News feature photography by James DeCamp

James ‘Buster’ Douglas and his son Artie photographed working out
Tuesday January 6, 2015 at the Thompson Recreation Center.

James 'Buster' Douglas and his son Artie photographed Tuesday January 6, 2015 at the Thompson Recreation Center. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) James 'Buster' Douglas and his son Artie photographed Tuesday January 6, 2015 at the Thompson Recreation Center. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) James 'Buster' Douglas and his son Artie photographed Tuesday January 6, 2015 at the Thompson Recreation Center. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) James 'Buster' Douglas and his son Artie photographed Tuesday January 6, 2015 at the Thompson Recreation Center. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) James 'Buster' Douglas and his son Artie photographed Tuesday January 6, 2015 at the Thompson Recreation Center. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) #Columbus #614 #Buster #heavyweight #JamesDeCamp #fighter

‘An Evening with the Generals’ photographed Thursday, July 10, 2014 at the Ohio Histroical Society’s Ohio Village.

'An Evening with the Generals'  photographed Thursday, July 10, 2014 at the Ohio Histroical Society's Ohio Village. (© James D. DeCamp | http://JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) 'An Evening with the Generals'  photographed Thursday, July 10, 2014 at the Ohio Histroical Society's Ohio Village. (© James D. DeCamp | http://JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) 'An Evening with the Generals'  photographed Thursday, July 10, 2014 at the Ohio Histroical Society's Ohio Village. (© James D. DeCamp | http://JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) 'An Evening with the Generals'  photographed Thursday, July 10, 2014 at the Ohio Histroical Society's Ohio Village. (© James D. DeCamp | http://JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) 'An Evening with the Generals'  photographed Thursday, July 10, 2014 at the Ohio Histroical Society's Ohio Village. (© James D. DeCamp | http://JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

The Ohio History Connection’s Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014.

The Ohio History Connection's Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) The Ohio History Connection's Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) The Ohio History Connection's Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) The Ohio History Connection's Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) The Ohio History Connection's Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) The Ohio History Connection's Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) The Ohio History Connection's Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) The Ohio History Connection's Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) The Ohio History Connection's Glorious Fourth Celebration at the Ohio Village photographed July 4, 2014. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Series is the world’s largest and most successful fundraising and education event for breast cancer ever created. Your participation in this event helps us provide significant funds and bring awareness about breast cancer to our local community. Whether you walk, run, volunteer or donate, your support is helping us save lives and provide priceless support to those in need.

The Team

Photographers: James DeCamp, Tom Dunkes & Abigail Grove
Public Relations: Sarah Irvin
Location: Downtown Columbus
Client: Komen Columbus

The 2014 Komen Race for the Cure photographed May 17, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

The 2014 Komen Race for the Cure photographed May 17, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

 

The 2012 Red, White & Boom fireworks display photographed from on top of the Ohio State University East Hospital Heliport July 3, 2012.

The 2012 Red, White & Boom fireworks display photographed from on top of the Ohio State University East Hospital Heliport July 3, 2012. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

Dayton Early College Academy photographed Wednesday December 15, 2010 for Education Weekly Magazine.

 

Lesley Johnson, left, and Jonetta White, right, put tape down don the floor of the commons area of the Dayton Early College Academy early Wednesday morning December 15, 2010 to form a runway for a 'stereotypes' fashion show later in the day. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

Lesley Johnson, left, and Jonetta White, right, put tape down don the floor of the commons area of the Dayton Early College Academy early Wednesday morning December 15, 2010 to form a runway for a ‘stereotypes’ fashion show later in the day.

Some of the many motivational posters scattered through-out the Dayton Early College Academy photographed Wednesday December 15, 2010. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

Some of the many motivational posters scattered through-out the Dayton Early College Academy photographed Wednesday December 15, 2010.

A sign in the entryway of Ms. Rachel Dearden's science classroom at the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

A sign in the entryway of Ms. Rachel Dearden’s science classroom at the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010.

Ariel Phoenix, right, and Payne Jackson use a 'magic board' to show the class some math problems at the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

Ariel Phoenix, right, and Payne Jackson use a ‘magic board’ to show the class some math problems at the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010.

(l-r) Larry Vaughn, Jearra Bronaugh and Jalene Smith work on a magnetism project with batteries and coils in the science room of the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

(l-r) Larry Vaughn, Jearra Bronaugh and Jalene Smith work on a magnetism project with batteries and coils in the science room of the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010.

