Distracted seeing-eye dog hinders blind man's safety

[bigdoglover]

The Boston Globe

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. --Steve Smith has a message for his fellow St. Johnsbury dog owners: Don't let your dog near his. His dog is working, and Smith's safety depends him not being distracted.


The German shepherd, named Bill, has mastered several layers of training to become a seeing-eye dog. But Bill still occasionally can be distracted by unrestrained dogs, which can put Smith, who is blind, in real danger.

"We walk all over the place," said Smith, who works as a state vocational rehabilitation counselor. "I average about five to seven miles a day."

Smith and Bill navigate sidewalks, cross busy streets and even climb the iron steps that enable pedestrians to cross a downtown bridge.

"My life and safety depend on my dog being able to focus on where we are going and not feeling like we are being threatened by other dogs," Smith said. "He's part of me. He's my eyes. So why distract him?"

Jo Guertin, St. Johnsbury's animal control officer, agreed it's critical that people and dogs don't bother Bill.

"This is the ultimate working dog," she said. "This guy's life depends on that dog."

A St. Johnsbury ordinance says dog owners need to keep control of their animals. Violations can land a dog in the pound.

Bill has gotten some training recently on ignoring other dogs, and it seems to be working. People should stay away as well. A sign on Bill's harness says, "Please do not pet me. I am working."

"When he's on harness, no one should approach him or flirt with him," Smith said.

Smith began losing his vision as a teenager due to a condition called macular degeneration. He was declared legally blind more than a decade ago and now can discern from the blur only large objects like buildings.

Smith listens for traffic before crossing a street, but doesn't always get it right. One day recently, he gave Bill the "forward" command and the dog wouldn't budge. Smith then realized that a car was approaching rapidly.

"It wouldn't have stopped. It would have blown right over me. That's intelligent disobedience," he said