Guide dog sets Meyer on right path

Randy Meyer has heard the word “no” plenty of times in his life.

Through the years, many people told him his visual impairment would limit his accomplishments.

Meyer has proven those people wrong every step of the way in becoming a standout high school and college wrestler, a successful business owner, motivational speaker and mayor of Sheboygan Falls.

While he has relied on family, friends and colleagues to guide him from place to place over the years, he always hoped to someday have an opportunity to be a bit more independent.

Through the assistance of OccuPaws Guide Dog Association based in Madison, Meyer found what he was searching for through a match with his new guide dog Deegan, a 2-year-old black English Labrador.

“Having a guide dog is something I have thought about for most of my life,” Meyer said. “I do have a white cane that I can use to get around on my own, but I have never really liked using it. To me having a guide dog is an ideal way for me to be more independent.”

After selling his financial planning business last fall, Meyer began to get more serious about finding a guide dog.

“The timing just never seemed to be right to make it happen,” he said. “I was always on the go, when I was younger, and then I went to college and started my own financial investing business. After that I got involved in local government as an alderman then mayor.”

Meyer found that most guide dog programs required a month-long trip to faraway training facility.

“Most guide dog programs require traveling across the country for a month of training,” he said. “That just didn't appeal to me. I couldn't take 26 or 28 days out of my schedule to travel to another city for training. OccuPaws has been perfect for me, because they do home training and placement, which is great.”

Meyer’s match with Deegan has been in the works for nearly a year.

“I found out about OccuPaws about a year ago from a vision teacher I know,” he said. “The more I learned about it, the more I like it, and eventually I contacted them about six months ago. Things just kept rolling forward from there.”

Nicole Meadowcroft, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition that results in gradual vision loss, founded OccuPaws in 2004.

When she was introduced to the prospect of having a guide dog, Meadowcroft was hesitant to travel to a training center for a month. As a result, she self-taught her own German Shepherd to serve as her guide dog.

To date, OccuPaws has placed six dogs in homes at no cost, with two more currently in training.

In January, Meyer traveled to Madison to meet with Wendy Ponce, an independent guide dog obedience instructor from California.

“I have been a guide dog trainer for the past six years,” Ponce said. “California is the only state that requires guide-dog instructors to be certified.

“The training period was pretty intense,” she said. “I was blindfolded for 10 days to learn what a blind person goes through each day. Doing that gave me a much better understanding of the relationship between a guide dog and its owner.”

For the past two weeks, Ponce has engaged Meyer and Deegan in intensive training.

“I've spent a lot of time with Randy and Deegan for the past two weeks,” Ponce said. “Our days have been pretty full of activity and instruction.

“I normally come over at 9 in the morning and work on basic commands, like ‘sit,’ ‘come,’ ‘stay,’ ‘forward’ and simple things like that. I also try to build the relationship and trust between the dog and the owner.”

The training period has included plenty of walking and exploring.

“We’ve walked through the city many times, as well as other tricky locations in the area,” Ponce said. “We went to the shopping mall in Green Bay to learn how to negotiate escalators. We also went to the pier in Sheboygan to learn what to do on platforms and uneven areas with big drops.”

Deegan is able to assist Meyer in various situations including stopping for changes in elevation like curbs and stairs, navigating around obstacles and pedestrians, negotiating building interiors, locating objects, crossing the street, as well as finding stairways, elevators, escalators, doors of buildings, counters and empty bathroom stalls.

“We have been working together to learn how to be a good team,” Meyer said. “Deegan is very helpful with curbs and stairs.

“He also gives me a lot of assistance with crossing the street,” he said. “He's still a dog though and he does make mistakes. I do too. The goal is to have us cancel out each other’s mistakes and avoid getting into trouble.”

Meyer said proper footwork, location, posture and timing are key to the guide dog-owner relationship. “When Deegan first came here, it was a bit of a challenge to get used to his footwork and pace,” he said. “It is best to stay right next to the dog’s back hip.

“Staying in that spot helps to make the dog more useful. Sometimes I find myself getting too far ahead or too far behind. I have had to work on my posture to walk more upright. Over time, we will have that down pat. ” According to Meyer, guide dogs work on a regimented pattern, which must be followed in all situations.

“It is important to follow the right protocol every time you go out with the dog,” he said. “There is a proper way to handle things like approaching and negotiating a curb and finding stairs. Again, footwork and problem solving are big keys in helping things go smoothly.”

Meyer says crossing streets presents one of his biggest challenges.

“Getting across four-way stops and stop-light crossings is relatively easy, because you can hear the follow of traffic in a one-way pattern,” he said. “Through streets are pretty tough, especially if traffic is busy, like it often is on Monroe Street in Falls.

“That is when I need to make a judgment, based on what I hear, and Deegan helps by letting me know what he sees. There are times when I have given him the ‘forward’ command to cross, because it sounds like no cars are coming, but he refuses to move, because he sees that a car is coming. That is when I’m really glad he’s there for me.”

On Sunday, March 21, Meyer and Deegan graduated from the OccuPaws guide dog training program, during a special ceremony at The Villager in Sheboygan Falls.

“The graduation was pretty cool, because I got my guide-dog card for Deegan that says he is allowed to accompany me anywhere I go,” Meyer said. “He is allowed to go with me to city meetings, stores, restaurants, church - any public or private building.”

In the next few weeks, Meyer will receive a special GPS phone, which will help him and Deegan find their way through unfamiliar areas.

“I am lucky to have a lot of tools to work with to help me get around and communicate with people,” Meyer said. “There is a lot of great technology out there, and I look at having a guide dog as another tool for me to live a less complicated life.”

After two weeks of nurturing their relationship, Ponce left Meyer and Deegan on their own Wednesday, March 24.

“I think things have gone very smoothly for Randy and Deegan,” Ponce said. “Sometimes things just don’t work, and you normally know it right away.

“It is important to match a person's lifestyle, size and needs with a compatible dog, whether they may be excitable or quiet,” she said.

Ponce enjoyed her two-week tour of Sheboygan County.

“I've mainly worked on the West coast in states like Oregon, Washington and Colorado, and this the second trip I’ve made to Wisconsin,” she said. “I think it is fun to see the rest of the country, because no two places are the same.

“Here I have gone to a lot of meetings, so I am leaving with a good political education. That’s for sure.”

Although Deegan may look like any other dog, Meyer said he can’t be treated exactly the same.

“People don’t realize that when he is with me, he is working,” he said. “Calling his name or trying to distract him in any way is not a good idea.

“If someone wants to pet him, it is best to ask me first,” he said.

Meyer would recommend OccuPaws to anyone wishing to utilize a guide dog.

“OccuPaws has been a unique and impressive organization to work with,” he said. “I am so glad I chose them to do this with.

“I have always said that I don’t expect the world to adapt to me, rather I need to adapt to the world. Having Deegan puts me one step closer to doing that.”

Since it matches guide dogs at no cost, OccuPaws relies solely on public donations. For more information or to make a contribution, call OccuPaws at 608-444-9555 or visit the Web site www.occupaws.org