I’ve Fallen In Love With Flanagan, the Seeing Eye Dog
28 Oct 2003
Remember that magic moment when you fell in love? How your eyes met and you instinctively knew this was the one. This happened to me a few nights ago. She was a beauty with black shining hair, loving eyes and I had never seen such regal bearing. I was irrevocably hooked on Flanagan, the black labrador seeing eye dog, that welcomed us to The Seeing Eye in Toronto, its 75th anniversary. And Flanagan proceeded to teach us that evening an important medical lesson that’s desperately needed today.
The Seeing Eye story started with a US woman, Dorothy Harrison Eustis. She began training Seeing Eye dogs after she saw German shepherds being trained to guide blinded veterans of World War I.
It takes four months to train Seeing Eye dogs. At seven weeks of age puppies leave the breeding station to live with volunteers. Later, the formal training takes place at The Seeing Eye campus, along the street, train station and in local businesses of Morristown and New York City.
27 days are required to teach a blind person to work with and trust his or her dog. Equally important, instructors attempt to find a good personality match between the blind person and dog.
One blind speaker smiled when telling her story. She explained that she enjoyed a glass of wine before her evening meal. This habit did not go unnoticed by her dog. She joked that whenever she went for a casual walk he always directed her to the liquor store!
Dogs remain dogs, she added, and stressed that although her dog was very obedient there was one problem. It was difficult to get her to go past a butcher’s store without wanting to go in.
So what does Flanagan have that’s so often lacking in humans? It’s called “intelligent disobedience” and that evening Flanagan demonstrated it. She passed the test with flying colours and was applauded by an attentive audience.
Following her talk the blind speaker directed Flanagan to lead her across the stage. But then she ordered her to move to the front of the stage and repeated the demand “forward”, that would have sent them falling off the stage to the floor. Without wavering Flannagan stopped at the edge and refused to budge. She had been vigorously taught to ignore a command if it would lead to danger.
Humans are supposed to be smarter than dogs! But it’s mind boggling how difficult it is to teach humans “intelligent disobedience” these days. Public health institutions, governments, schools and my own profession have failed miserably to teach parents and their children this trait. To say a firm no to a command they know is a threat.
What a wonderful world it would be if we could only teach humans to rely on intelligent disobedience. People would immediately reject advertisements plying lethal products. Cigarette companies wouldn’t stand a chance of success. Nor would those who destroy lives by pushing illegal drugs. Even those who preach that calories don’t count.
It costs $75,000 to train a Seeing Eye dog. Yet blind Canadians are only asked to pay $225.00. Everything else is free such as their round trip airfare, the course of instruction, full room and board for 27 days, the dog and equipment, and follow-up services for the life of that person. The difference between the cost and fee is covered by contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations.
I left the evening enamoured of these loving dogs (there were 20 present). And irritated by the frailties of so many irresponsible humans. It will be a long time before I forget Flanagan and the words “intelligent disobedience”.
Today with an aging population and an epidemic of diabetes, more people will suffer visual loss from cataracts, macular degeneration and glaucoma. It means increasing need for Seeing Eye dogs. And there’s no better life-support for the blind than a loving dog who has mastered intelligent disobedience. And remember that provincial laws state that seeing eye dogs are allowed to go anywhere the rest of us go. To learn more about The Seeing Eye visit their website: in Canada at www.seeingeye.ca and in the U.S. at www.seeingeye.org.
