Post by Paul on Dec 26, 2004 17:26:51 GMT 9.5
BARRY HONOURS HIS THREE DOGS
At the time of writing, I have never met Barry Leibie but I would dearly like the privilege. There have been few people in my life to which I could clearly open up and say without reservation, "Jeez, I really like you".
Barry like many others responded to my request for stories on Guide, Therapy and Hearing Dogs. Phoning me from the suburb of Windsor Gardens he tempted me with a short story of his first dog, but because my phone was running hot I had to put him off for nearly two weeks. The situation was becoming hopeless, so many wanted to tell me of their canine friends time was at a premium, so I decided to try my hand at telephone interviews.
I remembered Barry's phone call as being warm and friendly and I'd written a couple of complimentary notes at the side of his name. It was a Sunday and I had completed the work set for myself but Barry's name kept flashing out of my "TO DO" sheet. "Ah! to hell with it, lets give him a ring and see if I can get it over the phone" I thought.
Barry's warm friendly voice came over the phone re-enforcing my original impression of him, it was a sort of, "Lets get a couple of beers and have a yarn" type of voice which made me relaxed and comfortable. With the true courtesy of a gentleman from the country, Barry acceded to my request for a telephone interview and we began part one of the interview immediately.
Barry is a good story teller and needed little prompting from me for information. He had partial vision until aged ten, and then at twelve years of age lost his sight totally but with the eternal hope of the very young, always believed at the time that the loss of his vision was temporary and would never last.
Undaunted his Methodist family received assistance from the Church of England Braille Society to have a blind officer of the Salvation Army teach him Braille. Now if you think that's confusing, the Church of England Braille Society, worried about Barry's normal education, organized him to attend a Catholic school. Barry remembers Sister Mathias with a lot of affection and it is with a great deal of credit, that the religious denominations transcended their differences, simply, for the welfare of a child.
Barry experienced no difficulties with children being cruel about his disability but strangely, his mother did. Barry's mother worked on the Mothers Club of the local school but was plagued with comments about Barry attending a Catholic school. The short brief upshot was that Barry's Mum transferred her more than valuable services to the Catholic school.
As a boy Barry developed a liking for music and his parents invested in a second hand piano in the hope that it would develop his interest. He got to the stage when he could knock a tune out of the piano but knew he would never master it. One day travelling in his father’s car and listening to the radio he heard a piece being played by the Shadows and decided from that day on; the guitar would be his instrument.
Learning how to play the guitar stood Barry in good stead, on leaving school he found work in a handicraft shop which had a music section and finally they were selling musical instruments. In addition to his normal work Barry became so adept he was able to teach the Guitar to others.
In 1966 Barry's brother offered to take him to a Lions Club Meeting to listen to a blind person talk about his guide dog. Barry was a little skeptical. Having been brought up with dogs Barry reckoned a guy wouldn't be the full quid if he allowed a dog to help him to cross a road but he was finally convinced to attend the meeting.
Attending that meeting was probably one of the better decisions in Barry's life. He was fascinated with the speaker and had a long talk with him after the meeting about the dog and its capabilities. So intrigued was he, that by the time he left the meeting he had made the decision to have a dog of his own.
So it was that in January 1967 Barry found himself in Melbourne to become acquainted with his dog and to receive his training. Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday Barry and others on the course did theoretical training and they were to be introduced to their dogs on Wednesday afternoon.
They were subjected to disappointment when they were told that the dogs had not had their final vetinary check and they would have to wait until the next day. The trainer did tell them the breed and name of their dog though.
The next day Barry was introduced to Ricky, a labrador/kelpie who was to become his eyes, trusted friend and constant companion for the next 10 years. With the instructors words "Right, the dogs are trained but you're not," trainees and dogs were put through a comprehensive training program. Barry admits that initially he was in awe of Ricky and the first week was very hard and strange for him. He just couldn't seem to grasp what his dog Ricky was capable of and that he was actually placing his trust and his life in a dog's care.
When they both returned to Kadina, Barry's father guided Barry and Ricky to Barry's grandmother's home, he did that twice over two successive weekends. The third time Barry set out with Ricky to visit Granny on his own and after knocking on the door his Grandmother said, "Hello Barry, where's your Dad?" She couldn't believe that the dog had aided Barry across the town. This may be a simple story but in reality, Barry had won his independence.
Barry used to take Ricky to work with him and became quite a favourite with the customers. Often Ricky would appear from behind the counter to greet a voice he thought he knew only to find someone different there and giving them a shock. The kelpie in him made Ricky a very active dog so often during the working day Barry would have to slip out to allow his dog to work off some energy.
Barry used to go home for lunch but two or three times a week he had to call in at the deli on the way home to pick up a loaf of bread. One particular day he heard a young girl in the shop with her mother, after being served with his bread Barry was leaving through the shop and he heard the little girl burst into tears. The next time Barry went into the shop the sales assistant asked Barry if he had heard a little girl crying as he left. When Barry replied he had, the assistant told him she would tell him what had happened providing he wasn't cross with Ricky.
It seems that prior to Barry's arrival the little girls mother had purchased a sausage roll for her and as Ricky was guiding Barry from the shop the girl had offered her sausage roll to Ricky in a teasing action. As quick as a flash Ricky bit off the top of the sausage roll without even interrupting his pace. I can imagine Ricky's canine grin as he thought to himself, "Zorro strikes again".