One of the computer labs at the Dayton Early College Academy photographed Wednesday December 15, 2010. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

One of the computer labs at the Dayton Early College Academy photographed Wednesday December 15, 2010.

Math teacher Stacie Shockey helps one of her students during class at the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

Math teacher Stacie Shockey helps one of her students during class at the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010.

Asya Pitts, left, and Myracle Thompson dissect a sheep brain in science class at the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

Asya Pitts, left, and Myracle Thompson dissect a sheep brain in science class at the Dayton Early College Academy Wednesday December 15, 2010.

Some of the many motivational posters scattered through-out the Dayton Early College Academy photographed Wednesday December 15, 2010. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

Some of the many motivational posters scattered through-out the Dayton Early College Academy photographed Wednesday December 15, 2010.

One of the many wall exhibiting alumni that have moved on to college from the Dayton Early College Academy photographed Wednesday December 15, 2010. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

One of the many wall exhibiting alumni that have moved on to college from the Dayton Early College Academy photographed Wednesday December 15, 2010.

 

Steven Patrick Morrissey performs at the Palace Theatre Wednesday evening April 1, 2009.

Steven Patrick Morrissey performs at the Palace Theatre Wednesday evening April 1, 2009. (© James D. DeCamp 614-367-6366)

Some students go home with dogs; others must try again –

The four weeks of Pilot Dogs training culminate in the day that students head home — with or without a guide dog.

For 12 hours a day, six days a week, students and dogs at the West Side school develop a relationship that can provide the mobility and the confidence to change a blind person’s life.

The dogs don’t become theirs, though, until the students prove their skills in a walking test Downtown. While critiqued by a silent observer, a handler and canine must board a bus, cross streets and enter a store without help.

In the days before the test, the pressure built for the school’s final class of 2008, including some students with health or abilities that seemed increasingly uncertain.

A sick, sore and tired Elaine Brittain, 83, thought of giving up — even if it meant returning home to Hillsboro without her dog, Dee Dee.

Phil Jackson, a 40-year-old pastor from Bristol, Va., feared that he and Corky lacked the discipline needed to pass the class.

And, though confident about the test, Randy Bailey, 43, of Greenville, Ill., had another one looming: that of a divorced dad trying to impress his four children.

The three — along with two other classmates — faced their fates on Dec. 17 and 18.

Elaine: against the odds

Freezing rain pounded on Elaine Brittain’s metallic-blue coat and soaked Dee Dee’s fur as the pair shuffled down High Street.

“How you doing?” trainer Mike Tessmer asked.

“I’m still with ya,” Elaine replied meekly.

Sore from a fall and from arthritis, and now weary from a bad cold, 83-year-old Elaine was growing more reluctant to walk — especially Downtown.

She mentioned repeatedly that her little hometown didn’t have buses and escalators. So what if Downtown Columbus did? She hadn’t been there since 1945.

Skipping the Downtown test wasn’t an option, though, if she wanted to go home with her black Lab. She had to practice, despite her fear of the icy conditions.

As she waited for a bus, Elaine asked Mike to catch her if she fell.

“Well, sure, but it’ll cost ya,” he joked, trying to brighten her mood.

Her worry — the one she’d had all along during the training — proved well-founded as she stepped off the bus, climbing down the last and biggest step.

“Ooh!” she cried in pain as her left knee buckled, launching her forward into Mike’s waiting arms.

Steadying her on the sidewalk beside him, Mike took Dee Dee’s leash as the bus drove away.

Elaine shriveled her face in despair, beginning to cry.

“You did great, Elaine,” Mike said softly.

As the test approached, Elaine became discouraged, so tired and sick that she began saying she didn’t care whether she passed. Going home was her only goal.

When the big day arrived — following a night of freezing rain — she was relieved to learn that the students would be spared the bus portion of the test.

A school van dropped Elaine off at Long and High streets so that she could head south toward the CVS store she would visit as part of the test.

Despite her fatigue and the slippery streets, she crossed four roadways and entered the store problem-free. She and Dee Dee had taken on the real world independently, just as they were supposed to.

Within 24 hours, Elaine learned that she passed the test (trainers considered previous bus experiences in deciding a student’s outcome).

Her confidence returning, she playfully announced to her classmates: “I’m going home, kids!”

