Guide dog manners matter

Two students and one staff member at UTC have guide dogs, and other students need to know how to behave around them, Bryon Kleusner, adaptive technology coordinator for the Office of Students with Disabilities, said.Senior April Jones of Chattanooga has a four-year-old German Shepard Seeing Eye dog named Havana.

"A lot of people don't know that there are different kinds of service dogs, but you are only supposed to call them Seeing Eye dogs if they're from Seeing Eye," Jones said. "If not, you can just call them guide dogs"

Seeing Eye is a training facility in Morristown, N.J. where people who are blind or visually impaired spend a month training with their new Seeing Eye dog, Jones said.

"For a long time it was just German Shepherds [being trained], but then they started using Labs and Golden Retrievers," Jones said.

Jones and Kleusner said there is a particular etiquette to observe around guide dogs.

Jones said: "You shouldn't pet [a guide dog] unless you ask first. Guide dogs like Havana are very social and if you pet her or show her any attention she gets really excited."

According to Kleusner, "Another blind student who has a guide dog was almost taken into a ditch because a student excited her dog."

Another rule students should abide by is not to feed the animals, Kleusner said.

"[April and I] were downtown with two other people who had guide dogs, and this man was throwing pieces of hamburgers at the dogs to feed them," Kleusner said. "I know he was trying to be nice, but that messes up the dog's digestive system."

Jones said one of her concerns is some people are actually afraid of her dog.

"I was at Coolidge Park one day and this man jumped up out of his seat because he was scared," she said.

Jones said there is no reason to be afraid of her guide dog, but she does think Havana, as well as other guide dogs, may have instincts about people that could be harmful to their owners.

"Havana is very friendly, but there have been a few instances where she just flat out growled at people," Jones said. "Once we ran into a girl that I really didn't like from high school, and Havana growled at her too."

One of the most important ways a student can behave around a guide dog and its owner is to be mature and considerate, Kleusner said.

"The other day I was in the UC with a blind student, and other students literally pointed and laughed," Kleusner said.

Chattanooga sophomore Brandon Terrill said, "I think it's pathetic that college students actually make fun of other students with disabilities, and I am honestly ashamed to call them my peers.

"I think it's remarkable that people are able to train an animal to help someone in such a way," Terrill said.

Jones said having a guide dog is much easier than using a cane. "With a cane you use [landscape] to tell where you are, but with Havana she takes me around objects and in a straight line," she said.

"It's made me a lot more independent, self confident and empowered," Jones said. "I feel like I can go anywhere, just get on a plane and go.