"Good boy," says Brandon Carlson, 16, when Nickleby heels attentively on his right side without stopping to check out a phone toy that rings and laughs sporadically.

But Nickleby succumbs to a ball, trying to catch it. Brandon pulls the 9-month-old puppy back immediately, correcting his disobedient act.

The 10 puppies must go through strict obedience training because they are not ordinary pets. When they reach 13 or 18 months old, their current owners have to return them to Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, where they will undergo more serious training before being allowed to work as guide dogs for people who are visually impaired.

The Carlsons take Nickleby everywhere they go. They take him to fitting rooms, games and even ballrooms. That's so he'll learn how to handle a variety of social situations. When the family leaves town, they need to find someone who has experience with guide dog training.

Nickleby is the third guide dog the Willow Glen family has trained. The first dog, Missouri, is working with a blind person in Canada. Their second dog, Joaquin, had trouble focusing and became their pet. Nickleby arrived at the Carlsons' home last April.

"We thought about it for a long time before we applied for Guide Dogs for the Blind because it is a big commitment," says Brandon's mother, Colleen. "But we also realized it would be a great service project."

The Talleys, another Willow Glen family, found that raising guide dogs for the blind is a great way to teach their children responsibility.

When her 14-year-old son, Colby, said he wanted a dog, Dawn Talley signed up for the program instead of going to a pet store and buying him a dog.

"I want him to understand that taking care of somebody is not that easy," Talley says. "It gave him more respect for us because he realized parenting was very challenging."

Colby got Kendra, a Labrador retriever, last January. He is responsible for feeding her, walking her and training her. Although that means the Pioneer High School freshman has to sacrifice some time with his friends and cannot rest after his afternoon football practice, Colby says he enjoys raising Kendra because he knows that in the end she will help someone.

"I know I will be very sad when I have to give her back," Colby says. "But just think how happy the blind person will be when he receives Kendra. As long as that person is happy, I am happy."

Photograph by Sean Penello They Get Around! Willow Glen resident Colby Talley has discovered that raising guide dogs has increased his sense of responsibility. He's been working with a Labrador retriever named Kendra to prepare her to help the visually impaired.

Sixty years ago, Guide Dogs for the Blind first incorporated at its original location in Los Gatos. Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson, who both worked with organizations for people with visual impairments, became interested in the idea of using guide dogs, especially for those wounded in World War II. The two had become familiar with The Seeing Eye program in New Jersey and wanted to start a similar program on the West Coast. In 1941, Donaldson and Merrihew began to publicize their idea.

With support from American Women's Voluntary Services, they rented a Victorian farmhouse in Los Gatos and began training nine students to work with four donated German shepherds.

Since then, Guide Dogs for the Blind has expanded to include dog breeding, raising and veterinary care and has moved its headquarters to San Rafael, Calif. There the organization houses, feeds and trains guide dogs as well as the people who hope to use them. It has also opened a second location in Boring, Ore., for guide dog and student training. And it has provided more than 7,500 guide dogs to individuals who are blind.

One of the organization's guide dogs, Roselle, has received numerous awards for leading her owner to safety from his office on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

The program requires every potential guide dog owner to go through a lengthy application and screening process, a process that includes a home visit to each candidate to make sure a guide dog is appropriate.

And for each guide dog owner, the process of learning to work with and trust a dog with his or her life can take years.

Photograph by George Sakkestad Seeing Paws: Joyann, a yellow Labrador retriever, goes for a walk. Joyann was training in May to become a guide dog.

Volunteers participate in the organization in a variety of ways. But perhaps the most interesting of the volunteers, at least to those who can't imagine taking a puppy into their homes only to let it go after about a year, are the approximately 1,000 puppy raisers across the western United States.


One of the family

The Carlsons first learned about Guide Dogs for the Blind from a fellow member of the First Covenant Church on Coe Avenue. When they lost their golden retriever, Bucky, to old age four years ago, they decided to join the program.

After undergoing a lengthy interview and passing a house inspection, the Carlsons got their first guide dog, Missouri, a golden retriever, in August of 2000. Colleen's then 11-year-old daughter, Bryanna, was his primary caretaker.

Although the Carlsons had had Bucky for 14 years, raising Missouri brought new challenges. The puppy came with a thick training manual.

According to the manual, guide dogs can only eat dry dog food—kibble—so that they won't learn to beg. The trainers aren't allowed to hand-feed them, and instead of reinforcing positive behavior with treats, owners can only give rewards of praise.

People who raise potential guide dogs aren't allowed to throw them balls, either, because the dogs aren't supposed to learn to chase. So the Carlsons provided Missouri with plastic dinosaurs and rings to play with.

In addition to exposing Missouri to various social situations, the Carlsons must teach him basic obedience, such as to obey the commands "sit" and "stay." They also taught him appropriate household behaviors, such as going to the bathroom on command. Guide dogs must learn to "hold it" so that they don't "go" in inappropriate places.

Missouri must wear a leash all the time. During his training, he always wore a dragline so that if he misbehaved or tried to run away, Bryanna could jerk it.

Missouri graduated from the program last April. Although Bryanna cried for a week when she returned Missouri, Colleen says they were very proud of their dog when they met his current owner, Gordon Gunther, a blind person from Alberta, Canada.