Elaine looked forward to some rest after a demanding and draining four weeks. She’d cried from pain, both physical and emotional, but she didn’t resent the times that made her almost quit.

From the suffering came the joy of Dee Dee, a new best friend.

“It’s sure been an experience,” Elaine said just before leaving for Hillsboro. “But it’s one I’m real glad I took.”

Phil: too many obstacles

On a busy Downtown street corner, Phil made his final bid for a guide dog.

“Corky, forward!” he declared.

He stepped toward a “Don’t Walk” signal, his partial deafness muffling the sounds of oncoming traffic.

And failed the test — again.

Phil and Corky weren’t safe together. They’d proved as much during two tests — the first one and a next-day retake — by walking toward cars and wandering out of crosswalks.

After his four-week effort, then, Phil would return home without the dog he’d wanted for so many years.

Pilot Dogs trainers recommended that Phil spend three to six weeks at a rehabilitation center for the blind, a place where he’d already trained for much of 2005.

Then, with his improved walking and traffic skills, he could return to Pilot Dogs for a three- or four-week class and a different, more mature dog.

School officials recognized problems between Phil and Corky but hoped the pair would click in the final week — it has happened before. This time, though, the differences couldn’t be overcome.

“The dog basically got bored with the work,” said Jay Gray, executive director of Pilot Dogs. “It wasn’t (Phil’s) fault; it was the team’s fault.”

Corky, he said, might better serve someone with more skill and experience.

Phil had envisioned Corky lying at his side as he preached about healing and hope that first Sunday back at church.

As much as he’d loved and bonded with his black Lab, though, Phil wasn’t discouraged by returning to Virginia alone, only thankful that he had another chance.

“If you’ve been as blind as long as I have, for 40 years, there’s nothing more exhilarating than that first walk around the block,” he said.

“It’s like a whole new world.”

Randy: full speed ahead

When Randy Bailey’s children called him on his birthday in December, he revealed the secret he’d been keeping from them for three weeks: He was in Ohio, working to obtain a guide dog.

He was taking charge of his life for the first time since losing his sight five years earlier.

So instead of visiting him the day he turned 43, the four kids — ages 13 to 17 — planned to greet Randy at his apartment when he returned home to Illinois with Brice, a vizsla.

Now that Randy looked forward to walking — or doing anything, for that matter — their monthly visits could be more active.

Randy is considering a move to his hometown of Bloom- ington, Ill., where opportunities are greater than those in the one-stoplight town of Greenville. He might even return to school, become a teacher again.

The plans are certainly nothing like the future Randy imagined when his blindness set in. He and his wife had recently divorced, and, despite his introverted nature, he could do little by himself.

“I figured I’d sit in darkness until the Lord called me home,” he said. “I was scared to death.”

Now, with Brice, he won’t be sitting or waiting.

Nor will he be alone.

“It’s a new chapter,” he said. “Actually, it’s a whole new book.

“I know this will change my life tremendously.”

Randy Bailey's guide dog Brice huddles close to his leg for warmth while they wait for a COTA bus during their downtown walk Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey’s guide dog Brice huddles close to his leg for warmth while they wait for a COTA bus during their downtown walk Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

left to right - Kevin Dixon, 'Nelson', Randy Bailey, 'Brice' and Trainer Mike Tessmer wait for a COTA bus to take them back to Guide Dogs, Inc. Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

left to right – Kevin Dixon, ‘Nelson’, Randy Bailey, ‘Brice’ and Trainer Mike Tessmer wait for a COTA bus to take them back to Guide Dogs, Inc. Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey and his guide dog Brice, right, ride a COTA bus downtown from Pilot Dogs, Inc for a downtown walk Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey and his guide dog Brice, right, ride a COTA bus downtown from Pilot Dogs, Inc for a downtown walk Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. In the rear is classmate Kevin Dixon. The blur is created by the use of a special lens called a 'lens baby'. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. In the rear is classmate Kevin Dixon. The blur is created by the use of a special lens called a ‘lens baby’. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey during his downtown walk with his guide dog Brice Friday morning December 12, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and her Pilot Dogs, Inc. guide dog Dee Dee waits patiently December 16, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and her Pilot Dogs, Inc. guide dog Dee Dee waits patiently December 16, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Pilot dog project, photographed November and December 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Pilot dog project, photographed November and December 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey, right, with his dog Brice makes his way down a hallway on his way home following successful training session at Pilot Dogs, Inc. On the right is Pilot Dogs, Inc Student Services Director Steve Hoyt (cq photographed Friday morning, December 19, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey, right, with his dog Brice makes his way down a hallway on his way home following successful training session at Pilot Dogs, Inc. On the right is Pilot Dogs, Inc Student Services Director Steve Hoyt (cq photographed Friday morning, December 19, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey and his guide dog Brice get ready to go home December 19, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey and his guide dog Brice get ready to go home December 19, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Peaks and Valleys

Training intensity leaves guide-dog students on an emotional roller coaster
Eventually, they travel to stores, ride buses and cross busy Downtown streets like anyone else.

