ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9602010005
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HANCOCK STAFF WRITER|
MEMO: NOTE: Also ran in February 1, 1996 Current.
Although David McManamay has been legally blind his entire life, it took years for him to admit that he needed a guide dog.
But now that he's older, and his vision is deteriorating more, he felt the need for a dog.
McManamay even delayed learning to use a white cane "because I didn't think I needed it. I didn't want the stereotype that comes with the cane."
He now says, "It was a lot easier to get the dog than training with the cane.
"I would encourage people who are getting old, who think they might need a dog, to make use of this service."
Often, he says, blind people think someone else would have a greater need for a dog. But, McManamay says, "There are plenty of dogs."
McManamay, who has retrolental fibroplasia, a disorder caused by administering too much oxygen to premature infants, applied to three dog schools before being accepted by Leader Dogs School for the Blind, funded by the Lions Clubs. He recently completed the free 25-day course at the Rochester, Mich., school, where he and 22 others learned to handle guide dogs in a dormitory setting.
When McManamay and Dusty were introduced, the dog did not take kindly to him.
"At first, I was a little bewildered. They brought the dog in your room, put it on a leash and left. The dog didn't know you from Adam.
"You were supposed to bond with the dog, but at first, it would rather be with the trainer than you.''
Other participants also had to deal with their dogs' reluctance to part with the trainers, he says. "It made for some humorous situations."
The dogs, searching for their old trainers, would lead their new masters off course. "People ended up in parking lots, and I ended up in someone's driveway," McManamay says.
Before being matched with Dusty, an 18-month-old German shepherd dog, McManamay had four days of training without the dog. "They had us hold onto a harness with no dog attached to find out how strong we were and what our voice commands would sound like."
McManamay, who never had a dog before, says he originally was disappointed with his match because he wanted a retriever. He said, "When [a trainer] brought the shepherd out, I was kind of devastated."
McManamay, who has lived in Roanoke since 1979, brought Dusty home Dec. 21, but the recent snowstorms prevented him from establishing a routine with the dog. Getting out was a problem before the sidewalks were cleared.
McManamay had problems making Dusty "park," a Leader Dog term for going to the bathroom, while snow was on the ground. "He's afraid of the snow," McManamay says.
Dusty also has other faults, according to his new master. "He chews up everything in the house. He chewed my headset cord and chewed both plugs off the fans. He loves to chew plastic hangers, too. Even though he's got his nylon bones, he wants to chew everything else.
"He's still got those baby teeth that are really sharp."
McManamay says he and Dusty have to practice the commands learned at the school often so that the dog does not "lose respect" for obstacles such as stairs and curbs.
The dogs are trained to obey both leash and harness commands, and McManamay says Dusty is better on the harness. "He's a good harness dog - very obedient."
When maneuvering the streets, McManamay uses commands such as "find the curb," which tells Dusty to sit in front of the curb so that McManamay can step up without tripping.
"Forward," "left" and "right" are executed with a combination of swatting hand motions, voice command and leg movements.
"I trust [that] about 80 percent of the time he's going to know when a car is coming. The problem is when people think that the dog can see the traffic light.
"Of course, they can't. Dogs are colorblind. It's up to me to know the traffic changes by sound."
Dusty is trained to stop at every curb, but to ignore parking lot entrances and driveways. He is also trained to sit at the bottom or top of stairs.
"He sits automatically at stairs, and he sits automatically when I open the door. He waits until I tell him to go in before he'll go inside," McManamay says.
McManamay's problems with Dusty probably will be worked out over time, says Bill Hadden, the Virginia Lions Club Leader Dog representative.
Dogs take at least three months to adjust to their new homes, says Hadden, who has had four Leader Dogs since he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage 24 years ago.
"How soon a dog will adjust depends upon how hard the graduate works to assimilate the dog into the household. If he ignores the dog, then it could take as long as a year for the dog to adjust; but if there is constant praise and making over the dog, then there will be a quicker adjustment," Hadden says.
It takes 1,000 prospective dogs to provide dogs for the 300 Leader School graduates per year. "They are very selective," Hadden says.
Hadden says having a guide dog not only increases the blind person's mobility and independence, but also makes the person more approachable.
"With a cane, you're just another blind person; but with a dog, you're something else. A lot of blind people live totally alone. When that individual has no one but themselves and their dog, the dog provides a lot of comfort and companionship."
McManamay, who is unemployed but receives a supplemental Social Security check, is thinking about moving to Richmond to find better job opportunities. He previously sought job assistance through the Department of Visually Handicapped Services, but the agency recently closed his file, he says.
"It's impossible to find a job here because of the stereotypes. People have all kinds of `what ifs' and excuses. In bigger cities, there are more opportunities for blind people because more blind people live there," McManamay says.
For more information about the Leader Dog School for the Blind, call Bill Hadden at (804) 239-3193.
LENGTH: Long : 115 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff. David McManamay and his new guideby CNBdog Dusty head out for a short walk on Jamison Avenue Southeast.
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