To lessen the heartbreak of losing Missouri, the Carlsons got their second guide dog, Joaquin, in July of 2001. Britta, 16, was responsible for taking care of the golden retriever. But they soon found that Joaquin would not make a good guide dog because he defecates when he gets excited.

After Joaquin failed his qualification test last April, he became their pet, and the Carlsons took Nickleby as their next guide dog in training.

Brandon walks Nickleby along Lincoln Avenue so he will learn not to be distracted by busy traffic. He is also familiarizing Nickleby with different street surfaces so Nickleby can relieve himself on command regardless of the ground's condition. In addition, Brandon takes Nickleby on public transportation twice a month.

"It takes a lot of patience when they are small, but it gets easier," Brandon says.

Brandon often talks about his experiences with Colby Talley.

Talley has learned to control his dog, Kendra, with a strap that goes around her muzzle and presses down on her nose when she pulls on the leash and he has taught Kendra to follow commands, such as "sit" and "lie down" by feeding her meals after she obeys.

While Talley is at school, Dawn takes the dog on errands. Puppy raisers who work outside the home bring the dogs they are training to work.

Once a week, Kendra accompanies Dawn to her volunteer work at Booksin Elementary School, where Dawn's 7-year-old daughter, Shelby, and 11-year-old son, Brent, are studying.

"She doesn't bother the students and they don't bother her," Dawn says. "Kendra was born to work."


Working for a living

When the work of puppy raisers is done, the work for the dog is just beginning.

Every guide dog spends about five months in intensive, on-site training by professional guide dog trainers. The dogs learn to safely lead, assist and protect their charges * leading someone to a destination following a straight path, stopping at all elevation changes and avoiding ground-level and overhead obstacles.

The dogs need to be able to take direction and not be distracted from their most important duty * to ensure the constant safety of their owner.

Guide Dogs for the Blind breeds all its own dogs from healthy, well-established parents and uses only Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds and Labrador/golden retriever mixes. Those breeds are of the right size, are easily cared for, have stable temperaments and are eager to please.

Of those dogs that enter the program, only the most qualified dogs are actually selected. More than half the dogs the organization raises are ultimately dropped from the program before being assigned. Some of the dogs have skills better suited to other forms of dog-person assistance, such as serving as hearing dogs or dogs for people who use wheelchairs. Other dogs aren't healthy enough to perform reliably for a person who is blind. And a few just aren't up to the task. When that happens, the dog is offered back to its puppy raiser as a pet or is found a home through the organization's placement program.

Even the most qualified guide dog doesn't do the job alone, however.

Guide dogs must work with owners who are capable of communicating with the dogs. Thus, the individuals who wish to receive guide dogs must also go through a 28-day, on-site training process to practice communication techniques, learn what they can and cannot expect from their dogs and what they must be responsible for.

For instance, guide dogs require clear direction. They cannot be expected to divine a person's destination and know how to get him or her there. It is also up to the human in the partnership to decide when to cross streets or enter areas * the person must listen for traffic and command his or her dog appropriately. However, a guide dog is trained to disobey if it perceives danger.

During the training process, potential owners spend most of their time getting to know the dog, as well as learning to care for and develop a good working relationship with their new partner. New guide dog owners must establish a feeding and relieving routine for their dogs so that the owners can plan their days around those needs.

At the end of the training process—graduation—new owners are formally presented with their dogs. They also have a chance to meet the dog's volunteer raisers.

The dog-person team's relationship with the organization doesn't end there, however. The staff makes follow-up visits to ensure that the team is working well and to address any previously unforeseen questions or situations. Guide dog owners also have access to a network of other experienced guide dog owners.

Generally, after about eight years, a guide dog is retired, a decision that is made in conjunction with the organization's staff. Decisions about what to do with the dog are up to its owner, who can either keep it as a pet or give it to family or friends. The dog could also be returned to its volunteer raiser or found a home through the organization. Then the guide dog owner can apply for another dog and take a shorter training course with the new dog.

Photograph by George Sakkestad Animal Bond: Betsy Horn (left) and her daughter Mindy were raising Joyann before she underwent official training to become a guide dog.

Because of the stringency of the training program and the professionalism expected of the dogs, it's important to ask an owner before petting a guide dog. This is to avoid distracting the dog from its primary duty.

It's best to avoid interfering with a guide dog team unless the owner asks for assistance. In that event, directions should be given to the owner, not the guide dog.

The organization is now conducting an awareness campaign to remind people to keep their pets from distracting guide dogs, either by running up to them, jumping on them or barking at them.

As challenging as raising a potential guide dog can be, Colleen Carlson says she would recommend it. Every week, she and Brandon meet with two leaders from the organization and other people who are raising future guide dogs. The leaders help owners develop positive behaviors in their puppies. The leaders also make sure the dogs are receiving proper health care. Colleen says the weekly meeting is helpful to give them support and suggestions.

Dawn Talley adds that raising a future guide dog is a great activity for parents to do with their children.

Colby Talley sees raising a potential guide dog as a win-win situation. If Kendra graduates from the organization's program, he says, he will be proud, and Kendra will help someone. But if Kendra doesn't graduate, Colby says, they will get to keep her, just as the Carlsons kept Joaquin.

"Either way, I will be happy," Colby says.

For more information about the organization and the open houses, call 800.295.4050 or visit www.guidedogs.com.

Willow Glen Resident staff writer I-chun Che contributed to this story.