Guiding the guide dogs Rancho Santa Margarita teacher who helps raise puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind says it's important not to disturb animals while they are working By Eva Scholtz LA Times July 17, 2000

When Mary Jo Egus takes Elko, a 9-month-old yellow Labrador retriever, out in public, children and adults alike cannot help saying "hi" to the cuddly animal wearing a Guide Dog for the Blind jacket. But puppies training to become guide dogs should not be disturbed, said Egus, a volunteer puppy-raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc., a nonprofit organization with its western U.S. headquarters in San Rafael.
     "Any kind of verbal or visual distraction, such as whistling, petting or food distractions can interrupt the training/working process," she said. "They cannot eat anything that is not put in their bowl.
     The jacket that Elko wears and the harness used by adult guide dogs are signs that the dogs are working and not to be disturbed, Egus said.
     "Their job is to focus on the work, not the people whistling," she said.
     Egus, who teaches technology for kindergarten through 8th-graders at Serra Catholic School in Rancho Santa Margarita, has been a volunteer puppy-raiser for nine years.
     While raising the puppies, she makes sure to train them in handling everyday situations, so the puppies accompany her to the movies to get exposure to loud noises; to school to be around children and busy people; to church to learn how to be in a quiet environment; to restaurants to learn how to not be seen or heard; and to grocery stores.
     "It's not a job, it's a fun thing to do," Egus said.
     Egus said as a general rule no one should approach any dog they don't know.
     "Just like human babies, puppies explore their world with their mouth," she said. "Puppies, however, have teeth that are sharp."
     An official guide dog trainer must be licensed by the state and have extensive training. Puppy-raisers do the equivalent of kindergarten training, getting the dogs to become good citizens in preparation for their training in San Rafael.
     Meetings are held twice a month to help puppy-raisers become proficient in their work, but Egus likens the training experience to being a parent.
     "You jump in with both feet and you learn as you go," she said.
     When a puppy from the guide dog school is 8 weeks old, it is given to a volunteer puppy-raiser like Egus, who trains the dog for a year. The dog then goes back to the guide dog school for a formal 6-month training program. Afterward, the guide dog is matched with a partner.
     The partner and the dog spend one month working together at the school and by the time the dog is 2 years old, it is out working.
     The dog, housing and instruction for the recipient is paid through endowments and donations to the nonprofit organization.
     "It most definitely gets sad when it's time to say goodbye to the dog I've raised, but literally moments later I get a new yellow bundle of fur," Egus said.