To start, though, guide dogs and their new handlers learn to find doors, to turn left or right, to stop at the end of sidewalks — all in an effort to develop walking skills that the sighted take for granted.

Working up to street crossings takes repetition and patience during a four-week stay at Pilot Dogs, a West Side training school for guide dogs and blind or visually impaired people who would own them.

At 7 a.m. six days a week, students gather for breakfast before starting 12 hours of obedience classes, lectures and walks lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Students venture out one or two at a time, with their dogs leading the way and a trainer giving instructions and monitoring their progress.

Before accepting about 150 students a year, the nonprofit school reviews applications as well as medical and personal references, hoping to select those with the health and personality to withstand the commitment.

Most applicants are accepted to Pilot Dogs or another school, but the physical and emotional demands of the training inevitably prove too much for a few students, who quit or fail the class each year.

For the five enrolled in the final class of 2008, the second and third weeks proved increasingly challenging.

Fatigued from walking and aching from arthritis, Elaine Brittain, an 83-year-old widow from Hillsboro, worried that her age matters more than her efforts during the program.

Randy Bailey, on the other hand, felt as if he were coming back to life — taking long walks for the first time since illness and misfortune five years ago left the 43-year-old blind and alone in Greenville, Ill.

And for Phil Jackson, 40, partial deafness along with complete blindness severely hindered his abilities to walk and control the dog he wanted for his life as a pastor in Bristol, Va.

This story tells of the trio’s training experiences in the two weeks starting Nov. 27.

Elaine: proceeding with caution
The homeless man wanted money from her, of all people — the little, 83-year-old hunched over in jeans a couple of inches too short, walking down the street with her guide dog.

Both Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee brushed past him, silent and unfazed.

During training, a handler’s focus must remain on the walk — distractions, after all, are everywhere.

“Find the curb,” Elaine instructed the black Labrador retriever, who led her to the sidewalk’s end.

Elaine slid her right foot over the brink to determine the crossing’s identity: Is it a street? An alley? A parking lot? Or a dangerous piece of uneven pavement?

Determining her whereabouts, she directed Dee Dee to turn right as the two continued through the West Side neighborhood near Pilot Dogs.

Unknowing, Elaine headed toward a second obstruction: two cars on a sidewalk, parked nonchalantly outside an auto-repair shop.

It was up to Dee Dee to steer her master around the vehicles — and up to Elaine to follow the dog’s chosen route: muddy, uneven ground between the cars and a concrete wall of the shop.

“She’s so good; Dee Dee, you’re such a good dog,” Elaine said — not that she usually tells the dog otherwise.

A week after Elaine and Dee Dee met, their work together was turning from frightening to fruitful.

Less often was Dee Dee bolting toward other dogs or students, to the terror of her elderly caretaker. And on occasions when Dee Dee still acted like a puppy, Elaine was quicker to correct her with a sharp “No!” and a jerk on her leash.

Still, Elaine constantly reminded herself that she thought — no, she knew — that she is too old for four weeks of such intense training.

“The stress is bad; I’m just nervous,” she said. “When I’m tired, I have trouble because I’m weak and I’m not used to all this exercise.”

With some classmates now covering up to 2 miles, Elaine often noted how much slower she was on simple trips around the block. No matter that most of the other students were half Elaine’s age; she was bothered by her lack of progress.

At the end of the second week, Elaine’s physical condition became more unstable. Tangled in Dee Dee’s leash, she fell in the school lobby and smacked her head so hard that she was unsure what had happened.

The rest of the day, she wasn’t her usual, feisty self.

Rather than bantering with her classmates during lunch, she ate mostly in silence, speaking up only to complain of soreness from the fall and stiffness from arthritis.

