810-Lancasler Farming, Saturday, January 2, 1999 ''mg Kids Pledge Puppies So Others Can See Julie Noll of Perry County is raising a yellow lab named Iman. GAIL STROCK Mifflin Co. Correspondent MIFFLINTOWN (Juniata Co.) Every 4-Her knows about pledging his or her head, heart, hands and health. But members of the Future Loving Eyes 4-H Club take their service even fur ther. They pledge their puppies so that others can “see.” The Future Loving Eyes puppy club includes 10 puppies being raised by about 30 people from 6 counties. The club mem bers and their families met last week at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Mifflintown for their annual Christmas and Awards Banquet. “I am so proud of what the kids have done,” says club leader Kathy Queitzsch. “The club has been in exis- Jo-Arm Brooks (left) and the Future Loving Eyes Puppy Club thank Kathy Oueitzsch for her leadership. The cake is decorated with Dalmations. Jean Swartz and Wendy Freet will conduct the club as Kathy retires by “hanging up her lead.” Kathy received a Best Friend Award pin from The Seeing Eye for her dedication to the program. tence for 4-1/2 years and has raised more than 40 puppies.” The club began when Kathy, as Juniata County’s 4-H Extension agent, asked local resident Jo-Anne Brooks to speak at a 4-H banquet about raising seeing eye puppies. Jo- Anne was a member of the orig inal Puppies With A Purpose club in Lancaster County. Since then, Jo-Anne has raised 16 see ing eye puppies, one puppy at a time. “This is my 16th dog,” Jo- Anne says looking at a dog tak ing a snooze under the table. “Her name is K.C.” An occasional Yip! was one of the few reminders that there were dogs at this banquet. Family members took turns holding the end of the leash throughout the evening because Korner* /•* *• » The Future Loving Eyes 4-H seeing eye puppy club has a purpose beyond pet ting puppies. The members are so service oriented, they won the Community Service Award at the Juniata County Leader Recognition Banquet in November. puppies will be puppies and because the members were * taught to handle these pups dif ferently than they would a pet. “The whole family has to agree to follow the rules before getting a seeing eye puppy,” Kathy explains. “There is a whole notebook of instructions from The Seeing Eye the puppy must be on a leash when outside; it must sleep on the floor beside the bed of the 4-H member; the dog is NOT taught to heel because it will be trained to pull; and members must con sistently use certain commands such as sit down, rest (stay), come and sit, stand, forward, no, off, and quiet.” Just as puppies need to learn these rules, 4-H members and their families must clearly understand two important con cepts before getting their own puppy—the puppy will never be theirs, and the puppy is destined for a very speical purpose—to help a blind person gain inde pendence, confidence, and digni ty Because of health reasons or temperament problems, only about 70 to 75 percent of the puppies from volunteer families ever become guide dogs. After spending 16 to 18 months with a volunteer family, puppies return to the Seeing Eye school in New Jersey for formal dog guide training. “Families can see their dog after formal training,” Kathy explains. “The Seeing Eye invites them to New Jersey for a Town Walk. Families can watch their puppies guide an instruc tor through town showing all they have learned the previous four months. Families can see but not approach. It’s a bitter sweet moment. You can’t touch the dog you once kept, but you’re so proud of them.” # * * i K> In this puppy relay race, both the person and the puppy must sit before the next pair are allowed to run. Volunteer Seeing Eye families must expose puppies to new experi ences such as line dancing. Seeing Eye Puppy Facts • The Seeing Eye is the oldest dog guide school in North America. • The Seeing Eye puppies live with volunteer families in east ern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. • Volunteer families expose their puppies to a wide variety of daily experiences such as shopping in stores, walking among strangers, and crossing busy streets. • The Seeing Eye pays for all veterinary bills and puppy food. • Pupies spend about 18 months with their volunteer families. • Puppies train at The Seeing Eye for four months before being matched with a blind person. • The blind person and his or her dog train together for 20 to 27 days. • Guide dogs “retire” after 10 years of service. / * te'> "ir
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