New dog opens doors for blind woman

Jill Mahler

For the New Era

Debbie Feigum first noticed cobwebs creeping into the corners of her vision seven years ago.

Then things started going dark. She was diagnosed with low-tension glaucoma, an eye disease that damages the optic nerve, located in the back of the eye, which carries information from the eye to the brain.

“I knew something was wrong; I just thought it was time for new glasses,” said Feigum, 52. “I did not hear anything or feel anything. I just prayed a lot and felt like it was coming.”

In the last month things have gone completely black – but a new companion has added another kind of light to her life.

Feigum relied on her cane to navigate around until she visited the Guide Dog Association of California in April. The association has been serving the blind community for over 60 years. She spent 28 days getting acquainted with her new guide dog, Nyack, named after a gold mine in Alaska.

“GDA is a wonderful place. I checked out seven other dog training establishments but I preferred GDA’s training,” Feigum said.

Among other requirements, instructors at GDA must complete a three-year apprenticeship under a licensed instructor at a certified guide dog school. California is one of the only states to have a Guide Dog Instructor license requirement.

Guide dogs begin training at seven weeks but they go into formal training at 18 months of age. Guide dogs spend three months in extensive harness training and then 28 days with their new owners, when they both are able to get acquainted with each other. By the time the recipient and dog are matched, the needs, pace, strength, and personalities of both human and canine have been well-assessed. Guide dogs are trained to obey by verbal, hand commands and foot placement.

Nyack is the second guide dog to arrive in Sweet Home in the last few years, following John Bergeman’s dog Juno.

Nyack is a golden Labrador with wavy curly hair and what Feigum calls “beautiful” dark brown eyes. He weighs 88 pounds and will be 3 years old in October.

“Everyone tells me I have a handsome dog and I say it’s because I wouldn’t have an ugly dog,” Feigum said jokingly about her new best friend.

Although everyone loves to see a cute canine, she said it is best to leave guide dogs alone when they’re on duty in their harnesses. When a guide dog is on duty it must be alert and cannot be efficient if it is being distracted, she said.

Nyack knows five leash commands, 27 harness commands.

“He’s taught to be on trains, airplanes and cars but mostly he just snores through the whole flight,” Feigum said.

Having the dog has broadened her horizons, she said.

“It’s freedom, it’s not scary anymore, she said about venturing out in public. “I don’t doubt I can’t get back home or go somewhere.”

Guide dogs are trained to pay attention to oncoming traffic and even look out for low branches.

“He’s very protective; he doesn’t like other dogs. He will stand his ground if he feels I am threatened. He was taught to put his life on the line for me.”

It is the owner’s responsibility to listen for traffic and to order the command, but if the guide dog judges that it is unsafe to obey, it will refuse the command – a process known as “intelligent disobedience.”

“Now I can go across the street with confidence, places and cross streets that I could not with my cane,” Feigum said. “I can go to stores and navigate around people much better. He even knows where the produce area is in Safeway. It is unbelievable, a 100-percent turnaround.”

She said she was reluctant, before getting her dog, to leave familiar surroundings.

“If I don’t stay in familiar territory it can get scary, but with a dog I’m not,” she said. “The cane helped but after having Nyack I won’t go back.

“Too bad he cannot pick out my tomatoes for me,” she joked. “He knows the word ‘find.’ I can tell him to find something for me and he will. But when we get home he’s my best friend.”

Feigum said being blind isn’t all disadvantages, though there certainly is a downside.

She said she was upset at first when she lost her sight, but now she’s moving on.

She said she’s doing oil painting.

“Everything’s still in my head,” she said. “When you lose sight your brain does not know you’re blind; it already knows those visual images so it’s always looking for its sight.”

She’s had to learn some new skills, she said, and she’s figured out ways to deal with her disability.

“It was a new experience cleaning and cooking,” she said.

One challenge is staying busy.

“I want something to do,” she said. “I cannot work a part-time job or volunteer, even though I am able to pay my bills and do everyday tasks like cook and clean. You always wonder how well you are doing with regular tasks.”

She says she misses other things sighted people take for granted, such as reading.

“Books on tape suck,” she said. “Mostly, I miss seeing people’s faces.”

But she sees an upside too.

“Rather than seeing the person’s expression, I have to read more into their tone,” she said. “The positive aspect of being blind is I pay more attention to my family and friends.”

Total
0
Share