Freedom Found: 7 Seeing Eye Miracles

By Joseph Dean Klatt

FREEDOM FOUND tells of one mans struggle in his search for independence, for the freedom to be all that he could be, to reach the unreachable star. FREEDOM FOUND tells the story of the authors achieving independence with dignity with each of his 7 Seeing Eye dogs. This is a book about a man who dares to run headlong in the wind out where only dreams have been with is courageous Seeing Eye dogs.

In this book, the reader will also meet Morris Frank, one of the Founders of The Seeing Eye, Inc. and the Seeing Eye trainers, all of whom demonstrate the highest professional excellence and do so with elan and good humor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481760393

Joseph Dean Klatt

Dr. Klatt was robbed of his sight in a freak auto accident at the age of 19. He went on to sell a portfolio of real estate property that has a present collective value that is easily worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and he did it all without ever laying sight upon one single inch of the property that he sold. How did he do it? He did it, in part, by being a good negotiator. In part, by being a good listener. In part, by being a decent, honest human being. He has no sight, but he mastered the art of listening, trained himself in the skills of negotiation and mediation, learned to hear what speakers leave unspoken, and made language his friend. He has blended the manners he was taught as a child with Christian morals and professional ethics to develop a negotiation style that is all his own. Joseph Dean Klatt was born the oldest of four children in Fond du lac, Wisconsin. Dr. Joe, as his friends call him, operates Klatt Realty Inc., a full-service real estate brokerage in La Jolla, California (www.KlattRealty.com.) He has since become a father to two sons, Joseph Franklin Klatt and James Dean Klatt. Dr. Klatt has traveled the world while variously in the company of six German Shepherd Seeing Eye Dogs: Rani, Pegasus, Marvel, Churchill, Ken, and Lawson. (He and Ken even made it so far as Anchorage, Alaska.) Dr. Klatt is an internationally recognized mediator and negotiator. His doctorate in Real Estate Law was conferred by the University of Shelbourne.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

INDEPENDENCE WITH DIGNITY

In 1929 with the founding of The Seeing Eye, Inc. the dream of independence with dignity for all blind persons with the requisite mental and physical agility and strength began. The work of the founders of The Seeing Eye is told by Peter Brock Putnam in his books, Keep Your Head Up Mr. Putnam, Love in the Lead, The Triumph of The Seeing Eye, and, The Miracle of The Seeing Eye. Freedom Found begins in 1967 when I was a first time student at The Seeing Eye. I lost my eyesight in a single car accident at 12:44 A.M. on Sunday, May 21, 1967. My injuries were so severe there was little hope expressed by my physicians for my survival. Recovery was an even more remote possibility. The fact that I was leaking spinal fluid through my broken nose from an inoperable spinal lesion made my prognosis a dire one. Without medical intervention the lesion sealed itself, the spinal fluid stopped leaking and I suffered no paralysis. On June 14, 1967 I was released from the Intensive Care Unit of Scripps Hospital. I was taken home where, with the help of my Mother, Naomi, my Grandmother, Neomi, my sister Katherine, my brother James and many friends, I had the best chance of as full a recovery that might be possible. I had contracted pneumonia while I was in the Intensive Care Unit and Inhalation Therapy was administered in conjunction with heavy antibiotics. I recovered from my bout with pneumonia and it was better that I not be further exposed to pneumococcal infections in hospital. Recovery of my eyesight was never in doubt. My optic globes burst on impact. I was permanently blind.