The next week, Elaine still spoke of the spill as something of historical significance — how it made her wary, even more than she already was, to walk Dee Dee in the slippery December conditions.

“I’m still afraid, and I’m counting the days till I go home,” she said. “It seems like we’ve been here a long time.”

Elaine and her classmates had 11 days to go.

Randy: on cruise control
A dog’s responsibilities end here, at the tangling of highways where the sounds of speeding cars overwhelm all other noise.

Now that Brice had guided her handler to this place — a West Side entrance ramp to I-70 and I-71 on Town Street — Randy Bailey listened for the traffic he could not see.

A rush of cars heard to one side of the pedestrian suggests nothing in front — signaling an opportunity to cross the street.

Discovering that moment can be nerve-racking and time-consuming — especially at this crossing, marred by the noisy Rt. 315 overpass above.

As Randy and Brice, a vizsla, waited for their chance, a truck breezed by them and caused the collar of Randy’s jacket to flutter open.

“Whoa, that was close,” he said, stepping back in recognition of the danger.

Several minutes passed before Randy could make the call, cross the street and continue the walk back to Pilot Dogs.

Before long, though, he regained a quick pace that had, at times, put him more than 50 yards ahead of classmate Kevin Dickson.

Near the end of the walk, trainer Wayne Mathys quizzed his two students on their location.

“Are we at State and ?” Kevin began, describing an intersection a few blocks away.

“Town and Grubb,” Randy interrupted, providing the correct answer.

In his second week, Randy — blind for four years, fewer years than any of his classmates — was proving himself a confident walker with a keen, natural sense of direction.

Adjusting to blindness, caused by a stroke at age 39, has taken much longer.

A therapist taught him to walk with a cane and provided him with devices that detect the color of a shirt and the denomination of currency. A personal assistant helps him with errands and finances.

Still, Randy bloodies and burns his fingers when trying to cook, as he did during his 20 years as a fine-dining chef. He isn’t yet proficient at reading Braille.

And despite his walking abilities, he had tripped and fallen several times at Pilot Dogs, twisting both ankles.

Yet Randy was determined to excel with Brice. He’d always been a perfectionist, and this time he needed these skills to impress others, too.

His four children — ages 13 to 17 — didn’t know that their father had left Illinois to enroll in guide-dog school.

The dog was to be a surprise for the kids, who’ve struggled watching the toll that blindness has taken on him.

“I can tell it in their voices — this intimidates them,” he said, pointing to the dark sunglasses that never leave his face. “This is not what they’re used to.”

Phil: a bumpy ride
Literally out of the school gate, Phil Jackson started making mistakes.

He turned the wrong direction, dropped his dog’s harness and spun in circles as he tried to recover.

Trainer Mike Tessmer offered corrections as loud as his voice would let him. But illness had reduced his shouting that day to a hoarse whisper — and Phil, partially deaf since birth, strained to hear him under normal circumstances.

At the first two curbs on the walk, Phil aimlessly continued into the street instead of stopping and turning to remain on the sidewalk.

He stepped on Corky’s feet, making the black Lab yelp, and tripped badly enough that Mike had to grab and steady him.

The blindness and deafness impairing his balance, Phil then veered into the street while crossing an alley — unable to sense his own direction.

“Stop! You’re in the street!” Mike said. “Phil, you’re a little unsafe, OK?”

During the second week of class, Phil was frequently disoriented inside and outside the building — becoming lost on the way to his room, crashing into chairs, prompting classmates and dogs to scramble out of his way.

And with Phil focusing so much on his own travel, Corky’s movements often became an afterthought.

Without daily reminders of the rules, guide dogs can revert to typical-dog behavior, ignoring duties and commands in favor of inspecting smells and surroundings.

Returning from the walk, Corky darted toward another student’s dog while Phil trailed silently behind her. Mike, watching the lack of control, threw his hands up in frustration.

“We blundered a couple of times this morning,” Phil casually acknowledged after the walk. “But I’m not upset with that; it’s my own stupid fault.”

The next week, though, Phil started to recognize that his problems might be unfixable.

At times, he couldn’t hear the quiet engines of late-model cars or judge the distance between him and oncoming traffic.

And although his “Corkster” was sweet and kind, willing to let Phil nap on her, she nonetheless was a spunky, young dog with her own agenda.

So Phil began speaking of not passing the class — of the possibility that he might return to Virginia and his church without the dog he’d wanted for so long.

