NEWS

Missy Rosenberry: Passel of pups has important job to learn

ROC
Walking the Eastview Mall are Marci Frutkoff with Esme, Cyndi Marvin with Baltic, Michelle Capellupo with Elora, Jill Johnston with Jolee, Sandra Yaskow with Epic and Jim DePuy with Neil.

Eastview Mall has gone to the dogs.

I should be more specific. A few weeks ago, as my daughter and I wandered the mall in search of bargains, we came upon a gathering of guide-dogs-in-training: six adorable, high-energy, leash-yanking, tail-wagging Lab puppies.

They were accompanied, of course, by a bunch of equally friendly puppy raisers, who had met at Eastview for one of their regular socialization field trips. Their job: to expose their puppies to as many experiences as possible, anything and everything they and their blind owners might come across in their lives.

The puppies belong to Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a nonprofit guide dog school, which for more than 50 years has provided highly trained dogs to the blind and visually impaired.

Pamela Boy from East Rochester is one of two coordinators in our area. She currently oversees 27 puppies in a region stretching from Geneseo to Webster, Canandaigua to Hilton.

Pam described the puppies' comprehensive training regimen, which includes puppy classes, monthly group outings (like the one at Eastview), supervised playtime and regular evaluations. And that's just in the first year, before they're returned to Guiding Eyes for more intensive training.

Jolee is a 18-month-old guide dog in training.

But it all starts with the puppy raisers, who receive their charges at just eight weeks old. They're responsible for teaching the pups manners and socialization skills, while introducing them to all of the sights and sounds that our big, loud, sometimes frightening world has to offer.

That involves more than you might realize, Pam explained. So many things we take for granted are brand-new to a puppy, like stairways, gates and fences, automatic doors, overhead decorations and blowing heat vents.

Then there are the distractions no one expects. On their regular visits to the Highlands at Pittsford senior living community, for example, the biggest distractions are the tennis balls on the bottoms of the walkers.

More than half of the puppies who go through the Guiding Eyes program eventually graduate and become guides. Those who don't graduate often work for law enforcement agencies, become special needs dogs or therapy dogs, or become companions for children with autism.

I chatted for a while with the mall-walking puppy raisers, and was struck by how much love and patience these folks have for their puppies.

Marci Frutkoff was there with 5-month old Esme, her fourth Guiding Eyes puppy.

Her first one, Viola, is now a guide dog in Brazil. Her second, Jamie, is a special needs dog for a college student in Ohio. Her third, Susie, was released from the program and adopted by a family in Connecticut, where she is "very much loved." Marci remembers each one fondly, and keeps in touch with them all.

After all, as she tells her puppies' new owners, "They'll be your guide dog, but they'll always be my puppy."

Read lots more about this story on the Our Towns East Extra Facebook page. Email Missy at dandceastextra@gmail.com with east-side news and story ideas.

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You can help

The biggest challenge facing Guiding Eyes for the Blind right now is finding a large enough space to accommodate all 27 of their puppies at once for their twice-monthly puppy classes. Right now they rely on donated space from churches and community centers, but that means they have to split up into smaller groups. If you can help, contact Pamela Boy at (585) 385-9617. For more information about Guiding Eyes, go to guiding-eyes-monroe.org.