Puppies Trained to Guide the Blind
2022-03-15
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2For many blind people and those with vision difficulties, life can be made easier with a guide dog. But making a good guide dog takes much work.
3And for many, the long road begins when the dog is a puppy.
4Take for example, the five 8-week old puppies that arrived at the Tipton Airport in Fort Meade, Maryland early in February.
5At that time, they were loving, playful animals - like all puppies.
6Now however, the Labrador retriever and German shepherd puppies are on the road to becoming useful members of society.
7If they prove themselves able, they could become guide dogs.
8They will help to improve the lives of people with vision loss and vision impairment.
9The faithful-friends-to-be are part of a training program of an organization called Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
10The puppies flew from the organization's head office in Yorktown Heights, New York, to Maryland onboard a "Pilots To The Rescue" flight.
11Pilots to the Rescue is a not-for-profit organization that transports "...animals as well as people at risk," it states on its website.
12The puppies were born in Yorktown Heights. And they spent the first two months of their lives with their moms and siblings.
13The young dogs were bred for health and temperament. (Here, "temperament" means how they respond to their environment.)
14However, breeding alone will not be enough to turn these puppies into guide dogs.
15They will need training from dog training experts.
16They also will need to be nurtured by volunteers called Puppy Raisers.
17The goal of this nurturing by Puppy Raisers and their families is to turn the energetic, playful puppies into well-behaved and well-socialized dogs.
18These are the qualities needed for a successful guide dog: well-bred, well-trained, well-behaved, and well-socialized.
19The process will take about 14 to 16 months of weekly classes and testing.
20Training starts with the basics: name recognition, behavior, and commands such as "sit" and "down."
21The trainers then move on to more complex commands.
22After that, the puppies are given to the Puppy Raisers.
23The raisers and their families will show the puppies the world and how to act in it.
24A manager for Guiding Eyes for the Blind's Puppy Program is Cindy Tait.
25She told the Associated Press that other experts will keep a watchful eye on the training and help with any problems the raisers may have along the way.
26Once a solid, loving foundation is in place, puppies must leave their raisers and return to the Guiding Eyes training center for official guide dog training.
27Formal training is where the dogs demonstrate whether they will become a guide dog for the blind, a different kind of service dog, or someone's pet.
28This means there is almost always a tearful goodbye.
29Denali is one of four bigger puppies.
30He was placed aboard a return flight to Guiding Eyes the day the new puppies arrived.
31Tait got tears in her eyes as she watched Puppy Raiser Carolyn Schaefer say goodbye to the yellow Labrador and walk him to the plane.
32"This is the hard part," Tait said. But she said a guide dog has the power to help people.
33And that softens the blow, an expression that means "makes a hard thing easier."
34Even though it can be very hard to leave the puppies, puppy raisers come back over and over.
35Tait herself has raised many.
36She lists them all: Roxanne, Katrina, Velour, Gus, Mystic, Oregon, Kelby, Tad, Eagle, Winnie, and now Kenji, her 11th future guide dog puppy.
37And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2For many blind people and those with vision difficulties, life can be made easier with a guide dog. But making a good guide dog takes much work. And for many, the long road begins when the dog is a puppy. 3Take for example, the five 8-week old puppies that arrived at the Tipton Airport in Fort Meade, Maryland early in February. At that time, they were loving, playful animals - like all puppies. Now however, the Labrador retriever and German shepherd puppies are on the road to becoming useful members of society. 4If they prove themselves able, they could become guide dogs. They will help to improve the lives of people with vision loss and vision impairment. 5The faithful-friends-to-be are part of a training program of an organization called Guiding Eyes for the Blind. The puppies flew from the organization's head office in Yorktown Heights, New York, to Maryland onboard a "Pilots To The Rescue" flight. 6Pilots to the Rescue is a not-for-profit organization that transports "...animals as well as people at risk," it states on its website. 7The puppies were born in Yorktown Heights. And they spent the first two months of their lives with their moms and siblings. The young dogs were bred for health and temperament. (Here, "temperament" means how they respond to their environment.) 8However, breeding alone will not be enough to turn these puppies into guide dogs. They will need training from dog training experts. 9They also will need to be nurtured by volunteers called Puppy Raisers. The goal of this nurturing by Puppy Raisers and their families is to turn the energetic, playful puppies into well-behaved and well-socialized dogs. 10These are the qualities needed for a successful guide dog: well-bred, well-trained, well-behaved, and well-socialized. 11The process will take about 14 to 16 months of weekly classes and testing. Training starts with the basics: name recognition, behavior, and commands such as "sit" and "down." The trainers then move on to more complex commands. After that, the puppies are given to the Puppy Raisers. The raisers and their families will show the puppies the world and how to act in it. 12A manager for Guiding Eyes for the Blind's Puppy Program is Cindy Tait. She told the Associated Press that other experts will keep a watchful eye on the training and help with any problems the raisers may have along the way. 13Once a solid, loving foundation is in place, puppies must leave their raisers and return to the Guiding Eyes training center for official guide dog training. Formal training is where the dogs demonstrate whether they will become a guide dog for the blind, a different kind of service dog, or someone's pet. 14This means there is almost always a tearful goodbye. 15Denali is one of four bigger puppies. He was placed aboard a return flight to Guiding Eyes the day the new puppies arrived. Tait got tears in her eyes as she watched Puppy Raiser Carolyn Schaefer say goodbye to the yellow Labrador and walk him to the plane. 16"This is the hard part," Tait said. But she said a guide dog has the power to help people. And that softens the blow, an expression that means "makes a hard thing easier." 17Even though it can be very hard to leave the puppies, puppy raisers come back over and over. Tait herself has raised many. She lists them all: Roxanne, Katrina, Velour, Gus, Mystic, Oregon, Kelby, Tad, Eagle, Winnie, and now Kenji, her 11th future guide dog puppy. 18And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo. 19Carolyn Kaster reported this story for the Associated Press from Fort Meade, Maryland. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 20____________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22vision - n. the act or power of seeing 23impairment - n. diminishment or loss of function or ability 24sibling - n. one of two or more individuals having one common parent 25breed - v. to produce or increase (animals or plants) by sexual reproduction 26temperament - n. a person's attitude as it affects what he or she says or does 27nurture - v. to further the development of 28basic - adj. of, relating to, or forming the base or essence 29foundation - n. the act of beginning or creating 30demonstrate - v. to prove or make clear by reasoning or evidence