“If it’s meant to be, if Corky is meant to be a part of my future life and my ministry,” he said, “it will happen. If not, it won’t.

“But I know right now I’d love to take this puppy home, I really would, because we have bonded so well.”

Elaine Brittain feels for a curb during one of her first outing with her new guide dog Dee Dee Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. In the rear is trainer Mike Tessmer. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain feels for a curb during one of her first outing with her new guide dog Dee Dee Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. In the rear is trainer Mike Tessmer. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee cross a bottoms street near Pilot Dogs, Inc. during their walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. On the right is trainer Wayne Mathys. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee cross a bottoms street near Pilot Dogs, Inc. during their walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. On the right is trainer Wayne Mathys. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee go for a walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. In the rear is trainer Wayne Mathys. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee go for a walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. In the rear is trainer Wayne Mathys. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee go for a walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee go for a walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain brushes her hair in her Pilot Dogs, Inc. bedroom as Dee Dee waits patiently Friday December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain brushes her hair in her Pilot Dogs, Inc. bedroom as Dee Dee waits patiently Friday December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

'Dee Dee', right, and 'Corky', right, wait patiently as their owners (Elaine Brittain and Phil Jackson) eat lunch in the Pilot Dogs, Inc lunchroom Friday December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

‘Dee Dee’, right, and ‘Corky’, right, wait patiently as their owners (Elaine Brittain and Phil Jackson) eat lunch in the Pilot Dogs, Inc lunchroom Friday December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

'Nelson' watches for traffic at an intersection near Pilot Dogs, Inc. Friday morning December 5, 2008 while on a walk with his owner Kevin Dixon. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

‘Nelson’ watches for traffic at an intersection near Pilot Dogs, Inc. Friday morning December 5, 2008 while on a walk with his owner Kevin Dixon. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Phil Jackson gives commands to his guide dog Corky to sit down in the commons room at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Friday morning December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Phil Jackson gives commands to his guide dog Corky to sit down in the commons room at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Friday morning December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

dogs left to right - Dee Dee, Brice, and Kerry wait patiently for their owners in the Pilot Dogs, Inc common room Friday December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

dogs left to right – Dee Dee, Brice, and Kerry wait patiently for their owners in the Pilot Dogs, Inc common room Friday December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Kerry, left, and Dee Dee wait patiently as their owners eat lunch in the Pilot Dogs, Inc lunchroom Friday December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Kerry, left, and Dee Dee wait patiently as their owners eat lunch in the Pilot Dogs, Inc lunchroom Friday December 5, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

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Dee Dee - guide dog for Elaine Brittain photographed at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Dee Dee – guide dog for Elaine Brittain photographed at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

The guide dog 'Kerry' waiting for her owner, Janet Armstrong, to go for a walk at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

The guide dog ‘Kerry’ waiting for her owner, Janet Armstrong, to go for a walk at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee wait to go for a walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. In the rear is a plaque dedicated to Charles W. Medick one of the founders of the pilot dog program. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain and Dee Dee wait to go for a walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. In the rear is a plaque dedicated to Charles W. Medick one of the founders of the pilot dog program. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Dee Dee waits for Elaine Brittain to go for a walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Dee Dee waits for Elaine Brittain to go for a walk Wednesday morning December 3, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Meet and greet

