Yogi barks thanks at LHK

FALLS VILLAGE — They were a little late, but Gretchen Fisher Orr and Yogi, a German shepherd guide dog, arrived at the Lee H. Kellogg School on Monday afternoon, Oct. 20, to show the students how guide dogs help blind people.

Orr and Yogi were from the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, a nonprofit that began in the 1960s breeding authentic German shepherds for guide dog schools, and then began running its own school in the early 1980s.

Orr thanked the students for their fundraising efforts and passed around a leather harness, similar to the one that will be purchased with the LHK money.

She said it costs about $45,000 to get a dog ready for a client.

Fidelco has placed around 1,300 guide dogs in 41 states and five Canadian provinces. Orr showed a short video with testimonials. One man said having the guide dog allowed him, while walking, “to think about other things.

“I don’t have to worry about every step or staying alert to every sound.”

And a woman in New York City said that with the dog, she can take her out-of-town guests around the city “rather than being a captive audience for someone else.”

Orr said Yogi “is a student, too: He’s learning to be a guide dog.”

Fidelco breeds the puppies themselves and at around eight weeks turns the puppies over to volunteers.

When the dogs are about 14 to 16 months old, they are returned to Fidelco for guide dog training.

“A guide dog has to learn how to behave in public places,” she said.

At home with the blind owner, a guide dog is just a dog.

But once they leave the house, and the harness is on, the guide dog is on duty.

For the guide dog to be effective, the blind person has to be capable of getting around without the dog.

The dog cannot read street lights, but if the dog sees an approaching vehicle or some other obstacle, it refuses the command to go forward.

“The dog is all about how to get there safely.”

The children had plenty of questions for Orr. Asked about petting Yogi, or any other guide dog, Orr said the best thing is to ignore the animal.

“Even though they are bred to be friendly, they have a very important job.

“And they’re still dogs. They’re not robots. So if you try to pet them you are distracting them from their job.”

One child asked about the procedure for saying hello to regular dogs.

Orr said to check with an adult first, and then the owner of the dog. Then approach the dog slowly and hold out the hand for the dog to sniff.

Then pet the dog under the chin — not on the top of the head.

“It’s not normal to be petting a dog on the head,” said Orr. “Think about it: Would it be normal for you, if someone came and started patting you on the head?”

“Nooo,” said the children.

Another student asked if Fidelco just trains guide dogs.

Orr said that between 55 and 65 percent of Fidelco’s German shepherds become guide dogs.Other dogs — “dogs with a lot of energy” — sometimes go to the state police or federal agencies as search and rescue dogs, or sniffer dogs.

“These dogs want to have a job.”

Asked about how the dogs are named, Orr said each litter is assigned a letter of the alphabet. The volunteers who raise the puppies then pick the names.

“So Yogi’s litter was assigned — ?”

“ Y!” said the children.

“And what would the next litter’s names start with?”

“Z!” said the children.

“And how about the one before?”

There was a moment of confusion, then the students got it. “X!”

“That’s right,” said Orr. “And X is a hard one.”