By Jenny Anderson
When I was diagnosed as legally blind, they advised me to immediately begin my white cane training. But I am a dog lover. I wanted a seeing eye dog. If I was going to lose my sight, I preferred a faithful companion to a stick.
I went blind 30 years ago. My particular eye disease was not known at the time, so they called it retinal degeneration – a nice way of saying “we don’t know.” It was not until recently that genetic testing for me became available and they narrowed it down to Stargardts Macular Degeneration, a very rare form of Macular Degeneration. This particular type starts in the teenage years and takes a noticeable toll by the time one is in their 30’s. For my case, it finally made sense, and I was declared legally blind in February of 1995.
It would seem by looking at a blind person walking with a guide dog that there really isn’t much to it, but with any tool there are tricks to the trade.
Every school has the same process for getting a guide dog: an initial application, along with at least three strong references. The school in question then contacts all of your doctors listed as well as your references. Then comes a waiting process while a special committee looks at all the information to make the final decision whether to approve you for a dog. By the time the dog graduates with the applicant, the cost is well over $100,000. So they take those applications very seriously. I do know applicants who have been turned down, with the reasons listed on their denial letter.
Before Freedom, I’ve had three dogs.
My first dog came from Guide Dogs For The Blind (GDB), based in California. She was a Yellow Lab named Francesca. I had her for four years and then I began suffering health problems and became allergic to her. So, when she was only six years old, I had to retire her. Francesca went to her puppy raisers for her retirement years. Generally a seeing eye dog will work approximately 10 years, so this was a little early.
My second dog from GDB was a Black Lab male named Brandon. He lasted eight years before I retired him, so we lived a long life together – in dog years anyway. It was heartbreaking when I retired him but I believe God was in it because he died of advanced cancer right afterwards, and I know that I would have fallen apart if he had died on my watch.
My third dog from GBD was a Yellow Lab named Nevi. Poor Nevi. Our life together started off well enough, but after a couple of enjoyable years things started to go wacky. First, I broke my ankle at one time and could not take care of her for several months. The school put her in foster care for me until I recovered. Then, no sooner did we have our lives back together when one night Nevi got spooked for some unknown reason and bolted like a shot. With Nevi’s leash attached to my wrist, she went flying and so did I! When I landed, I was lying flat on my stomach with my left arm stretched out. I had broken my shoulder and arm in weird places, and it took two years of healing before I was cleared to have her again. GBD put her in foster care for some of that time. When I was finally cleared to have Nevi again, I was diagnosed with a mental condition: paranoia schizophrenia.
I retired Nevi on schedule, expecting GDB would affirm me once again for a dog. Instead, I was denied. Because of the aforementioned diagnosis, GBD now believed I was unsafe for a dog, I appealed, but they turned me down again.
I was devastated, thinking that after more than twenty years with a faithful companion, my life with a dog was over. While there are other schools, my choice had always been GDB, and this was the end of the road for me with them apparently.
Could I try at another school? Sure, but that meant a whole new way of doing things with the dog, and I was not sure I was up to the challenge. Other alternatives were also further away.
After six months of indecision and fear of rejection, it became obvious I needed to at least try to get another dog. I submitted an application, this time to The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey.
I had to go through a whole new application process as The Seeing Eye naturally wanted to know why I was changing providers. They thoroughly investigated me, and it didn’t appear to me to be going well. I started to resign myself to going dog-less, using solely my cane for the rest of my life, or at least until I could prove to be safe again. I learned I do much better getting around with a dog than with a cane. Knowing my future was in God’s hands, I finally had to lay the desire for a guide dog at the altar and keep it there. But God was gracious. I had the support of good people surrounding me, offering prayer, encouragement, and helping with the paperwork. The support from others was indispensable. It helped keep me going and believing. We need each other. We are not meant to run this race alone.
The process took more than six months. The Seeing Eye kept calling to reiterate with me what happened with GDB. I thought for sure it was going to get turned down. My name had been tarnished.
Finally, the answer came in a call. This gave me hope: If it was a denial, it would have come to me in writing. but the woman at the other end of the line said “it was a tough choice to make…but we are willing to give you a chance with one of our dogs”.
Oh my goodness! I screamed “Yes!!!” so loud my neighbors could hear it. With extreme gratitude to God, my friends, and The Seeing Eye, I was put on the waiting list, and waited another six months before my name came up.
Jenny is on a fixed income due to her blindness and is using her training there to share Christ and pastor shut ins and other residents at The Reserve in Lynnwood. You can help Jenny with her bible college expenses through your gift via Venmo (@jenandabb1609) or Zelle at 207-907-9963.
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