Training program begins with introductions of guide dogs, prospective owners

By Amy Saunders

The dog becomes its owner’s means of navigating the world — his eyes, his inseparable companion.
But the relationship between the two doesn’t begin that way.
Raised by a foster family, the dog has spent more time as an average pet than a vital leader.
And the person, typically blind or visually impaired for years, might not be used to handling an animal or even taking walks.
The strangers gradually become a team at Pilot Dogs, a 58-year-old West Side school that’s among 10 in the country training guide dogs and prospective owners.
The four-week program is a boot camp of sorts: Students sleep in twin beds, eat cafeteria food and train for 12 hours a day, six days a week — first in the school’s Town Street neighborhood and, eventually, on COTA buses and the streets of Downtown.
A test in the final week determines whether students can take their animals home and be counted among the 8,000 active guide-dog users in the United States — a figure representing less than 1 percent of the estimated 1.5 million visually impaired Americans.
The schooling is strenuous, particularly for those who don’t work or who tend to stay close to home. Each year, a handful of the 150 students who enroll quit or fail the class.
“You see a lot of different moods as they go through it: anxiety, excitement, depression, anxiety again,” said Jay Gray, executive director of the nonprofit organization, which provides dogs to students at no cost.
“It usually goes smoothly, but there’s times it just does not.”
Five students — including three featured in this three-day package of stories — began the challenge Nov. 24.
During a two-day orientation, students practiced walking around the school and learned commands they’d need to instruct their dogs.
On the third day, dogs and students started their training together.
Randy: a world unraveled
To catch up with his slender dog, 43-year-old Randy Bailey had to move faster than he had in four years.
During that time, in fact, he’d hardly left his apartment. He had no reason to leave.
His life had deteriorated in just nine months — his health, his marriage and, ultimately, his sight.
First, a rare stomach infection ravaged his body, leaving but 100 pounds on his 6-foot frame.
Then, weakened by the illness as well as his lifelong struggle with diabetes, Randy in early 2004 suffered what he later learned was a series of strokes.
His vision, a little out of sorts initially, was gone by that July.
Meanwhile, his wife — the mother of his four children — divorced him after 16 years of marriage.
And, shortly after he moved out of the house with the family’s Shetland sheepdog, Rowdy was attacked and killed by a friend’s much-larger Akita.
Darkness and depression overcame Randy in a Greenville, Ill., senior center — the only apartment he could find at the time of the divorce, the one he has rarely left since.
“I was mad at the world, and I was scared to death,” he said. “I cried a lot, I did; I was devastated. I still am, to a certain degree.”
As Randy’s emotions eased, he began thinking of rejoining the world he once knew — as a graduate of Northwestern University, as a high-school math teacher and, for the previous 20 years, as a fine-dining chef.
Heeding advice given a year earlier by his teenage daughter, Kayla, he finally made a move by enrolling at Pilot Dogs.
“I’m ready to get back living again,” he said. “There’s gotta be more for me than just sitting in my apartment 24 hours a day. There’s gotta be.”
Randy found his opportunity on that first-day walk with Brice, as the vizsla, a lean breed of Hungarian stock, pulled him around the block fast — enjoyably fast.
Afterward, the dog — which had cowered nervously upon meeting him — was jumping onto his chair, body wiggling, her face in his.
For the first time in two hours, he’d stopped petting her; she wanted his attention.
Phil: a long wait ended
In a stark, temporary bedroom, Phil Jackson finally met the dog he wasn’t supposed to have.
Therapists had discouraged him from attending guide-dog school, fearing the classes would overwhelm him. Blind and partially deaf for all his 40 years, Phil is prone to stumbling into walls and obstacles or mixing up his lefts and rights.
A dog, though, could help him navigate his hometown of Bristol, Va., with the accuracy, speed and grace not afforded by his cane.
A dog could lead him to the pulpit of his small Baptist church and help him develop skills for a job that provides the money his ministry cannot.
Phil had wanted a dog for years — and now, on the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving, his anticipation heightened as he awaited her delivery.
Three hours later, when a trainer announced the dog’s arrival, Phil readied himself immediately, snapping forward in his chair — arms out and waiting for Corky to fill them.
The black Labrador bounded into the room, presenting herself in all her panting, wagging, jumping glory.
“All right, all right!” Phil exclaimed as his hands felt for Corky’s head and nose. “This puppy cannot realize how long I’ve waited for this to happen.”
He promptly ignored instructions to remain seated. If the dog was wiggling her way toward the door, so was Phil — on his hands and knees, willing to follow any path that led to Corky.
“I’ve waited for you forever,” he repeated.
The meeting was momentous for Corky, too; her release from five months of training and kennel life was cause for celebratory jumping and crying.
Such behavior confused Phil, who had never owned a dog — or seen one.
In his deliberate, Southern drawl, he sought the wisdom of the sighted, asking a trainer: “When she’s crying like that and you look at her, do you see tears coming out?”
Elaine: a ‘lost soul’ searching
Sometimes, a sprightly, 50-pound black Lab is no match for an 83-year-old who, when seated, can’t always reach her feet to the floor.
” Nooo! No, Dee Dee! We have to wait our turn!” Elaine Brittain pleaded as her dog lunged for a door in hopes of following the just-departed dog of another student.
At first, Dee Dee had seemed just the friend Elaine was seeking: affectionate and attentive — and, as a bonus, petite and dark.
“I can see you better,” Elaine told the squirming dog upon meeting her. “And you’re little and short – just my size, yes. You’re going to live with me and be my helper because I need a bunch of help, Dee Dee.”
Only minutes into knowing the dog, though, Elaine was fighting for control. And the day before, even without Dee Dee yanking on her, she had lost her balance and fallen during a walk outside.
“I’m afraid I’ll fall again,” she told a trainer, her voice quivering. “What worries me is she’s so strong. Will she settle down? I sure don’t want to fall.”
Concerns about her physical abilities had plagued Elaine long before she arrived at Pilot Dogs. She suffers from painful arthritis and degenerative vision that has turned her world into blurs and patches.
Until recently, the 10-year widow had been content to live alone in the Highland County city of Hillsboro. She made regular trips to the salon, the post office and, on occasion, to a bar for country-music night and margaritas.
She had been more lonely than independent, though, since autumn, when her boxer, Rocky, died of cancer.
“I’ve been a lost soul ever since,” she said. “He was a wonderful, wonderful dog; he surely was. I never went anywhere without him.”
With her sight worsening, she applied to Pilot Dogs at the urging of friends from her beauty shop. A companion could make her happier — and maybe extend her life. Her mother, after all, lived to age 95.
“I’m not giving up yet,” Elaine said. “But if I don’t get another dog, I might.”

