Salt Lake students to turn pups into guide dogs

A first-of-its-kind program kicked off in Salt Lake School District Friday with tearful goodbyes, joyful hellos and six wagging tails.

Teenagers in the Companion Animal Science Program received four Labrador retriever puppies Friday. They'll train them throughout the year to become guide dogs. Students received their new charges from volunteers who had been caring for them since they were about 8 weeks old.

West High student Kassandra Ornelas received Madden from 9-year-old Avenly Millar of Murray, who tried to choke back tears in the exchange.

"It tears your heart out, but we always tell our children, there's such a difference between a need and a want," said Avenly's mom, Cynthia Millar, whose family has worked with eight puppies training to be guide dogs. "We want to keep the dogs. But someone else has a need — not that it makes the hurt any less."

The students, on the other hand, were thrilled to meet their puppies-in-training, who will go home — and just about everywhere else, including all day at school — with four of the students, three from West High, and one from East High.

"She is such a spaz!" West junior Mollie McAlpin laughed about Maggie, who romped about a podium while "posing" for cameras. "I'm so excited, she's going to be so — I can't even (find) the words for it. It's going to be all worth it in the end, seeing her graduate."

The school district's Career and Technical Center is partnering with Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc. to give the students hands-on experience in training guide dogs. The program is the first in the country to let students conduct about a year's worth of basic guide dog training for high school credit, said the district's career and technical education marketing specialist, John Craigle. The program is led by Martine Savageau, a volunteer leader for Guide Dogs Puppy Raisers in Utah.

"There really is nothing — nothing — as cool as raising a guide dog," Savageau said. Students will learn love, service and responsibility in the process.

The students have been working with puppies since before school started. Now, they will put their skills to work, teaching the black and yellow labs socialization, manners and basic training.

Student handlers received backpacks filled with necessities, including paper towels, rubber gloves and air-fresheners, in case of potty incidents. The rest of the dozen or so students in the program will work with the dogs in class and have opportunities to otherwise take them around.

After this year, the students will return the dogs for final training in Oregon, after which they will be placed. Fund-raisers will be coming to help the student trainers attend the dogs' graduation ceremony.

"I have extreme compassion for the people who have raised my dogs and shaped them into — I want to say wonderful people — wonderful dogs ... giving a person who cannot see, freedom," said Cindi Vega of Taylorsville, who is blind, with her yellow lab Romy at her side. "It's such a wonderful gift."

Guide Dogs for the Blind has graduated more than 10,000 teams all over the country and works to help adults and children find the right service dogs for them. They also place retired guide dogs in homes nationwide.

---

E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com