Readers of this book may wonder about the advisability of releasing me from the hospital intensive care unit to go directly home. I am sure it was the best thing for me at the time; unusual, yes. I must explain that my Grandfather, Walter Wisnicky, had been a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. My Mother, Naomi, assisted him with many surgeries during her teen years. When World War II was declared, my Mother joined the U.S. Navy and was sent directly to Hunter College in New York for nurse training. Military and medical educations for men and women in the armed services of the United States were accelerated and compressed as a result of the national need for medically trained professionals in both the European and the Pacific Theaters. Upon graduation from Hunter College my Mother was assigned to the burn hospital in Corona, California where she cared predominantly for Navy personnel burned by gasoline and other flammable substances released when Japanese pilots crashed their aircraft with fuel tanks fully loaded onto ships in the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet. The Kamikaze pilots inflicted considerable damage to U.S. Navy warships and to the crews, many of whom were killed and many others who were burned severely. The Navy air lifted its burn victims to Corona, California where specially educated and trained doctors and nurses tried to save their lives. The story of the heroism of these WAVES needs to be told, but, it will not be told here. Suffice it to say that my Mother had seen and nursed back to health men and women whose injuries were even more severe than mine. At the time of my accident my Mother was in hospital administration with what is now known as the University of California at San Diego Medical Center. It is unlikely that the fact the UCSD Medical Center had the best burn victim facilities in the County was just a coincidence. In her position with the UCSD Medical Center my Mother knew and selected the best physicians for me. In turn, these physicians knew of my Mother’s medical training and were willing to release me to return home when it would otherwise seem ill advised to do so. I would return to both Sharp Hospital and Mercy Hospital for more surgeries in the months that followed.

I remember walking into my room and to my familiar bed. I climbed under the covers and went to sleep instantly. I was so relieved to be home. I spent the weeks that followed, in large part, in my own bed sleeping. Somewhere during that time frame I came to realize that I could not and would not ever see again. My body had been fighting for its very survival and nothing else. Hours before the auto accident I weighed 185 pounds. My body was well conditioned as I had been a San Diego City Lifeguard stationed at Mission Beach Tower 4 during the summer of 1966. When I was released from the Intensive Care Unit after 24 days, I weighed 117 pounds. With time, my higher thought processes began to return. The night I understood I was blind came during these weeks. I left my familiar bed and walked through the living room and into the TV room. I must have made some small noise because my Mother called my name, Joe? I stopped and waited the few seconds until she stood beside me. I said, Mom, I’m blind. Putting her right arm gently around me she said, I know. I put my left arm around her and we both cried. We stood there for a few minutes. I began to tire and said, I think I will go back to bed now. This is the extent of my memory of this important moment in my recovery. In that brief exchange I acknowledged my blindness, the first step in dealing with my new life challenges.

The days and nights which followed were spent reviewing my options. They were few. I considered the possibility that I might allow myself to become dependent on my family. I rejected even the thought of that possibility. I thought of how I would get to the places I would need to go. I remembered seeing a blind man with a white cane. In my visualization, the blind man was tapping his white cane which he held out in front of him. He was moving slowly and his eyes were looking down. I didn’t like the idea the blind man I remembered could be me. I thought again and remembered seeing a blind man walking quickly, standing tall and straight holding a harness with a German Shepherd Seeing Eye dog at his side. Yes! That was it! I would travel with a Seeing Eye dog! I didn’t share my breakthrough thought with anyone.

After my follow up surgeries were finished, I began to lift weights again. I started to learn touch typing and Braille during this time. A teacher was provided by the State Department of Rehabilitation. Mr. Ben Johnze was assigned my case. We would discover that my fingertips lacked the necessary sensitivity to read Braille. My friends stood by me and came by the house to visit with me frequently.

One day my Mom announced that she wanted to take me to Point Loma on Sunday afternoon to meet someone. Sunday was quickly upon us and Mom drove us to Point Loma to meet a man named Sam Hecsh. He graciously invited us into his home. Sam showed us into a large room and invited me to sit on a couch. He oriented me to the couch by lightly slapping the couch seat cushion with the palm of his hand. Sam invited my Mother to sit in a chair opposite from me and Sam sat in a chair to my left. He asked me questions with a particular focus on my future. What do you plan to do? Sam inquired. I replied, I want to go back and finish college. Sam asked me other questions until he had satisfied himself sufficiently to announce his conclusion. Sam declared, You are going to get a Seeing Eye dog. Sam himself had a Seeing Eye dog named Belle. I later learned that Sam had lost his sight while working at a military aircraft assembly plant during World War II. He went on to study law and to become a well respected San Diego lawyer. Sam had given me my marching orders. I would get a Seeing Eye dog. Sam shared some very important words of wisdom with my Mom that day. Sam said, Don’t ever help Joe unless he asks for help first.

