Transcript
Brian: Imagine you can't see you’re wearing a blindfold
and part of your hearing is gone. Carl: Okay, forward Brian: All of a sudden
you have to trust the dog. It’s pulling you, it’s literally
pulling you forward and you have to 100% trust that the dog
is not gonna run you into a wall. And believe it or not, they probably
will run you into a wall once or twice.
[music plays] Carl: I do consider the cane
to be an incredibly valued tool. A cane is more reactive and more tactile. You can feel where the curb is,
you can feel where the hydrant is if you’re just sweeping your cane.
You can feel for the door. Where if my dog's doing its job, I’m avoiding the curb, I'm avoiding the
fire hydrant, I'm avoiding the door. Korrine: With a cane, constantly your cane gets
stuck in cracks in the sidewalk and gets stuck on certain obstacles. Whereas the guide dog just glides around
stuff more effortlessly. Carl: The dog is also
a second set of eyes and ears. I'm also hard of hearing
as well as visually impaired, if I feel his head move,
I know something's up. So I just prefer the use of a guide dog. I just feel more confident in how I move, and when things
are clicking, and I mean clicking like when you're moving down a street
and you're hitting the destination and all cylinders are just moving,
there's no better feeling. It’s as close to walking
independently without a cane, it’s as close to that
experience as you can get.
[music plays] Kerry: It was not an easy journey. I think for those who are DeafBlind
who would like a guide dog, I think the process takes
a little bit longer especially if there's some hesitation
for some guide dog school to even work
with people who are DeafBlind, which means like an
extra layer of training for a person who can hear but not see would be able to listen
to their environment and tell when it’s safe for the dog
and then to go forward. But a person who is deaf and blind can't rely on their hearing to understand
what's happening in the environment. So there's a little bit more training
that goes with it. Korrine: There are programs
where they come to your hometown and you train in your hometown,
and then there's campus programs where you go to their campus and work
and you live in a dorm like at college. So there's different experiences. People need to kind of take that
into consideration. It's not a pet. It's
not just a regular dog. They're held to really high standards
to keep us safe and they have a job to do. Kerry: Getting the first guide
dog usually happens within a year. There is so much to learn in this journey of being
a handler of a guide dog. I think no matter how much you ask
people who have guide dogs or read books about guide dogs, no amount of preparing
really ever prepares you for it.
[music plays] Brian: The first couple of months
are easily the roughest ones. Working together
is definitely a challenge. Each one personality wise
is different and unique. And the way you work together
is gonna be different. Carl: At first it’s hard.
When you get your first dog it takes a long time to learn
to put your trust in a dog. And it takes about a year, maybe longer, to the point when you're willing
to put your life in their hands. But when you hit that
and they also trust you that you're not going to put them in harm,
it's just an incredible feeling. I can't explain it, it’s hard
to explain to people who haven't had that bond with guide dogs. But it's an unusual bond
because I'm depending on my dog to potentially save my life. Linda: My dog saved my life. Yeah, I was walking across the street, I had the light, I was in the crosswalk
and I was walking across the street and I got to the middle of the street
and he stopped. And I'm going, “Forward. Forward.”
I’m saying, “Oh, God.” And you hear the trainer say,
“Listen to your dog. Because if you don't listen to your dog,
you're going to get hurt.” So I'm standing still. And then
some woman screams, “Oh my God.” And I'm like, “Oh, this is going to hurt.” So I stood still and something went
[whoosh sound] past my nose. And apparently
when I got to the other side they said it was a
big black SUV or something. If I had my cane and I kept going,
I wouldn't be here talking to you right now because he would
have killed me. He was flying. But we walked to
he other side, kept going. And, you know, that's what
these dogs are trained to do. They guide you, they become part of you. They give you self-esteem,
independence, confidence. And you become a whole. Yeah, you become whole. Korrine: It just, my comfort level. I feel like I'm able
to do so much more. And it's also a really good icebreaker for having a conversation
and getting to talk to people. When you have a dog, at least it kind of
eases the conversation a little bit. They’re like, “Oh, it's so cute.” Or you know, it just lightens it up. Carl: It's just an unbelievable feeling. And the dogs even
take pride in their work. When they do something right, they'll
look at you like, “I did that right, didn’t I? Yeah, tell me I'm a good boy.”
you know
[laughter] And I’m like, “Ok, you’re a good boy.” And then they'll take a
ponce in their step, and you know... it's just an amazing feeling.
[music plays] David: Orientation and mobility
is really just a foundational skill. It goes to the heart of independence
and self-determination. If you can get around on your own. well, you're much more inclined to be more
independent, more self-determined. Many of these streets
seemingly are irrational, but, you know, the reason why the street may curve is because back in the 1700s
there was a big oak tree in the way so they just kind of meandered around it. And, you know,
now that the oak tree is gone, everybody wonders,
why is there that meander in the road? But many of these streets were designed
for horse and buggy and not necessarily power chairs or people using
a cane or a guide dog. I think older cities tend
to have those idiosyncrasies, which for people who don't have a disability
are maybe quaint and cool and attractive. But for people who do have a disability,
they can be real barriers. You know, places without truncated
domes are more dangerous than places that do have truncated domes. Places that have good audible signalization at intersections so you can
cross are safer than places that don't. I think things are better. There's still a large way to go
though, in terms of curb cuts and signalization and all the things
that we can do to improve access for people with disabilities.
[music ends]