Service Dog in
Training Paws the way to her Future
By Jordan Stutts
Gabriela De Gracia fixes her book bag on her shoulder
while Charlotte stands up and patiently waits. The two head out of the
classroom and De Gracia holds the door open as Charlotte walks through.
Naturally, the two walk side-by-side towards their next class together. The difference
between the two, besides De Gracia's dark, curly hair and Charlotte's
white-blondish fluffy coat, is that Charlotte's education takes place on the
walk to where they are going.
Charlotte is not the average student at UNC Charlotte,
but a student of sorts nonetheless. She is a 14-month old Golden Retriever with
innocent, gentle eyes and a friendly disposition. She is not earning a degree
with her time at UNC Charlotte, but the skills she learns on campus will help
make a dramatic difference in the life of a disabled person.
"We really wanted a pet but my parents would not do
that, they said 'we just can't commit to 10 years,'" comments De Gracia on
her decision to become a service dog trainer. "So I said, 'why don't we
get a service dog?'" De Gracia, who is in her second year at UNC Charlotte
(though with enough credit hours to be considered a junior), is a business
major focusing on marketing and management and has always taken a keen interest
in non-profit organizations.
"College campuses are great places to socialize and
train service animals," said Jo Ann Fernald, the Director of the Office of
Disability Services at UNC Charlotte. "There are lots of people, lots of
activity and yet you're fairly safe around here."
University Policy 704 regarding animals on campus defines
a service animal in training as "an animal in training to become a Service
Animal when the animal is accompanied by a person who is training the Service
Animal and the animal wears a collar and leash, harness, or cape that identifies
the animal as a Service Animal in Training." This fits Charlotte's purpose
to a T.
Charlotte is the second service dog De Gracia has
trained. You may have seen De Gracia walking, or being guided, by a 92-pound
Labrador named Baity last year. Although Baity lived with De Gracia for a year,
she never actually owned the dog. Both Baity and Charlotte belonged to
Southeastern Guide Dogs, which is based in Palmetto, Florida. This is a
nonprofit service dog training program that 'breeds and raises puppies, train
guide dogs, and pair them with visually impaired adults' as mentioned in their
information handout. De Gracia and her family applied to the program in October
of 2010.
De Gracia will train Charlotte for about a year,
socializing her in active environments, teaching her commands and keeping her
calm through distractions. On top of Charlotte's training while walking around
UNC Charlotte's campus, De Gracia is also a member of a puppy group set up for
members of Southeastern Guide Dogs in the Charlotte area. The 16-person group,
known as 'Puppy-Raisers,' meets monthly in different places around Charlotte to
go over different obedience training and activities. "That's our job is to
get them familiar," says De Gracia. The dogs do not necessarily have to enjoy
every environment they are in but have to know how to be 'familiar' with as
many different situations as possible.
The training Charlotte receives is critical because,
according to De Gracia, only 40 percent of service dogs in training will make
it as Seeing Eye dogs. "It's neat when your dog makes it because so many of them don't," she
says.
A dog may not be a good fit as a Seeing Eye dog due to
temperament or other factors. Fernald explains that a good service dog is
"an animal that is very laid back. One that is not easily distracted or
disturbed by noise, chaos, activity…or bees." She gives an example of how
one service dog in training would 'go crazy' and pull away every time a bee
buzzed around. If a dog does not make it as a Seeing Eye dog, he can be used by
other programs in service for the deaf, people with epilepsy, children with
autism or people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
There are not many service dogs or
service-dogs-in-training at UNC Charlotte. So protocol to allow De Gracia to
make these animals a part of our community was not firmly in place when she
arrived. North Carolina laws allow service animals, and those in training, in
most public places so it was just a matter of obtaining UNC Charlotte's
approval of Charlotte's presence. De Gracia first went to Fernald, who then
sent an email to all of her professors stating this was a
service-dog-in-training and she would not cause any disruption. The
responsibility of maintaining Charlotte falls on De Gracia's shoulders. "If
you're going to have a service animal on campus, we want to make sure it has a
tag, they're registered and they have their inoculations," explains
Fernald on UNC Charlotte's requirements for service dogs and
service-dogs-in-training.
De Gracia has never had any problem with a professor or
student being displeased with Charlotte's seat in the classroom. The only
foreseeable problems that could arise are a student with allergies or an
extreme fear of dogs. On cue of allergies, Charlotte stands up and shakes off a
rainfall of blonde hair, De Gracia laughs and says, "and Golden Retreivers
shed twice a year and unfortunately now was that time for Charlotte." She
goes on to say that if there are problems, she would simply move herself and
her dog to the farthest point away from that student as possible. She also says
"I would reassure them this is a service dog; they're some of the most
well-behaved, nicest dogs."
In fact, the only problem De Gracia has ever faced while
training service dogs on campus has been people being overly friendly with
Charlotte. Students do not realize that these are working dogs and while they
are working they should not be distracted. "Whenever they have their coats
on they are a working dog. When the coats are off they are a normal puppy that
can play."
During Charlotte's year with De Gracia, she will learn a
variety of commands that will prepare her for the next level of service
training. The commands she will be taught include: sit, stay, lie down (for
long periods of time), find doors, cars and elevators, right about (used for
turning around and always to the right), and switch (positioning herself on the
correct side of an opening door). "We have a set schedule and the first
one is sit, which can be taught in only one to two days," comments De
Gracia.
After the year is up, Charlotte and all of the other
service-dogs-in-training for Southeastern Guide Dogs will return to Florida for
a reunion and a graduation-type ceremony. This is where the next part of the
training will begin for Charlotte. Once she returns to Florida she will go
through a six-to-nine month evaluation and more extensive training, preparing
her for the ultimate goal of providing independence and confidence to a
disabled person in the real world.
This reunion is also the gut-wrenching part of the
process for De Gracia and her family. "What was hard about it was watching
every puppy raiser go up and give their dog and hand over their collar and
leash, balling their eyes out," said De Gracia about returning Baity last
March. This is possibly the last time she and Charlotte will be together, but
knowing that Charlotte will make such a profound difference in someone's life
is what givers her comfort.
When asked how service dogs can be beneficial to the
community, De Gracia replied, "I don't have to think twice about it. It's
really neat to hear parents explain (to their children) 'oh that's a service
dog, they're helping another person.' I always enjoy it when I see people
educating others about service dogs; it's just a neat thing."
In March of 2013, when De Gracia takes Charlotte on her
final walk across the stage in Florida, she will know her dog was educated in a
perfectly fitting environment. Charlotte will continue with what she learned
while at UNC Charlotte and hopefully will stake her claim in the life where she
is needed most.
END
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