4 minute read
Puppy Love
PHOTO COURTESY OF MCKENNA VAUGHAN
Local teen McKenna Vaughan raises future guide dogs
BY JODIE NICOTRA
McKenna Vaughan, then a middle schooler, was scrolling through movies on Netflix one day when a documentary called “The Pick of the Litter” caught her eye. The film followed a litter of puppies from an organization called Guide Dogs for the Blind as they learned to be seeing-eye dogs.
Vaughan was captivated.
"I watched it, and immediately told my mom and dad that we had to get involved in this. Seeing the training and how it changed the lives of the people who were visually impaired gave me a better understanding of what a seeing eye dog is and how you're contributing to that mission," she said.
Guide Dogs for the Blind breeds dogs in San Francisco, mainly Labrador and golden retrievers. When the puppies are eight weeks old, they're sent out all over the western U.S. to foster families. For 15-18 months, the foster families raise the puppies and teach them basic commands. Once they're deemed properly trained and socialized, the dogs are sent to professionals who further train them to work with people who are visually impaired.
Vaughan, now a junior at Boise High School, has been with the organization for three and a half years and is currently fostering her fourth and fifth puppies. While she raised the first two puppies by herself, she has shared responsibility for the others with a co-raiser who takes the puppies every other week.
For the first few months of fostering, Vaughan trains puppies in the basics, including housebreaking and simple commands. When the puppies get a bit older and better behaved, she starts taking them in public to get them used to social situations.
"The older dog, who's about a year, goes to school with me every day. They also go to the grocery store, the movies, all kinds of places,” she said. “It's our job to get them used to going to places like that, because if they're going to be with someone who's visually impaired, they could go anywhere."
Only 30% of the puppies who are trained actually make the cut to be guide dogs. Others get "career changed" to be other types of guide dogs, search and rescue dogs, or "canine buddies" for visually impaired kids who aren't ready for a full-time guide dog.
To be an effective guide for the visually impaired, dogs need to be adaptive and able to go into a range of different environments without showing anxiety. They also need to be docile and good learners.
While some requirements are strict, others are less so.
"Technically, the dogs aren't supposed to bark at all," said Vaughan. "But the organization has loosened up a bit on that because they realize that the dogs actually have to be dogs. But since the dogs are going to be in public around people in all kinds of different situations, they have to be able to be quiet in the background and be okay with not being the center of attention all the time."
While she loves the work, Vaughan said that it can be frustrating at times. Every six months, someone from the organization visits to evaluate the dogs. If the dog has an issue, the evaluators give the raisers some advice and things to try, and fosterers get around a month to try and improve the problem. If the dog doesn't make progress on the issue, often they'll get career-changed.
Letting the puppies move on to their next stage of training is also a hard part of the job.
"Obviously at some point you have to say goodbye to this dog that you've had for 18 months, and you get attached to the dog and want to keep it. But at the same time, you know it's going to be a guide dog and do good work," Vaughan said.
Find Guide Dogs for the Blind online to learn about volunteer programs and services for potential clients.
