1. Check i n | how it w orks
30 i Mediclinic Family i s p r i n g 2 0 1 4

2. A new leash
on life
Dogs have been helping blind people find their way for decades. But did
you know the South African Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind also
trains service dogs to assist people with other disabilities? Words Brent Smith
s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 i Mediclinic Family i 31
Best friends forever
Meet Heidi Vollmer and her best friend Olivia, a seven-year-
old golden retriever. Heidi broke her back and neck
in a car accident in 1984 and, although she had to face
the prospect of using a wheelchair for the rest of her life,
she was lucky to avoid total paralysis. Eleven years later,
Andrew Barnes, then working for the SA Guide-Dogs
Association for the Blind (SAGA), mentioned
that a service dog could make her life much easier.
The two met by chance at the café Heidi owned
in Cape Town. ‘He came in every day for breakfast.
One day he said: “You don’t need to reach for that
fork on the floor. You could have a dog to do it.”
Being an animal lover, I loved the idea.’
Heidi became the first person in a wheelchair
in the Western Cape to receive a service dog.
She was interviewed for
eligibility in February 1995
and received her first dog,
Wizard, that October.
Wizard’s loyal service came to an end when he
reached retirement age. When a dog turns 10, their
owner needs to get a veterinary health certificate,
which tells SAGA how much longer the dog can work.
If the dog is going blind or deaf, or is developing
mobility issues, he retires. Gimbal, Wizard’s successor,
died of a heart attack in 2008 at the age of five.
Enter Olivia, Heidi’s companion for the last five years.
Service… with a smile
So how have Olivia and her predecessors changed
Heidi’s life? ‘Having a dog makes me a different
person. I’m calmer, more sociable. It breaks down
barriers in public. Instead of children staring at me
or asking: “Mommy, why is she in a wheelchair?”
they say: “Let’s go touch that dog!”. Then they
see the person in the chair. It starts conversation.’
It turns out that, like many other dogs, Olivia loves
car rides. The golden retriever likes walks, too. ‘Having
a dog means even if you’re feeling down you have to get
up and go.’ And because Olivia sticks to Heidi ‘like glue’,
she never feels lonely. ‘Olivia reads me like a book. She’s
the best psychologist!’
When she’s not moonlighting
as a therapist, Olivia’s day job
involves retrieving things – ‘a R5
coin, credit cards’ – and carrying
objects to help Heidi, including
her cellphone, the sprinkler
attachment or pot-plant tubs.
‘Taking washing out of the
machine is a game for her. And
when I say “We’re going to the
car” she runs for the garage and
tugs on a lead to open the door.’
Ties that bind
Heidi spent 10 days in Joburg
for training with her first dog.
‘You meet your dog on the second day and go out
in public with him (or her) when you have a good
relationship and can manage the commands.’
The owner is removed from their home environment
for training so they can bond with their new friend,
free of distraction. By the time they get home,
they’re working as a team.
below left Heidi
and Olivia take a
boat cruise.
below right
The friends off on
another adventure.
‘It’s not a matter of getting
the right dog for the job;
it’s a matter of getting
the right dog for you.’

3. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Check i n | how it w orks
A dog’s life (from the dog’s perspective)
Have you ever seen a blind person out and about with their guide dog and wondered how the pooch was trained?
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22 i Mediclinic Family i s p r i n g 2 0 1 4
photographs Getty Images/Gallo Images
sources www.guidedog.org.za, www.pat.org.za
Retrievers like Olivia can be stubborn.
‘If they don’t want to work, you have to
play the autocrat and insist they deliver,’
says Heidi. ‘But it’s not a matter of getting
the right dog for the job; it’s a matter of
getting the right dog for you.’
At your service
SAGA trains service dogs for people with physical
impairments and mobility problems. These dogs
can pick up dropped items, turn on lights and much
more. They also rear social dogs for people who are
socially challenged and have a learning disability.
Visit their website at www.guidedog.org.za if you’d
like to enquire about getting an assistance dog.
In other parts of the world, you’ll find seizure-alert
dogs for epileptics, psychiatric service dogs
to assess your mood and remind you to take your
medication, and dogs for diabetics, who are trained
to pick up on low blood sugar.
Love is blind
The most common assistance dogs in South
Africa are guide dogs for the blind. Lynda
Nielsen, 61, is partially sighted. She was born
with a defect in one eye and subsequently
lost her peripheral vision and depth perception.
She also lost her independence.
Lynda’s had her current guide dog, Fiela, since
2009. ‘Fiela takes me to the shops, the vet, the GP
and the bus stop. If I need to go somewhere new,
an instructor will visit and teach us the route.’
Legal blindness is defined according to visual
acuity and field of vision. Dr Dylan Joseph, an
ophthalmologist at Mediclinic Plettenberg Bay,
explains: ‘Acuity of less than 20/200 in the
better-seeing eye means that the person sees at
20m what a normal-sighted individual will see at
200m. And, with regards to visual fields, if your
better-seeing eye has a field of vision less than
20 degrees, you’re legally blind.’
Being born blind, which is rare, means all other
senses are heightened to accommodate for loss of
vision. These patients adapt quickly. Going blind
during your lifetime, however, has devastating
psychosocial implications and is a massive
adjustment for a previously seeing person.
There are several visual aids for partially
sighted people. ‘Without Fiela, I’d be confined
to my home and dependent on other people
to help me,’ says Lynda.
TOP left Olivia
visits Heidi’s
husband, xx,
in hospital.
above Heidi with
Wizard outside
the restaurant
she used to own in
Cavendish Square,
Cape Town.
Visit www.mediclinicinfohub.co.za
and search for ‘pet therapy’.
Preschool (puppy walking)
Six weeks: I’m placed with a family.
The best homes are those with one
or two children, one or two other
pets and a parent who doesn’t work.
My family names me and introduces
me to car travel, busy shops, escalators,
noisy streets and crowded pavements.
They take me to monthly obedience
training sessions.
Big school (formal training)
One year: I go back to the SA Guide-
Dogs Training Centre. There are two
in South Africa, one in the Western
Cape and the other in Gauteng –
but if clients are unable to come
to a centre a trainer will go to them.
It takes four to six months to train me.
Basic trainers and mobility instructors
train a batch of six dogs, individually,
at a time.
We’re taught advanced obedience
and to walk in a straight line, in position
with the correct tension on the lead.
Early training is done at the centre
and in quiet areas. As the my schooling
progresses, we move into busier areas.
We’re taught to stop at every step down.
Then we learn to do three turns: left,
right and back.
Navigating obstacles is next.
During these weeks, our concentration
improves, and we begin to ignore other
people and other dogs.
Traffic work is the most important part.
This training is left to the last month,
when we learn to disobey a command
and follow our instinct if needed.
Graduation
I’m matched with an applicant most
suited to me and I begin working.
Best guide dog breeds
Labradors, retrievers (or crosses
between the two) and German
shepherds; preferably female.