Post by Paul on Dec 26, 2004 16:42:23 GMT 9.5
DIANA & FRECKLES
Diana Kube lives with her husband Keith in the leafy suburb of Aberfoyle Park together with three cats and Freckles, Diana's guide dog.
Diana has been sight impaired all of her life suffering from a condition called congenital glaucoma. She is totally blind in her left eye and has very limited vision in the other. In 1994 her sight deteriorated even further and she made a conscious decision that it was time to enlist the services of a Guide Dog. After assessment and Long Cane training she was finally sent to the Melbourne Guide Dog Training Centre in July 1996 and it was there, that Freckles came into her life.
One funny thing happened while she was training with her new dog in Melbourne. Diana was out with Freckles under the guidance of an instructor named Peter and they were practicing the 'Follow' command. "Follow Pete", Diana commanded Freckles and she was immediately led to a bench. A little frustrated Diana once again ordered Freckles to "follow Pete", and yet again was led to another bench by a determined Freckles. Finally Diana twigged the problem and ordered Freckles to follow Peter. It seems that Pete sounded too much like seat.
Once Diana had returned home from the training school to Adelaide with Freckles, it was time to teach her new locations and the commands that were associated with them. Even in four short weeks Freckles now has well over 20 location commands that can guide Diana around the local area. These include Chemist, Butcher, Bakery, Deli, Bus Stop, ATM, and Mum's. Freckles dutifully guides Diana to the places as commanded, however, she does have two favourite places which she loves to visit, the Bakery and of course the Butcher. A Guide Dog Freckles may be, but she's still a normal dog with an appetite for the good life at heart.
There has to be some comedy involved in teaching the name of locations to a Guide Dog, for example, most ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) are generally busy places and I can see some humour in the situation when a sight impaired person is introducing the dog to the ATM, or any location for the first time. "ATM, Freckles, ATM". Then you walk away from the location with the dog for a reasonable distance then command, "ATM, Freckles", so that the dog can lead you back again. The exercise is repeated as many times as it takes for the dog to store the information into its memory bank, so that it can confidently lead its charge to that when location required.
Diana told me of an acquaintance who also has a Guide Dog. Instead of one bus stop her friend uses two, so it would be pointless saying to the dog, "Bus Stop". So Diana's friend gave names to the two bus stop he uses, one is called Charlie and the other Simon. I'd have liked to have been a fly on the wall watching peoples faces at either bus stop when that particular dog was learning those locations.
It was with some amusement that Diana told me the story of a blind person and their dog in Adelaide attempting to find the G.P.O. Lost, directions were asked from a member of the public, ignoring the owner, Mr Public bent down to the dog and said, "Well, you cross the next two streets and it's the last building on your right ......."
It is fortunate that Diana has a sense of humour, she related two occasions when the general public were less than sensitive. One day a man tripped over her cane and retaliated with a, "Why don't you look where you're going?" and another time, when a child fell over her cane in a store, the mother's retort was, "Blind people shouldn't be allowed in here". Diana generously laughed at those remarks but I hope that those two people involved read this book and that their faces are very, very red.
Diana in an attractive lady who speaks with the soft accent of her native Canada. With gutsy determination she pursued her career with computers obtaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in computing. She has gone on to form her own business, "All About Computers" which offers services such as Advice, Installation, Equipment, and Home Markets. The business has been running successfully for three years and is a credit to her resolve.
Freckles is now not only her trusted friend but a business partner, guiding her mistress to see important clients. As the business grows, I can see lots of Bonus Bones being thrown in Freckle's direction.
©Paul Springthorpe, Media Production Services. Extracted from, ‘It’s a Dog’s Life.’ All rights reserved.
Diana Kube lives with her husband Keith in the leafy suburb of Aberfoyle Park together with three cats and Freckles, Diana's guide dog.
Diana has been sight impaired all of her life suffering from a condition called congenital glaucoma. She is totally blind in her left eye and has very limited vision in the other. In 1994 her sight deteriorated even further and she made a conscious decision that it was time to enlist the services of a Guide Dog. After assessment and Long Cane training she was finally sent to the Melbourne Guide Dog Training Centre in July 1996 and it was there, that Freckles came into her life.
One funny thing happened while she was training with her new dog in Melbourne. Diana was out with Freckles under the guidance of an instructor named Peter and they were practicing the 'Follow' command. "Follow Pete", Diana commanded Freckles and she was immediately led to a bench. A little frustrated Diana once again ordered Freckles to "follow Pete", and yet again was led to another bench by a determined Freckles. Finally Diana twigged the problem and ordered Freckles to follow Peter. It seems that Pete sounded too much like seat.
Once Diana had returned home from the training school to Adelaide with Freckles, it was time to teach her new locations and the commands that were associated with them. Even in four short weeks Freckles now has well over 20 location commands that can guide Diana around the local area. These include Chemist, Butcher, Bakery, Deli, Bus Stop, ATM, and Mum's. Freckles dutifully guides Diana to the places as commanded, however, she does have two favourite places which she loves to visit, the Bakery and of course the Butcher. A Guide Dog Freckles may be, but she's still a normal dog with an appetite for the good life at heart.
There has to be some comedy involved in teaching the name of locations to a Guide Dog, for example, most ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) are generally busy places and I can see some humour in the situation when a sight impaired person is introducing the dog to the ATM, or any location for the first time. "ATM, Freckles, ATM". Then you walk away from the location with the dog for a reasonable distance then command, "ATM, Freckles", so that the dog can lead you back again. The exercise is repeated as many times as it takes for the dog to store the information into its memory bank, so that it can confidently lead its charge to that when location required.
Diana told me of an acquaintance who also has a Guide Dog. Instead of one bus stop her friend uses two, so it would be pointless saying to the dog, "Bus Stop". So Diana's friend gave names to the two bus stop he uses, one is called Charlie and the other Simon. I'd have liked to have been a fly on the wall watching peoples faces at either bus stop when that particular dog was learning those locations.
It was with some amusement that Diana told me the story of a blind person and their dog in Adelaide attempting to find the G.P.O. Lost, directions were asked from a member of the public, ignoring the owner, Mr Public bent down to the dog and said, "Well, you cross the next two streets and it's the last building on your right ......."
It is fortunate that Diana has a sense of humour, she related two occasions when the general public were less than sensitive. One day a man tripped over her cane and retaliated with a, "Why don't you look where you're going?" and another time, when a child fell over her cane in a store, the mother's retort was, "Blind people shouldn't be allowed in here". Diana generously laughed at those remarks but I hope that those two people involved read this book and that their faces are very, very red.
Diana in an attractive lady who speaks with the soft accent of her native Canada. With gutsy determination she pursued her career with computers obtaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in computing. She has gone on to form her own business, "All About Computers" which offers services such as Advice, Installation, Equipment, and Home Markets. The business has been running successfully for three years and is a credit to her resolve.
Freckles is now not only her trusted friend but a business partner, guiding her mistress to see important clients. As the business grows, I can see lots of Bonus Bones being thrown in Freckle's direction.
©Paul Springthorpe, Media Production Services. Extracted from, ‘It’s a Dog’s Life.’ All rights reserved.
