Krystle Goodman ’03 and her roommates raise a guide dog on campus.

by Jay Wrolstad

Although he wasn’t enrolled as a tuition-paying student, Dave nonetheless got a valuable education at Ithaca College.

He doesn’t have a last name because Dave is a dog --- an amiable, tail-wagging, black Labrador retriever that became a familiar presence at the College during his first stage of training in the Guiding Eyes for the Blind program. For the last year and a half --- ever since he was an eight-week-old puppy --- he was a constant companion to Krystle Goodman ’03, first in Emerson Hall and most recently in a house on South Hill that she shared with three other juniors.

"We take Dave everywhere," Goodman said. "Whenever he is out with us he wears his blue coat identifying him as a Guiding Eyes for the Blind dog, and everyone wants to meet him. He lies at my feet during classes. I’ve never had a problem with a professor about allowing him in class."

With Dave’s time among them coming to an end, the four women expressed mixed emotions about having to send him off to the Guiding Eyes center for the intensive training that will enable him to be paired with a blind person. "It will be tough to let him go," admitted housemate Lindsay Bedard. Added Tarah Satalino, who had lived with Goodman since their year together in Emerson Hall, "We will really miss him, but we want him to pass the tests and we’re confident he will be a great companion dog. He’s very smart, and he loves being around people."

Photo: Dave's roommates (clockwise
from top left) Van Pelt, Goodman, Bedard, and Satalino.

Guide dogs in fact are bred for personality, intelligence, temperament, health, confidence, and affection. They are trained to ignore distractions, such as food left out by human handlers, loud noises, or crowds of people. And they must learn to remain close by the side of their owner. The four IC students put Dave to the test, taking him to shopping malls, bus stations, restaurants, and nursing homes. He has not only attended classes and made many trips to the dining hall, but he’s learned valuable social skills. "Everyone on campus has enjoyed Dave," Goodman said. "We think of him as a person."

With its variety of environments and people, a college campus is an ideal place for puppies training to be guide dogs, according to Lorraine Shirley, a puppy evaluator for the Guiding Eyes for the Blind program. She kept an eye on Dave and his handlers, meeting with them every three months since he came to live at the College. "They are doing a great job," she said of Goodman and her housemates.

Dave’s basic training included learning to obey simple commands such as sit and stay, as well as "recalls," in which he is ordered to stay, then to come on command, turn a small circle, and sit at the left of the individual giving the order. After passing his tests, he begins formal training with professional instructors. He’ll learn to distinguish right from left, work in a harness, cross the street, stop at curbs and stairs, and otherwise be responsible for his partner’s safe navigation. After four months or so he’ll meet his new partner, and together they’ll go through a 26-day residential training program. Guide dogs typically work for six or seven years before retiring.

Ithaca College president Peggy R. Williams, a dog owner and avowed "dog fan," is a staunch supporter of having Guiding Eyes for the Blind animals on campus. "It’s an extraordinary program," she says. "I am proud of the students, and I find it very uplifting to see the dogs on campus," adding that Goodman and the handful of others who have trained puppies at Ithaca College serve as an example to their peers in the role of service.

"It’s been such a good experience," says Satalino simply. "And we have gained a special friend."

For more information on Guiding Eyes for the Blind, visit www.guiding-eyes.org.