I can honestly say that I have been a seeing eye person for a dog. My son went to field trials with a friend of the family and called me, saying that he wanted to bring home a dog. I hesitated at first, but like a mom gave in. The name of the dog was “Johnny Rebel” because he was coming from the “South”, but we called him Rebel.
He brought home a 1-1/2 year old Springer Spaniel, that was on the large size. He was black and while, and friendly. He was smart, and thank goodness was already house trained and would let you know when he needed to go outside. But as fate would have it, he eventually became my pet. As time went on I noticed that it seemed that when the sun was out real bright that he had trouble seeing.
Took him to the vet and discovered that he was getting cataracts, which can be a fairly common eye problem in some dogs. And that this is a trait that some Springer Spaniels get. Though he was on the young side to get them, only about 3 years old. So this was going to be an experience for both of us.
Problems for the Seeing Eye Person
But we soon figured out voice commands that would work when he was outside. Because he didn’t have a stick to use when walking. So, as his seeing eye person, I had to figure out something else. When I yelled “stop,” he would do so, then I could say “easy,” and he would walk easily. If I yelled “watch it,” he would zig to one side or the other, and in the process would miss what was in the way. Just part of being his seeing eye person.
When outside, he would always carry a stick in his mouth, which I never could figure out, but he was happy. There were times when he would drop it, and that is where I came in, as I would look for it until I found it and returned it to him. If I didn’t find it and gave him another one, he knew the difference and would not take it. So eventually, I had several that he considered his and could replace the one lost with another until I found the one that was lost.
When in the house, I did what they do with blind people: I would walk him around the room. And let him get a feel of what was there. I don’t know how he did it, but he would remember where the furniture was, and very seldom did he bump into any. When visitors came into the house, they never knew that he was blind until I mentioned it. Being a seeing eye person for a dog in some ways is like doing it for a person.
As they say, having pets is good for your health. You can also explore more pet-related topics in our All Things Pets and Their Needs section. My mother and I would walk him four times a day. Had a field that was fenced in and would go out for a walk with him four times a day. Measured the distance we walked around the field and came up to once was a 1/4 mile, and we went around twice. We did this every day, windy, rainy, snowy, hot, or below zero or whatever Mother Nature decided to throw our way.
There were times when my mother had to walk Rebel as I was not available to do so. So she became the second seeing eye person in his life.
My mother and I would go to the local diner for a coffee after walking the dog. There were times when the town road crew would stop in and would mention seeing us out walking the dog in the field. They would comment on the weather conditions and us being out there, which showed true dedication. We were asked why we just didn’t let him run, and I would say he is blind, and I am his seeing eye person.
Rebel lived to be 14 years old, and although being blind, he lived a very normal life. And I learned how to be a “seeing eye person” for a dog. My mother lived to be 92, and I attribute our walking Rebel to how long she lived. I picture them both in heaven walking together.
A Note from Nina: Many of the photos used throughout this site come from my own collection and are connected to the experiences, places, animals, projects, and memories I write about.