My dog Nook-Dae is going on ten years of age and is a working guide dog that was trained in South Africa and in the U.S. He is not only a standard "seeing eye" type guide dog. but has been trained and classified as an "attendant dog". "full-time care" and "service dog" as well. I took a head injury during the Korean War and it caught up with me a few years back. leaving me not only blind, but I have gran mal seizures. loss of balance and ability to pick things up at times and the like.
There are three dogs trained like Nook-Dae in North America: one in Canada. mine and one in Texas. All three were trained in South Africa U.S.A.). Other than my Timber Shepherd. the others are called "Super Alsations". These ate German Shepherds from German crossed with wolves from Finland and bred in the Republic of South Africa. By the way. my last wolf/ German Shepherd Hybrid lived to be 15 years old and died while still in harness. 18 floors up in a hotel at Lake Tahoe.
Since my wife has passed on, I need to have a trained dog with me at all times. I will be looking for a dog from one to one and a half years old that has talent, has been socialized with people, other dogs and animals. This would include cats. I am very happy and proud of my current Timber Shepherd. however he was never trained to get along with cats and we have never been able to get over this ongoing problem in an otherwise happy relationship. Other than the problem with cats. one could not improve on Nook-Dae.
I have toyed with the idea of getting a puppy. giving it the basic training. etc. However, this would be a real hardship on me. and what if the pup did not have the right ability and instinct? I would then be in a fix, since I become more attached to my dogs than most people do. As my life partner, they are not just a "tool" for my use: By the way, the training schools don’t cost me a thing and my airfare to and from South Africa is paid for by the Lions Club.
A regular seeing eye-type guide dog will not be given to me because of my gran mal seizures. high blood pressure and age. Besides. without the extra training. my dog and I would not be able to live on our own. The reason the regular American guide dog schools won’t let me have a dog is the fact that they think that because of my being disabled (besides blind), I would not be able to look after and care for a dog. Of course. that is just not true. We both get along fine and the dog gets the best care in the world. You may not be aware of it, but the only dogs that have the "instinct" to both alert a partner to a seizure end take action to revive one, have been Wolf Hybrids - German Shepherd and Huskie crosses.
Most male Timber Shepherds seem to run about 100 to 110 lbs. when an adult. Mine weighs 135 lbs. and this larger dog has made it a lot easier for the dog to do its work with me. The adult males called "Super Alsations" in South Africa run 100 - 125 lbs. For the work required in my case, an 80 lb. dog is too small. This was the size of my first guide dog, and although he was a great dog, the larger size of Nook-Dae is really an advantage.
To point out the importance of finding the "right dog" for me, two weeks back. while checking me at night while sleeping, I slid into a coma and after trying to revive me as he is usually able to do. Nook-Dae went to the phone in the front room, held down a lever with his nose and jaw and phoned an ambulance for me. When I woke up in the hospital, it was six days later. Thank God for Nook-Dae.
By the living-room phone is a tape machine, much like an answering machine. A gadget much like the foot pedal on a sewing machine has an extended lever on it, and when activated by the dog, sends a message with all the needed information on it to the local police. Since I have had Nook-Dae (1985), I have only slipped into along coma three times. but it is nice to know I can get help.
While he stays with me in the hospital, the Candy Striper girls look after Nook-Dae and take him out once or twice a day. They don't know that the dog has been trained to use the men's mom. e.g., while holding a cup under his penis, one gives the command "vumburo" and moves the cup a bit. He then fills it, For a bowel movement, one places two paper towels in a corner of the bathroom, gets down in front of the dog's chest so he does not move forward and gives the proper command. American trained guide dogs are not trained to the bathroom and have to be taken outside, which is a lot of trouble at times.
You can see why I like the German Shepherd/Wolf Hybrid. There are other things this dog can do besides taking me around obstacles and the like. The Wolf hybrid is a great combo.
My dogs get quite a bit of publicity in magazines and like, as well as on T.V. Nook-Dae has been on T.V. Four times. As a result. we get a share of the "celebrity escorts". Such as Angie Dickinson and Connie Stevens. Others don't want their names used. but it is nice to be able to go "first class" to different parts of the globe. I could not afford it otherwise.
Many of the standard guide dogs in use in the United States are not the best looking dogs, unlike the dogs trained overseas in South Africa and Switzerland. which always seem to look good and carry themselves well. A good looking dog is always far more acceptable in public, even with the proper manners and calmness. A hyper dog will just not work out well. The German Shep-herd/Wolf Hybrids I have been around carry themselves as real professionals in public. I have been told by others that some of the Wolf Hybrids out there are spooky in public and have a history of snapping at people for no reason. There is also the so-called history of biting people I keep hearing about. I believe most of the trouble some folks have with any dog, for that matter, is lack of training and the like. Some people want a wolf or Wolf Hybrid for all the wrong reasons.
Protectiveness is not undesirable. American trained dogs are not trained to protect the blind person they are working with. In fact. a dog that show protective abilities is taken out at the program while still in school. Not so with guide dogs trained overseas. They will protect you. However, a dog is no match for a firearm fired from a car, as Nook-Dae can attest. Two years back. after running off four guys who tried to take my wallet, they came back by in a car and fired two rounds from a 12 gauge. The dog took several pellets in the right shoulder. a rib and his pancreas. Two pellets took me in my lower right leg (calf area). We are both okay now, but Nook-Dae has to be given enzymes with his food so he can digest it.
I forgot to mention that the full-time care guide dog school down in South Africa will not furnish a Super Alsation dog to a citizen of the U.S.A. because of the way our government treats South Africa.
I will and have been furnished with a cottage to stay in, with cooking, laundry, etc.. furnished, as well as 90 days of training. I have always been treated well; however, I have to furnish my own dog and it has to be a male German Shepherd/ Hybrid. All this trouble is because of some "rule" in the small print. Also, the dog must be around 1-1/2 years old and have the right temperament. which I have tested here in the U.S.A. before I take him to South Africa.
Owner. Dave Gordon Photo: Steve Foley
Cheena", reported 3/4 Arctic/Tundra/Malamute/Husky