At this juncture in this narrative I must pause and clarify the previous paragraph. To say or to write the words, I would get a Seeing Eye dog should not mislead the reader. The process begins with a written application. My Mother wrote to the Seeing Eye at the address Sam Hecsh provided to request the application forms. Within a week my Mom’s letter was received by The Seeing Eye and they responded by sending the appropriate forms. Mom read the application to me and helped me fill out the form. A physical exam was required and was to be sent in separately by the applicant’s physician. I had my physical exam by my Medical Doctor, Dr. James P. Kiely, and it went well. I had gained back about 50 of the pounds I had lost and by lifting weights each day my muscle tone was returning. My family, my friends and even Dr. Kiely were excited for me and my anticipated Seeing Eye dog. I, too, was excited about the future. Graduation from The Seeing Eye was not assured. Graduation is hard earned. Not only must a handler meet the proficiency requirements and the Seeing Eye dog must meet the proficiency requirements, but, working together as a team the handler and the Seeing Eye dog must, as a unit, meet the proficiency requirements for graduation.

A week or so after The Seeing Eye had received my application and medical report a letter arrived from The Seeing Eye. My Mother read it to me. Its essence was that The Seeing Eye had received all of my required application forms, they were in order, and, I would be receiving a further written communication from them. I channeled the burst of energy the letter produced to lift heavier weights and to do more repetitions. The dream of training with a Seeing Eye dog was somehow much closer now. I would soon be free to go wherever I wanted to go whenever I wanted to do so.

The next letter from The Seeing Eye informed me that I had been accepted into the training class that would start October 28, 1967 and end on November 22, 1967. Included with the letter was a list of suggested clothing I would need for Class 11. It would be cold and snow was likely. Another list was included. It contained some suggested exercises. Seeing Eye students were expected to be in condition commensurate with the demands training with a Seeing Eye dog would place on them.

In 1967 there were no non-stop San Diego to Newark flights. The Seeing Eye arranged my American Airlines non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Newark. The Los Angeles International Airport was 140-150 miles North of where I lived in the City of San Diego. My Mother and I talked about driving to Los Angeles. I suggested we use my Pacific Southwest Airlines credit card and fly to Los Angeles instead. I made the arrangements by telephone for the flight reservations; one ticket to Los Angeles one-way and one San Diego to Los Angeles round trip ticket.

With the dawn of each new day, the time to fly East to Newark, New Jersey drew closer. The nightly television news broadcast reported civil unrest in Newark, New Jersey. Many commercial buildings had been burned to the ground during the riots. The riots began on July 12, 1967 and continued through July 17, 1967. Law and order had been restored before I flew East, but, burned out commercial and industrial buildings were still prevalent when a Seeing Eye chartered limousine drove me through the burned out areas of Newark en route to the Morristown, New Jersey Seeing Eye campus. The Newark riots called into question the ideals of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1967

After the Convair 990 airliner landed in Newark, Pam, the stewardess who had been very attentive and kind to me during the flight came to my assigned seat to ask me to remain seated while the other passengers deplaned. I will be sure you get off the plane, don’t worry. The seats all around me began to empty as passengers collected their carry-on luggage and departed. When all but a few passengers had deplaned, stewardess Pam came for me. She very kindly made sure I had all of my carry-on luggage. Satisfied I was leaving nothing behind, Pam gently took my hands in hers and, as she stepped backwards, walked me to the airliner’s door. An American Airlines Red Cap was waiting outside the aircraft for me. Pam told me she was handing me off to airline personnel who would assist me to the luggage area and coordinate meeting my limousine. I thanked her and smiled. As I started to turn in the direction of the open aircraft door, Pam lightly put her hand on my shoulder to stop me. She came close and kissed me on my left cheek. Good luck! were her last words to me. Thank you, Pam I replied with a big smile. My Seeing Eye experience was starting off exceptionally well! In 1967 passengers deplaned by way of a portable stairway that ground crews would bring to each airliner after it had come to a standstill very near the terminal and the aircraft’s engines had fully stopped. After Pam’s sincere kiss I seemed to float down the stairway. I have never again encountered Pam. I hope she will read this book some day. Pam, thank you.

