Pilot Dogs provide service and companionship

                        
Summary: The Dover Lions Club welcomed Jay Gray and Oreo to the Grace Lutheran Church Outreach Center for a program about Lions Pilot Dogs. Gray serves as director of the Columbus based Pilot Dogs, Inc. and Oreo is an 18 month old dog ready to begin service with a sight-impaired individual. The Dover Lions Club served as host to the Ohio Lions Pilot Dogs program March 22. The program was held at Grace Lutheran Church Outreach Center, 208 N. Wooster Avenue at Dover. Pilot Dogs Inc. director Jay Gray spoke about the non-profit organization and how sight-impaired individuals can benefit from a guide dog. Members of the Bolivar and Newcomerstown Lions Clubs were also in attendance. Pilot Dogs, Inc. was established in 1950 to train and furnish guide dogs for the sight-impaired. The program serves more than 150 individuals each year across the country and around the world. Pilot Dogs are available to legally blind individuals. To be considered legally blind, an individual must demonstrate visual acuity in their better eye at 20/200 or a visual field of 20% or less. Individuals accepted to receive a Pilot Dog do so at no cost to them. They will spend four weeks at the Pilot Dog facility in Columbus where room and board, equipment and round-trip transportation are provided during the training process. Joining Gray for the hour-long program was Oreo, an 18 month old yellow Labrador retriever. Oreo had recently completed the five week training program and is now ready to begin training with a sight-impaired individual. Prior to training, Pilot Dogs spend 12-14 months in a regular home where they are raised like a pet. Their foster family teaches them to be house broken, socializes them with people and other animals and trains them to walk on a leash. “It is difficult to have to give up the dog but most families understand this before they accept the responsibility of being a puppy raiser,” said Jay Gray. “Over the years we have only had one family refuse to give up the dog. They were able to adopt the dog and never served as fosters again.” Gray randomly chose Mary Jo Jones of Dover from the audience to demonstrate some of the skills Oreo was trained to do. Jones was blindfolded and shown how to walk with the white cane commonly used by the blind. The task proved difficult as Jones attempted to maneuver through a narrow path with chairs placed along the way to increase the challenge. Seeming almost disoriented, Jones slowly made her way to the other side of the room using the cane and Gray’s voice as a guide. Jones was then asked to walk the path with Oreo as her Pilot Dog. Using the commands, forward and stop, Oreo successfully led Jones to the other end of the room stopping only briefly to smell the baked goods and light refreshments offered to guests. Pilot Dogs, Inc. uses seven dog breeds in their training program. Doberman pinscher, Golden Retriever, Labrador retriever, German shepherd, Standard Poodle, Boxer and Vizsla have all been proven to be good guide dogs. “The age of our blind students is increasing. We see older people in more need of a guide dog. Not all these breeds are appropriate for all people so we have to pair up students with a dog that will be right for them,” said Gray. More than 500 Lions Clubs across the nation contribute to the Pilot Dog program, providing 15% of their annual operating budget. The Dover Lions Club has been sponsoring the Pilot Dog program since 1960. “We would be unable to do what we do without the support of the Lions,” said Gray. The Dover Lions Club meets the second and fourth Thursday at 7p.m. at The Sunnyside Store at Parral. As a service club, the Lions fund numerous projects throughout the community including their summer concert series, Summer in the Park, which features six outdoor concerts at Dover City Park, held June-August. New members are always welcome. For more information or to become a member of the Dover Lions Club, call Secretary Bob Muller at 330-343-1272.


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