Warwick youth honored by Seeing Eye Club.

Raising puppies to be service dogs ‘is a great experience’, By Linda Smith Hancharick Warwick — Riley Gray Plaisted is officially a best friend, for the second time. Plaisted, a senior at Warwick Valley High School, was awarded the Pals with Paws Seeing Eye Club’s Best Friend Award recently. The award is given once a year to a puppy raiser that has assisted with the club and has raised more than one puppy. “Pretty cool,” was how Riley described winning the award. What is even cooler, he said, is to know that the dogs you raised are going to help other people. Riley and his family recently turned over their fifth Seeing Eye pup. Gray Plaisted’s family is a member of the Warwick branch of the Seeing Eye, which has branches throughout New Jersey and one each in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Warwick’s is the only New York branch. “The club has been in Warwick since 1998,” said Riley’s mom, Karen Gray Plaisted. “We became involved about five years ago, when my kids were entering the teenage years. It is definitely one of the better experiences you can give your children.” Riley agreed. “It is definitely a great experience,” he said. “I’d recommend it for other kids.” For one thing, it certainly gives them responsibility. Karen agreed to raise a puppy for the Seeing Eye as long as her kids, including Riley’s sister, Haley, took all responsibility for the dog. This included walking and feeding every day. Raising a puppy for The Seeing Eye is not quite like having your own dog, although, to Karen, each dog the family raised seemed like their own dog. “You have to remember that these dogs are going to be with someone who is blind,” she said. “You must take them out on a leash at all times. You can’t just open the door into your backyard and let them go. A blind person can’t do that. They can’t be on furniture and they can’t eat people food. You think it’s your own dog but it’s not.” First and third Thursdays at Sanfordville Elementary When the Gray Plaisteds decided to raise a puppy, they went to a couple of meetings at the Warwick Pals with Paws Seeing Eye Club, which meets the first and third Thursdays of the month at Sanfordville Elementary School. They listened to what is involved before making their final decision and then put their name on the waiting list to raise a puppy. “It usually takes a while before you get your first dog,” said Karen. “The second one is much easier to get.” The Seeing Eye raises dogs with “wonderful temperaments,” according to Karen. The best breeds for this work, she said, are German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers and Labradors. You get them when they are “little fur balls” at seven weeks old. The job of a puppy raiser is to expose them to as many situations as possible so that when they are older and guiding a blind person, they won’t be afraid of those situations. Karen talked about one dog they had trained and turned back over to the Seeing Eye. When the dog went on a subway, he was spooked at the public address system. They learned they have to expose their puppies to noises and situations not necessarily found right here in Warwick. Seeing Eye dogs are sent to live with owners throughout the country. Puppy raisers keep their dogs for about 18 months. During this time, the dog is exposed to as many situations and people as they can, always while on a leash. The Seeing Eye provides a training book, helping the puppy raisers think in terms of a blind person’s life. It tells which commands are necessary to teach—very basic ones. At six months, 12 months, and at the end of the puppy’s stay, the family provides a report on the behavior of the dog. The report also helps the Seeing Eye see if there are any problems and when they started to manifest themselves. The reports are easy to complete and the Seeing Eye organization reminds families a month before the report is actually due. Letting go Letting go of the dog can be an issue. As Karen said, the kids get attached to the dogs. What helps is having another dog right behind. When this family was raising their first puppy, they were asked to take a second one six months later, which they agreed to do. When the time came to turn over the first puppy, they at least had another there. “The first couple were hard to let go of,” said Riley. “But it gets easier.” After getting socialization with the family, the dog is returned to the Seeing Eye in Morristown, N.J. After receiving a health evaluation, he goes through four more months of training with a trainer, covering more difficult guiding situations. When the dogs are ready, they are then tested in both Morristown and New York City. The family who raised him gets to watch the walk with the trainer while another trainer explains every move. Then comes the big decision—is the dog suitable to guide? For the Gray Plaisteds, their success rate has been excellent. They have raised five dogs and four of them have been selected to guide. One was even selected to become a breeder. A sense of freedom What happened to the one that didn’t quite make it as a guide dog? “Iason came back to us,” said Karen. “When they went for the walk through he pulled on the harness just a little too hard.” The trainer offered him to the family when no suitable match was found for him. Now Iason lives with the family full time. The Seeing Eye organization provides veterinary care for their dogs and a stipend to families to help defray expenses for food. They also provide toys, leashes, a brush and collar, as well as a crate, making the financial output by an adoptive family minimal. And what’s with the name? Karen explained that each puppy in a particular litter has a name that begins with the same letter. For example, when Iason was born, each of his litter mates had names beginning with “I.” The puppy comes with the name. There are six families involved in the Warwick chapter of Pals with Paws and, Karen said, they are always looking for more. Debra Colby and Karen Gray Plaisted are co-presidents of the club. And the rewards are just priceless. “People who have received Seeing Eye dogs say there is nothing like having one,” said Karen. “They say it is like they are not walking anymore—they are dancing! They get their freedom. That’s a wonderful thing for all of us.”