Saying bye to friends is a ruff life

It's springtime and Lindsey Brown has fallen in love again, only to have to say goodbye.

She's done this nine times now, but the heartbreak doesn't get any easier, especially when she has to gaze into another pair of sad brown eyes.

That's the hardest part about raising guide dogs for the blind, says Lindsey, 23, a recent college graduate who trained her first puppy and gave him away when she was 15. "For one year, you've had this special connection and it's hard to break it," she says. "I cry every time."

In a week or two, Lindsey will say goodbye to Ontario, an affectionate German shepherd now ready for the next step in his training: guide dog college. If Ontario makes it through the 6-month course in San Rafael, Calif., he'll be assigned to a blind person and form a new lasting bond.

"Our relationship will be over," says Lindsey, "but Ontario will become somebody's soulmate for life. When I think of that, it makes me smile."

Eager to share the joys of becoming a volunteer guide dog trainer, Lindsey recently joined me for a Free Lunch of takeout turkey sandwiches and tomato soup at the Salt Lake City duplex she shares with a roommate and two dogs, Ontario and Frisco, an energetic yellow Labrador puppy.

With Ontario leaving, Lindsey will now concentrate on teaching Frisco how to behave in the grocery store, the library, the bank — everywhere she goes. He'll learn how to walk in a straight line, stop at every curb and sit quietly without whimpering at an all-you-can-eat buffet. It's not an easy test for any canine, particularly when a juicy slab of rare roast beef is calling his name.

Socializing a puppy is a complicated job, but Lindsey, who grew up in Mapleton and is president of Utah County's New Leash on Life guide dog group, is up to the challenge. Every day, she slips Frisco's green "Puppy in Training" coat over his head, attaches his harness and heads out to tackle another obedience skill.

"When he's on a leash, he's all business," says Lindsey, who is stopped every few minutes by people who want to meet Frisco. Although her dog would love to leap on every admirer, he knows better. Just like the royal guards at Buckingham Palace, "he knows not to express himself in public," says Lindsey. "To make it as a guide dog, he has to be on his best behavior."