When the limousine pulled to a stop in front of The Seeing Eye I was greeted by Miss Paula Pursley, the Director of Student Services, who welcomed me to The Seeing Eye. Miss Pursley took my arm in hers and escorted me into Seeing Eye headquarters. Other Seeing Eye personnel followed quickly behind us. As we entered Seeing Eye headquarters, Miss Pursley described the interior of the building to orient me. Several steps beyond the entrance door to The Seeing Eye Miss Pursley said we were entering the main hallway. She told me that someone would show me my room. She explained that it was Seeing Eye procedure that, once inside the building, I would learn to navigate the building without the aid of a sighted person. At this juncture Mr. Gary Mattoon greeted me. He identified himself as, Mr. Mattoon and suggested I turn to my right, follow his voice and he would show me to my room. Mr. Mattoon addressed me as, Mr. Klatt for a specific reason. It was the policy of The Seeing Eye to do so as a part of the goal of inculcating independence with dignity in each student. In this small way and in many other small ways The Seeing Eye began to build personal confidence in its students. I had been blind too short a time to acquire what are termed, blindisms which generally may be described as a blind person’s behaviors manifesting a timid approach to life’s daily challenges. In his first book about The Seeing Eye, Peter Putnam was admonished to, Keep Your Head Up, Mr. Putnam by a Seeing Eye trainer. Those words became the title of the book. With that single admonishment Peter corrected his downward gaze and forever after kept his head up and looking forward.

I followed Mr. Mattoon up the stairs, past the telephone booth at the top of the stairs, through the map room, into the common lounge and into the hallway which had dormitory rooms on either side. Mr. Mattoon stopped outside the second door on the right and told me that this was my room. Mr. Mattoon knocked on the door. A voice from inside responded, Come in. Mr. Mattoon greeted Mr. Mitchell, my assigned roommate. Mr. Mattoon said, Mr. Mitchell, meet Mr. Klatt. Mr. Mitchell stood and extended his hand. As he did so he said, My name is Henry T. Mitch Mitchell, Junior; call me Mitch. As we shook hands I said, Call me Joe. Mr. Mattoon then went about orienting me to the room. Mr. Klatt, here is your dresser, your bed and over here is the bathroom. As he referred to each item, Mr. Mattoon slapped the item with the palm of his hand to orient me by the sound to their locations. Mr. Mattoon explained the basic rules all Seeing Eye students were expected to follow. Mr. Mattoon asked me if I would like to have something to eat before retiring for the evening. American Airlines had served a complete dinner during the last hour of the flight to Newark. I shared this information with Mr. Mattoon and thanked him for asking. I thanked him again and he departed leaving Mitch and me to get acquainted. Mitch was at The Seeing Eye to train with his third Seeing Eye dog. Mitch was in Mr. Roger Taylor’s class. Mr. Mattoon had eight students and Mr. Taylor had eight students.

OCTOBER 29, 1967

Some long ago forgotten noise woke me from my sleep the next morning. It was Sunday. Mitch was already awake. He had showered and dressed for breakfast. I must have made a noise of some kind. This prompted Mitch to say, Good morning, Joe. And good morning to you, Mitch, I replied. Mitch sat down on his bed and started to put on his shoes. As he did, he said to me, I’m done in the bathroom. I’ve already dressed for breakfast. As soon as I get this other shoe tied, I will head to the common lounge and wait for the breakfast bell. Thanks, Mitch, I better get a move on if breakfast is coming up soon, I said seriously. Mitch exited the room and I headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower followed by a shave with my electric razor. I dressed comfortably but nicely too. As I opened the door onto the hallway, the breakfast bell sounded. I turned left and walked down the hall and into the common lounge. I was able to echo-locate to a certain degree because of the sounds of the other students. Based on what I could hear of their voices, I was younger than my fellow students. I made my way through the common lounge, through the map room and through the doorway onto the landing where I could hear other students speaking. They weren’t speaking to anyone in particular, but, to everyone in the immediate area. I’m at the top step and ready to come down, a man said. He paused and waited to listen for a response. There was none. I’ll start down now. I was rather sure that none of the other students were holding onto the handrail as they descended the flights of steps. I decided not to hold onto the handrail either and when it came my turn to descend the stairs, I would call out as I had heard the other students do. I would later learn the significance of not holding onto the hand rail. I located the lip of the top step with my right foot. I’m at the top of the stairs, I began and continued, If it’s clear, I’ll start down, I said evenly. There was no reply. From my left I heard the voice of Mr. Taylor saying, That’s it, Mr. Klatt. You are doing just fine. I descended the first flight of stairs and announced, I’m here at the first landing going down and starting on the next flight. As I started down the three stairs that made up the second flight, I said, I’m heading down the next flight, the stairs are clear to descend. When I reached the second landing I turned another 90 degrees to my right. As I did so, I announced, The second landing is clear and I am heading down the last flight of stairs now. When I reached the bottom step, Mr. Mattoon said, Good job, Mr. Klatt. You are a quick study. Thank you Mr. Mattoon and good morning, I replied. Move a little to your right and then walk straight down the hallway, Mr. Klatt, and good morning to you too, Mr. Mattoon replied.

