 Back to On the Road
DAKOTA A. LABRADOR
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
GUIDE DOG TRAINING INSTITUTE
WASHINGTON D.C., JUNE 3, 2003
Thank you, Dean Howard, distinguished faculty, students,
family, guests, and friends. It is indeed an honor to be
here at the Guide Dog Training Institute to address the
graduating class of June 2003.
We are here today to congratulate those who have devoted
much of their young lives to acquire the skills needed to
become guide dogs.
Born to be what they now are, they possess the determination
and desire to be what few dogs can be.
Only the best-trained dogs are allowed to graduate and
wear the harness, the proud symbol of our profession. Before
you are the dogs that have earned that right. They leave
here today to dedicate their lives to their new partners.
We wish them well.
Graduates, you are about to face one of guide dogs greatest
challenges. A challenge that haunts us to this very day.
I speak not of the busy streets. I speak neither of the
mechanics of guide work nor the people who know you as I
do.
I speak of the friendly well-meaning people who have a
passion for dogs and have a need to interact with them.
Be wary of them for they should be a cause for your concern.
They know not of your ways. You will encounter them on the
streets, in restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, and in
the shadows of every doorway. They are everywhere.
They number in the hundreds and thousands. In your career
as a working guide dog you will encounter many of them.
Often! You will hear their mournful cries of, “Can
I pet your dog?” “Can I pet your dog?”
I wear a harness and guide those who have little or no
sight. Bred, raised and trained specifically for this purpose
I am a working dog every minute I have on my harness. For
the safety of my partner I must keep my mind focused on
my guide work.
Surely people must understand that I am more than just
a dog to be petted?” Even if they did know, why would
they ask to disturb me?
Graduates, our numbers are few and theirs are many. They
may recognize you by the harness you wear but do not expect
more. Being sighted they have no need for your assistance
and many have little interest in your training.
Their lives are cluttered with other matters. They see
you only as what they want to see. A well trained dog. A
dog that may look like their pet dog at home or their dog
that just passed away. Losing sight of the reason why you
are at your partner’s side they will seek comfort
in your presence. They think of you as something to be petted,
something to be loved and something to love them in return.
To them you are a four-legged therapist in a dog suit,
a dog they will never understand.
As your partner directs you to your destination he will
protect you as best he can from the friendly hands that
reach out to you. Be wary of those who approach you without
asking your partner’s permission first. Do not be
lulled into a state of inattention by their words of “adorable,
“cute” and “precious.” Be alert
and ignore them for their hearts may rule their heads.
Not knowing the consequence of their actions, many will
reach out to you seeking your attention. Your partner may
not have time to intercede. Startled, you may be momentarily
distracted, your mind diverted from your guide work. The
safety of your partner, as well as your own, will be put
at risk. The busy streets are dangerous and do not treat
kindly a distracted guide dog and his disoriented partner.
In an attempt to convey to the public the message that
they must leave the guide dog alone in order for it to do
the important job that it was trained for, many handlers
have attached signs to their harness handle. The signs read:
“Please ignore me for I am a working guide dog.”
A glaring reminder of how little the public understands.
These signs are often ignored. One can only conclude that
they either didn’t see the sign, didn’t read
the sign, or didn’t care to. This is a question I
cannot answer, but from my experience, I suspect the latter.
Because of their passion for dogs the “petting people”
often forget, or choose to forget, your real purpose. A
dangerous game they play with other people lives.
Graduates, as you see, there is no sign attached to my
harness. This however does not mean you should not wear
one. The harness is the symbol of my profession and clearly
identifies me as what I am. This should be enough. I care
not to become a walking billboard.
However, if there were ever a time I did not think so,
I would wear a sign with only one word. “Think”.
In hopes they would do so. For those people that do we are
grateful.
As I look back to my training days the words from my trainer
to my new partner ring true. In my mind I still hear those
words, “Follow your dog for he will guide you safely”.
Those words make me proud to be the guide dog that I am.
There will be a time when you will be able to guide your
partner without interference from the public. There will
be a time when the public will know you as I do. That time
is not near but it will surely come as our numbers grow.
Until then all we ask of you is to do the best you can.
We know you will.
When you leave here today remember your puppy raiser, your
trainer and this fine institute. They have given you purpose
in life.
Graduates, may your life be a good life.
Dakota
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