At the time of writing, I have never met Barry Leibie but I would dearly like the privilege. There have been few people in my life to which I could clearly open up and say without reservation, "Jeez, I really like you".
Barry like many others responded to my request for stories on Guide, Therapy and Hearing Dogs. Phoning me from the suburb of Windsor Gardens he tempted me with a short story of his first dog, but because my phone was running hot I had to put him off for nearly two weeks. The situation was becoming hopeless, so many wanted to tell me of their canine friends time was at a premium, so I decided to try my hand at telephone interviews.
I remembered Barry's phone call as being warm and friendly and I'd written a couple of complimentary notes at the side of his name. It was a Sunday and I had completed the work set for myself but Barry's name kept flashing out of my "TO DO" sheet. "Ah! to hell with it, lets give him a ring and see if I can get it over the phone" I thought.
Barry's warm friendly voice came over the phone re-enforcing my original impression of him, it was a sort of, "Lets get a couple of beers and have a yarn" type of voice which made me relaxed and comfortable. With the true courtesy of a gentleman from the country, Barry acceded to my request for a telephone interview and we began part one of the interview immediately.
Barry is a good story teller and needed little prompting from me for information. He had partial vision until aged ten, and then at twelve years of age lost his sight totally but with the eternal hope of the very young, always believed at the time that the loss of his vision was temporary and would never last.
Undaunted his Methodist family received assistance from the Church of England Braille Society to have a blind officer of the Salvation Army teach him Braille. Now if you think that's confusing, the Church of England Braille Society, worried about Barry's normal education, organized him to attend a Catholic school. Barry remembers Sister Mathias with a lot of affection and it is with a great deal of credit, that the religious denominations transcended their differences, simply, for the welfare of a child.
Barry experienced no difficulties with children being cruel about his disability but strangely, his mother did. Barry's mother worked on the Mothers Club of the local school but was plagued with comments about Barry attending a Catholic school. The short brief upshot was that Barry's Mum transferred her more than valuable services to the Catholic school.
As a boy Barry developed a liking for music and his parents invested in a second hand piano in the hope that it would develop his interest. He got to the stage when he could knock a tune out of the piano but knew he would never master it. One day travelling in his father’s car and listening to the radio he heard a piece being played by the Shadows and decided from that day on; the guitar would be his instrument.
Learning how to play the guitar stood Barry in good stead, on leaving school he found work in a handicraft shop which had a music section and finally they were selling musical instruments. In addition to his normal work Barry became so adept he was able to teach the Guitar to others.
In 1966 Barry's brother offered to take him to a Lions Club Meeting to listen to a blind person talk about his guide dog. Barry was a little skeptical. Having been brought up with dogs Barry reckoned a guy wouldn't be the full quid if he allowed a dog to help him to cross a road but he was finally convinced to attend the meeting.
Attending that meeting was probably one of the better decisions in Barry's life. He was fascinated with the speaker and had a long talk with him after the meeting about the dog and its capabilities. So intrigued was he, that by the time he left the meeting he had made the decision to have a dog of his own.
So it was that in January 1967 Barry found himself in Melbourne to become acquainted with his dog and to receive his training. Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday Barry and others on the course did theoretical training and they were to be introduced to their dogs on Wednesday afternoon.
They were subjected to disappointment when they were told that the dogs had not had their final vetinary check and they would have to wait until the next day. The trainer did tell them the breed and name of their dog though.
The next day Barry was introduced to Ricky, a labrador/kelpie who was to become his eyes, trusted friend and constant companion for the next 10 years. With the instructors words "Right, the dogs are trained but you're not," trainees and dogs were put through a comprehensive training program. Barry admits that initially he was in awe of Ricky and the first week was very hard and strange for him. He just couldn't seem to grasp what his dog Ricky was capable of and that he was actually placing his trust and his life in a dog's care.
When they both returned to Kadina, Barry's father guided Barry and Ricky to Barry's grandmother's home, he did that twice over two successive weekends. The third time Barry set out with Ricky to visit Granny on his own and after knocking on the door his Grandmother said, "Hello Barry, where's your Dad?" She couldn't believe that the dog had aided Barry across the town. This may be a simple story but in reality, Barry had won his independence.
Barry used to take Ricky to work with him and became quite a favourite with the customers. Often Ricky would appear from behind the counter to greet a voice he thought he knew only to find someone different there and giving them a shock. The kelpie in him made Ricky a very active dog so often during the working day Barry would have to slip out to allow his dog to work off some energy.
Barry used to go home for lunch but two or three times a week he had to call in at the deli on the way home to pick up a loaf of bread. One particular day he heard a young girl in the shop with her mother, after being served with his bread Barry was leaving through the shop and he heard the little girl burst into tears. The next time Barry went into the shop the sales assistant asked Barry if he had heard a little girl crying as he left. When Barry replied he had, the assistant told him she would tell him what had happened providing he wasn't cross with Ricky.
It seems that prior to Barry's arrival the little girls mother had purchased a sausage roll for her and as Ricky was guiding Barry from the shop the girl had offered her sausage roll to Ricky in a teasing action. As quick as a flash Ricky bit off the top of the sausage roll without even interrupting his pace. I can imagine Ricky's canine grin as he thought to himself, "Zorro strikes again".