Progressing toward adulthood was difficult for Tom Weidner, director of the Athletic Training Education Program at Ball State University.
His eyesight was like any youngster's up until age 12. Then it began to slowly dissipate due to retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited eye disorder. He was able to drive a car for two years, but at 18, he tossed his license in the trash.
"Driving was a stressful activity," he said.
He could ride a bike, but eventually that became unsafe. He then began walking on his own, but soon that became hard without the help of a four-legged guide.
Since his early 30s, Weidner has had a guide dog. This past summer, Weidner attended Southeastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto, Fla., and came home with his third guide dog from the school, a 21-month-old black Labrador named Mark.
Mark has been on campus for three weeks and helps Weidner find doors, locate curbs and get to the stairs. Mark also knows the difference between left and right and can help Weidner turn in specific directions. But Mark doesn't do all the work. It's a team effort, Weidner said.
"Basically with a few handfuls of different kinds of commands, you can work the dog as a team," he said. "I'm listening to the dog, and he's listening to me."
Southeastern Guide Dogs takes lifestyle and work pace into consideration when pairing a person with a dog, according to its Web site.
Weidner said Southeastern Guide Dogs looks for people with independent living skills. If someone can show they can take care of themselves, it is more likely that they will be able to care for a dog, he said.
"Some blind people get too codependent or dependent on sighted help. With that kind of dependency, you probably have not been good with orientation and living skills, and you would not be a good candidate," he said.
Making a match
Weidner likes to work fast, as does Mark, so that's one reason the match works, he said.
Weidner's wife, Lauren Bishop Weidner, said one advantage to Mark is that he provides her husband independence.
"Because he [Mark] is young, he's in perfect physical shape so that he can keep up with Tom, who is also in perfect physical shape," she said.
Once the match is made, the two have three to four weeks to get to know one another in Palmetto. It's at this point when the new owner continues to shape and reinforce the dog's training from the six months prior.
It doesn't get easier when the dog gets home, Weidner said - there is still a lot of work to be done between handler and dog.
The first few months are demanding ones as the dog adjusts to its new environment and lifestyle, he said.
"If you don't know direction and aren't able to perceive and interact with the environment and negotiate your way through it, then a dog is not going to work because you still have to use your own common sense," Weidner said.
A good career for a guide dog is eight to nine years, he said. His first guide dog lasted nine, and his second, David, lasted nine and a half.
Over time, both of these dogs became intuitive about where to lead Weidner and what route to take him on. An unspoken language developed between him and his last two dogs that has yet to develop in Mark. But Weidner knows Mark just needs time.
"He's at the beginning stages of basically reinforcing skills he learned at the guide dog school, as well as developing new ones," Weidner said.
Care and control
Weidner said Mark may be friendly and comforting, but he is there to work and must be controlled. Now out of guide dog school, Mark must be kept in a harness all day, compared to his training when he was harnessed one hour a day.
Weidner also keeps Mark on a leash for eight weeks, so wherever Weidner goes, Mark goes too.
It's not all work and no play for this dog, though. Weidner is sure to give Mark his fun time.
"The kids play outside in my backyard, so that's fun time for the dog," Weidner said. "And we make sure there's fun time, play time build into every day."
But once play time is over, it's back to control. Careful care and obedience come with each day, Weidner said.
"It's demanding of both of us right now," Weidner said.
Despite how demanding it is, Mark is refreshing as a guide dog, Weidner's graduate assistant Chris Curless said.
"Mark brings some youth to the whole guide dog experience for Dr. Weidner," he said.
The biggest thing Weidner said he wants people to remember is not to distract Mark, whether it be talking to or petting him.
"It takes all his energy to do what he needs to do, and so to distract him would only diminish his work, and may even be unsafe for the person," Weidner said. "He may bump me into something where he would not have if he was paying attention."
Building a bridge
Curless said there's no doubt Weidner can do things without the dog.
"He has found a way to master most of the things that you would think would be hard for him to do, or at least challenging," Curless said. "He can probably do more than I can on a computer, by far."
Weidner said while not all people who are blind have guide dogs, his decision to have a guide dog opens up a door and makes it easier for people to get acclimated to him.
"Dogs help break down stigmas and discomfort of sighted, able-bodied people," Weidner said. "People are more comfortable around dogs, they like to meet and greet the dog. It just breaks down that barrier, that discomfort."
Lauren said more than that, the dog has personality.
"When you look at the dogs, you can see their little sweet spirits," Lauren said. "Nobody who knows dogs is going to be put off by one of the guide dogs."
Second, it's better than a cane, Tom Weidner said.
"There's more dignity for the blind person with a highly trained, highly polished, beautiful animal than a cold, impersonal, clumsy white cane," he said.
Lauren agrees with him.
"You see a cane and it's a barrier. You see a dog and it's a bridge," Lauren said.
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