On the Road to Independence: How My Seeing Eye Dog allowed me to Gain a New Perspective on Life
by Ogulcan Kalkanli
From the Editor: Ogulcan is an active member of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas and serves as the first vice president of the Dallas Chapter after faithfully providing services as its secretary. He is pursuing a master’s degree in humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas, where a doctorate will round out preparation for a job teaching social studies. Ogulcan’s research interests are Holocaust and human rights studies. Specifically, he is interested in the way eugenics was used in the Second World War to persecute people with disabilities, since they were the first to be targeted by the Nazi regime.
What he writes reminds me very much of my hopes and dreams when considering a guide dog. Here is what he has to say about his life, his mobility, and how he works to be independent:
Being able to live a productive life is the greatest blessing a person can hope for, and it makes all the difference when that life is lived with dignity and self-confidence. Gaining this self-confidence not only requires staying motivated but becoming equipped with the skills and tools necessary to achieve this goal.
As a person with a visual impairment, I grew up as a person with high self-esteem, but I felt the need to enhance my ability to become even more confident when traveling to different places. This is where I held the belief that a guide dog would become useful because we would rely on each other when it came to navigating areas.
The moment I have eagerly waited for came last year when I traveled to The Seeing Eye located in Morristown, New Jersey, where I trained with my life-long partner. The Seeing Eye is the oldest guide dog school in America, and since 1929, the year of its founding, it has demonstrated its commitment to the dignity of the blind by pairing us with a properly trained dog that is tailored to the needs of the person. I was no exception.
I never imagined that I would welcome a four-legged furry friend into my life given that training with a Seeing Eye dog requires proficient orientation and mobility skills. In other words, I would need to be able to judge traffic patterns when crossing streets, maintain a strong familiarity with my environment, and demonstrate the ability to determine my sense of direction in relation to it. The intense O&M training I went through over the years has paid off immensely in the end because I achieved the goal I set for myself, which was to become fully self-confident.
I will never forget the very first day I met my Seeing Eye dog. A feeling of nervousness was constantly rushing inside of me as I thought about how I would be able to manage the care of this dog given that it requires so much effort and energy. More importantly, I thought about how I would gain a sense of trust given that it was the first time I would encounter him. The true excitement came when the instructor walked into my room and introduced me to Deputy, saying, “John, this is your dog, my friend. Have fun.” When I first petted Deputy, it was such a wonderful feeling. His body felt so warm to the touch, and a sense of joy kicked in as we began to bond with each other.
When I first interacted with Deputy, we both felt hesitant. Since he was accustomed to working with his sighted instructor, he felt like a fish out of water when I placed the guiding harness on him. In fact, this is the case with all Seeing Eye dogs. When I gave him the three basic commands of forward, left, and right, he was constantly looking at the instructor and whimpering. I was told that it was normal for him to behave this way at first because we just met. However, his behavior changed after having worked with him for the first few days. I started to become familiar with him, and he began to better know and understand me. With the proper balance of affection and discipline, Deputy began to feel more comfortable and willing to work for me. In other words, we slowly became a team and started our long and productive relationship.
During the four weeks I stayed at The Seeing Eye, my partner and I received intense training on various aspects of traveling outdoors. As the days passed, we were challenged to learn complex routes that involved various sidewalks, crossing multiple streets, and walking in areas with uneven layouts. My confidence grew each day because I had a partner to trust. As I directed him on where to go, he would lead the way. Being able to gain trust is such a powerful feeling to experience because I know I have something to rely on. This is especially the case when I am walking outside.
I believe there are many advantages when working with a Seeing Eye dog. A cane is a very useful tool in identifying my surroundings such as buildings, sidewalks, stairs, tactile landmarks, and other obstacles that may come my way. However, there are certain moments when a person has to make a decision. When using my cane to cross lighted intersections, I am not only responsible for judging traffic but also deciding when it is safe to cross. In the same way, I have to figure out how to walk around objects based on the skills I have been taught. Having the dog by my side is a huge relief in these areas. While my job is to direct the dog, the rest relies on him, since he is responsible for leading me safely to my destination. It also makes all the difference when I am crossing the street because if I tell my dog to go forward, he does not obey this command when he feels it is not safe to do so. Similarly, his assistance really comes into play when he guides me around objects, and I do not worry about bumping into them.
Training with a Seeing Eye dog is the greatest decision I have made in my life because not only do I feel more independent, but I am also experiencing companionship and a dog’s unconditional love. Over the past year we have been together, our bond has grown immensely and continues to strengthen. Deputy is always ready to do his job and is a strong observer of his environment. In the same way, he is very attentive to my needs. I look forward to the many moments we will share over the years. This is a treasure that I will forever value and remember.