Elaine Brittain reacts to meeting her new guide dog 'Dee Dee' for the first time Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. leading Dee Dee is trainer Mike Tessmer. While legally blind, Brittain can still see general shapes and colors and could "see" the Dee Dee coming in. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain reacts to meeting her new guide dog ‘Dee Dee’ for the first time Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. leading Dee Dee is trainer Mike Tessmer. While legally blind, Brittain can still see general shapes and colors and could “see” the Dee Dee coming in. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain gets a few kisses as she gives a bath to Dee Dee Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. In the rear is trainer Mike Tessmer. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Elaine Brittain gets a few kisses as she gives a bath to Dee Dee Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. In the rear is trainer Mike Tessmer. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Phil Jackson makes friends with his new guide dog Corky in his room at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. This was the first meeting of the pairing. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Phil Jackson makes friends with his new guide dog Corky in his room at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. This was the first meeting of the pairing. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey makes friends with his new guide dog Brice in his room at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. This was the first meeting of the pairing. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey makes friends with his new guide dog Brice in his room at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. This was the first meeting of the pairing. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey waits with his new guide dog Brice in an exercise yard at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

Randy Bailey waits with his new guide dog Brice in an exercise yard at Pilot Dogs, Inc. Wednesday morning November 26, 2008. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366) [Photographed with Canon 1D MkIII cameras in RAW mode with L series lenses]

 

Public can lend a hand in a variety of ways

Want to help?

From puppyhood to Pilot Dogs, training and placing a guide dog with an owner costs about $8,000.

But the dog — including transportation to the West Side school and four weeks of classes — is free to students.

The nonprofit agency operates on a $1.4 million annual budget, with 20 percent of the money provided by Lions Clubs International and the rest from memberships and donations.

The school also relies on dog donations and puppy raisers.

Potential volunteers can learn more by calling 614-221-6367or visiting www.pilotdogs.org. The basics:

To donate money

• Checks, payable to Pilot Dogs Inc., should be sent to 625 W. Town St., Columbus, Ohio 43215.

To donate a dog

• About 90 percent of the school guide dogs come from breeding programs, but Pilot Dogs also accepts private donations of dogs.

• The school uses seven breeds: German shepherd, Doberman pinscher, boxer, Labrador retriever, golden retriever, vizsla and standard poodle.

• Females between 50 and 60 pounds are preferred. Dogs between 14 and 30 months old are accepted for a probationary period while their temperament and training potential are evaluated.

To raise a puppy

• A foster family can raise a future Pilot Dog for about a year, starting when the puppy is 7 to 10 weeks old. Guide-dog puppies are raised like pets — with housebreaking, obedience classes and exposure to different people and places.

• Pilot Dogs provides a leash, collar and brush, and reimburses families for veterinary and obedience-school costs (but not for food).

• When the puppy reaches 12 to 14 months of age, it returns to Pilot Dogs for three to five months of guide-dog training. About half won’t make the cut. Breeders get first dibs on adopting those dogs, followed by the puppy raiser and then those on a public waiting list.