Pavel David / Bringing up a puppy, that is supposed to become a guide dog within about a year and a half, seems to be a good tool for determining the character of its caretaker, his family and friends. Let's start with the caretaker. You have become a caretaker. Well, hooray! You are eyeing each other and waiting what comes next. Usually, if you are lucky, it is a puddle. No problem, it's a baby dog. One importamt thing I forgot to mention – before the puppy comes, there are heaps of volunteers who claim they would be delighted to walk the puppy when it comes. In your own family there might even be more than one volunteer because, as I like to say, puppies make better entertainment than a TV. If the puppy is not sleeping there is a constant gathering around it and marvelling about how clumsy it is while discovering its surroundings. When the puppy is sleeping, everybody walks about on their tip-toes so that it doesn't wake up. We might aswell become hardened with a puppy. You don't think so? How about if it wakes up at 3 a.m. and you have to get somehow dressed, quickly grab the puppy and rush outside. I got to say that puppies get more clever every day and along with that their puddle period shortens significantly.

The puppy keeps growing and feels, that it should be tested whether the family is obedient. It, of course, needs to be the leader of this pack. If it the situation is not working out, the puppy at least wants to share a person's bed. It is not so bad, they shouldn't mind. But they do mind, so the last attempt are those sad, hungry eyes by the dining table. They might accidentaly drop something. If you are persistent it is to your credit and a good excercise for your strong will. Living for a year with a puppy will really give you a lot. You will learn how to be patient, persistent and stick to your principles. You will learn the ways to accept it's puppy love and give yours back, you will get to know your neighbours. You would meet many people, whose names you barely remember, but you would know that this lady owns a Fluffy and this man owns a Rambo. You will have a lot of fun. For example, I saw a dog in a harness sitting next to a tram driver because the tram was too full. It is amiable when your dog is peeking through a window to see you coming back from work. All in all, not all days in your life with a dog are going to be spotless. Even dogs have their bad days, but that's what it takes. There are more of those spotless days though. When, after a year, you are eventully waving goodbyes to your dog, you know that a good friend is leaving, almost a family member and you are looking forward to a new puppy. Your old friend won't ever be too far – you can always get together and share your memories.

The time flies by, you are taking care of another baby dog, your memories of the previous one fading a bit, although you still follow its trace secretly. You are interested in the results of its medical examination, in the development of its skills, his sociability in a new pack and eventually his relationship with its future owner. The most dreaded part is the entrance examination, after a dog has reached one year of age. It determines if a dog will be allowed to enter the guide dog training school in Brno, Cejl. Why? Because it is very important for a dog to be absolutely healthy to be able to complete the training and the special mission...

It is really sad and quite frustrating if a dog doesn't pass its medical entrance examination. Any cause? It doesn't really matter then. What happens next, you wonder? Fortunately there are many people who don't need a flawless dog. Saying goodbye then is even more sad. Experience prove that all these discarded dogs are taken really great care of. One of our former dogs, after not having passed his vet examination, happens to live in a village where our summer house is. We have quite a good relationship with the new owners and, from time to time, we stop by and share our memories, funny stories and likewise. The prove of Eston's well-being might be the fact, that after he had destroyed his owner's expensive shoes she just said: it is not his fault, I should have put them away.

Many people ask whether dogs forget you after some time. Generally speaking, not very likely. It is very individual though. Our first dog wouldn't remember after 3 weeks! Later on, I would often meet him and his new owner and he never seemed to notice me, as if he hadn't spent the year with us. But then... he ran away from his owner, right into a pond and I somehow happened to be there. "Come here" I cried, and he backed out of the water and followed my order, just like in his younger years. The year he had spend with us was still somwhere inside him, he just wouldn't let me know directly. I was pleased. I am equally pleased whenever I meet one of my former „kids“, and they let me know they still remember me and all the good times we had. Such reunions are quite cheerful – the dog is happy to see you and you get some extra kick, that makes you later on adopt another puppy.

People often try to doubt things that are clear for the first sight. In the end you end up with a conclusion that the truth and fiction about life of guide dogs is very different from the idea of a dog-lover. Our conversation, sometimes discussion, usually starts with a sigh and a statement that guide dogs are sufferers. And this puppy's life must be horrible. It hasn't had its good times yet and still you force it to do this excercise. What a poor guy. It is really hard to contradict them. Before I try to explain the real situation I should carefully think of what kind of person I am talking to. Sometimes the best solution is to smile or nod your head apologetically. Luckily, most people say their opinion and then wait what you have to say. At that point I would often ask how much time they spend with their own dog. This question sounds even better if you ask it a bit differently: how much time does your dog spend with his master, friend and leader of the pack, whom he loves and misses? All answers are more or less the same: we go for a walk in the morning, it takes up to 10minutes. He got to wait before I am back from work. Then we walk again, much longer this time – but, of course, I don't overdo it. I am hungry, tired and everything, you know. Then my conversation partner continues: they are at home together, almost sitting at one table. He shares his duplings, sausage or, because he loves the dog so much, even a piece of chocolate. Then they drop to the sofa together and fall asleep within minutes. When they wake up, it's late evening and time to go out again, for about a hundredth time that day. Well, goodnight then. It is going to be different tomorrow, I start work at 10 so we can both sleep in. Weekends are different too.

After he's finished with this demanding but satisfactory list of activities he is thrilled to hear my version. He can hardly understand that you are with your puppy, a future guide dog, almost 24/7. What he would call a demanding training is percieved as games and fun by the dog. He doesn't understand that a dog's biggest treat is to be with its master. He can't even understand the little strokes the dog gets at a post office, in a shop, at school, at the doctor's, on a tram or train and elsewhere, where they happen to be with his master. The person is still trying to save his reputation: walks, he fires out. It must be horrible with this impossible harness. The answer is quite simple, too. Every blind person emphasises their dog's good physical condition. That's why they often take off the dog's harness and let it run loose. Every dog has a lot of friends in their neighbourhood so they can have fun together. Even a piece of wood or a cone is enough, but a ball to play with just means dogs' paradise. The dog runs about like carzy but he still keeps an eye on the owner, to make sure he he hasn't gone anywhere. When there's been enough fooling about, the master calls his dog and they both carry on to face some new adventures. It is so exciting to lead the master safely around a trench that wasn't here yesterday. This car on the pavement wasn't here an hour ago, too. Shall we go to the left of it or to the right? A guide dog is with its master all the time and he likes that. He doesn't feel like a sufferer at all. They let each other know about their love whenever there is a chance. Eventually, when I am saying goodbyes to the pet-owner, he admits that guide dogs might have quite a comfy life. He might even be secretly scolding himself for not treating his own dog better... next time you meet a blind person with their guide dog and you think that the dog is sad, remember, that even though his facial expression might look sad, it is nothing but focus and concentration on his responsible work.

Are guide dogs sufferers?

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