Teaching new dogs some old tricks

HE KERSHNER FAMILY HAS PLAYED HOST to many dogs over the past several years, but none of the animals make a home with the family -- the dogs are needed elsewhere.
Every 10 to 14 months for the past eight years, Carol and Rick Kershner have loaded their minivan and driven to Columbus to pick up a puppy. The puppy lives in their home, undergoes obedience training and learns how to get along with strangers before heading back to Columbus, and, eventually, to a blind person in need of the animal's assistance.
The Kershners serve as volunteer puppy raisers for the Pilot Dogs Inc. program. The organization, for the past 50 years, has trained and furnished dogs to guide the blind.
The organization uses seven breeds of dogs for the program: German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, boxers, Doberman pinschers, vizslas and standard poodles. The Kershners are sharing their home with Molly, an 8-month-old German shepherd.
A Pilot Dogs Inc. letter said the organization has found that dogs raised in a home environment tend to make well-adjusted guide dogs. Volunteers are asked to socialize the dogs with people and everyday situations.
Carol Kershner makes sure Molly gets her fair share of socializing.
About Molly's habits
According to Kershner, Molly has been housebroken, takes obedience courses, takes regular walks surrounded by people, and is getting accustomed to traffic and car noise or anything else that may come up in daily living with a blind person. Molly is even a regular at church services with the Kershner family.
Once Molly has lived with the Kershners for up to 14 months, she will be taken back to Columbus for four to six more months of training. She will then likely be matched with a blind owner and have more training with the new owner.
Kershner said not all dogs selected for the program make it to the end -- something she calls a "career change" for the animal. She said it is important for the dog to possess certain qualities such as a independent thinking skills to become a guide dog.
"The blind person's life depends on this dog," she said. "If a blind person comes to a crossing, hears no cars and tries to cross, the dog has to know when not to cross. They have to be intelligent enough to know when not to obey."
Kershner recalls the story of a blind woman in Florida who, while out walking with her guide dog, came to an intersection where the dog refused to cross. The woman, she said, turned around and went home, but the woman's husband later found out that two alligators had been sitting on the opposite side of the street the woman was trying to cross.
People get reimbursed
Pilot Dogs reimburses puppy raisers like the Kershners for all veterinary expenses and assistance for the cost of an obedience course. The raisers are provided training collars, a leash, a puppy raiser manual and a health card. Raisers pay for all the dog's food, and there is no compensation.
Carol Kershner says volunteering for the program is not about money. She said a love for dogs and belief in the good of the program have been her motivating factors. The Kershners have six other dogs of their own.
"I wanted to give something back to what I love so much," she said. "I've always loved dogs and trained my own dogs. I've always been interested in Pilot Dogs because they are so intelligent."
According to Kershner, however, there is a small downside. She said the dogs come into the family circle, but eventually have to leave the home. Any sadness in seeing the dog leave, however, is overshadowed by the job she knows it will be doing for someone else, she said.
You get attached
"You do get attached to these dogs and people will ask how can you do this, but when you see pictures of the person with their guide dog you realize how important it is to the person. You have helped make their life better," she said.
The Kershners have recently been in contact with the recipient of one of the dogs she previously kept. She recommends the program to anyone willing to take the time to get involved. For more information, Pilot Dogs can be contacted at (614) 221-6367.