The Seeing Eye project benefits
not only the blind persons the
puppies will eventually serve, but
also the 4-Hers who raise them.
The kids, who all seem devoted to
their charges, learn day-in, day
out responsibility for another
living creature.
A bonus of participating in the
Skinner Wins Regional FFA Atvard
MIDDLEBURG James Mark
Skinner, son of James Skinner,
East Orange, N.J., and Georgiann
Skinner, Mt. Pleasant Mills, was
recently awarded the Nor
theastern Region Production
Credit Award for outstanding
record keeping. The award, a $lOO
U.S. Savings Bond, is sponsored by
the Production Credit Association.
Mark, a junior at Middleburg
High School, qualified for the
award by winning a gold medal in
the recent FFA Pennsylvania
Record Book Contest.
Mark won in the over 6 en
terprise category. His FFA
Seeing Eye Club is learning to
speak in public. During a recent
demonstration at the Franklin
County Nursing Home, several of
the club members gave talks about
the history of The Seeing Eye, the
training the dog will receive after
it returns to Morristown, and
experiences they have had with
their dogs. The group also
demonstrated the dogs’ ability to
obey commands.
While most of the handlers are 4-
Hers, 4-H membership is not a
requirement for obtaining a Seeing
Eye puppy. At least one adult is
raising a puppy, and more are
welcome.
More information and an ap
plication may be obtained by
calling Donna Boyd at 264-9192 or
Bob Kessler at the Franklin
County Extension office, 263-9226.
projects include beef finishing,
dairy cow, dairy heifer, market
lamb, com for grain, com for
silage, alfalfa hay, mixed hay, rye,
wheat, and oats. Mark was
November Student of the Month at
Middleburg High. School and was
named SUN Area Star Farmer.
The Regional Production Credit
Area includes the counties of
Bradford, Juniata, Montour,
Northumberland, Snyder, Mifflin,
Union and Lycoming, Clinton,
Columbia, Lackawana, Luzerne,
Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne and
Wyoming.