MARCH 2018 | SARASOTA SCENE 47
philanthropy
obedience skills and take them everywhere
— to work, out to eat, on trips, even grocery
the puppies for the actual situations they must
master to later successfully guide a visually
impaired person.
“You start with the basic commands: sit, stay,
down, that kind of thing,” Jann said. “But the
real goal is to domesticate them — housebreak
them, give them good manners.”
As the puppy matures and the puppy raiser
feels he is able to handle it, the dog is gradually
of unusual and active situations that he might
walking in crowds or dealing with loud sounds.
After about 14-16 months, the dog returns to
“school” for harness training.
“Everything you’re doing with the dog, you’re
keeping in mind your readying it for someone
who is visually impaired,” Michael said. “For
the method a blind person would use.”
Originally from Maryland and Pennsylvania
respectively, Michael and Jann spent 25 years
in the Princeton, N.J. area before moving to
Osprey in 2007. He was a research analyst for
while she left that same business to have their
kids then teach quilting.
“This is where we wanted to retire,” Michael
said. “We always wanted to move down here.
We vacationed here quite a bit and really love
the area.”
They are also avid dog lovers and relished
the opportunity to raise their assigned puppy,
Spencer, into a guide dog that was eventually
placed with a veteran suffering from posttraumatic
stress disorder. Giving him up was a
“They have a saying at Southeastern,” Michael
said. “It’s ‘You love the dog and you want the
dog, but there’s somebody who needs the dog.’
That’s true, but it doesn’t make
it a whole lot easier. So after
we turned Spencer back in, we
participated in puppy sitting,
which is when you watch a dog
for a day or a week or so. We also
means we completed the training
that another raiser could not do.”
“Now we have a male breeder
dog,” Jann said. “His name is
Shadow and he is among the
best of the best for breeding the
which totals about 50 puppies.
Southeastern breeds dogs like him
eight to ten times. When they’re
done breeding him, they’ll neuter
him and he’ll be our dog forever.”
Jann added she and Michael
have been involved with a lot
of charities and praised the way
Southeastern Guide Dogs is run.
“They serve a wonderful
purpose,” she said. “And we love
dogs. So it’s not like we’re giving
up a lot. We have a fabulous dog
that we really love. It’s a win-win
situation.”
“You see results where this
organization really changes
people’s lives in a very positive
way,” Michael added. “I think
give them money, you know there
are going to be good results.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
about Southeastern Guide Dogs,
contributing to its
Cornerstone Society or
becoming a puppy raiser, visit
the website at
www.guidedogs.org.
“In some cases the
dogs actually give
these people their lives
back, because they
regain mobility and
confidence. It’s a very
moving experience.”
Michael Nohe
/www.guidedogs.org