Strategically positioned Seeing Eye personnel observed the students as they made their ways down the long hallway to the dining room. I took advantage as best I could of every sound and every voice ahead of me as I walked towards the dining room. I would soon learn to recognize each person’s voice. My stride was that of a sighted person. I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t lag. I didn’t walk excessively fast. At the end of the hallway I entered the dining room six or seven feet behind the woman in front of me. Mr. Taylor suggested she turn to her left and walk straight ahead. I wondered if that was what he would tell me. When I crossed the threshold into the dining room, Mr. Taylor told me to turn to my right and to walk straight. After walking five paces, another man, not Mr. Mattoon, said, Turn left, Mr. Klatt. The table is on your left. Keep going and I will tell you when to stop. I did as instructed. Okay, Mr. Klatt, you can stop there and reach out with your left hand and find the back of the chair. You will be sitting next to Mr. Mattoon at the head of the table, the man said. I found the chair with my left hand and turned to say, Thank you. I pulled the chair out, sat down and adjusted its relative position so I was appropriately close to the table. Mr. Mattoon was seated at my right at the head of the table. He introduced me to the woman student who was sitting directly across the table from me. As the other students quickly took their seats, Mr. Mattoon introduced each in turn. Mr. Mattoon proceeded to read the menu to his class. This morning we have on the menu the hot plate which consists of two eggs, hash browns, either bacon or ham, toast, orange juice and coffee. If you would prefer, you may have cereal, today’s cereal is Raisin Bran, and a fruit cup. Mr. Mattoon’s succinct way of speaking sounded military to me. I would later learn that he had been in the United States Air Force as a Sentry Dog Trainer. When it came my turn to order, I asked for scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. And what would you like to drink, orange juice or coffee? asked the server. Both please, and may I have my coffee black? After everyone had ordered, Mr. Mattoon told us the day’s schedule. We all will be meeting in the common lounge upstairs shortly after breakfast. Mr. Taylor and I will be going over important things we want you to know and that you will need to know to be successful during training with your Seeing Eye Dog and to be successful with your Seeing Eye Dog when you return home.

Breakfast was wonderful. All of the students in both classes were excited to have the course of training begin. As each student finished their breakfast, they made their way back to their respective rooms. When I had finished, I excused myself, stood, and, before leaving the vicinity of the table, was meticulous about returning my chair to the position in which I had first found it. I then made my way back to the hallway, down the long hallway, jogged a step or so to the right, walked up the stairs without touching a handrail, jogged at an angle to the left and passed through the doorway into the map room, turned 45 degrees to the left and then 90 degrees to the right when the hallway opened on my right. I walked down the hall trying to remember about how far down the hallway the room was located. Up ahead I heard Mitch’s voice come from inside the room a few steps ahead on the right. Mitch was saying out loud, This is the right room all right. I turned right when I sensed the open doorway and said, Hey, Mitch. Mitch easily replied, Joe, come in and close the door behind you. You’ve got the right room. No problem, I said. Mitch and I took turns brushing our teeth. Before I had finished brushing mine, Mitch announced that he was going down to the common lounge. I wasn’t far behind him. When I walked into the common lounge, I was a little surprised when I realized that I was almost the last student to arrive. The room was buzzing with enthusiasm. Mr. Taylor said to me, Mr. Klatt, stop right there and there is an empty chair on your left. I stopped and reached to my left and down with my left hand. I located the chair and sat down. I tried to follow several conversations at one time without success. Mr. Taylor began to speak. I think everyone is here now. Mr. Mattoon confirmed, Everyone’s here now. For me, the one hour lecture was but an instant. I carefully listened to everything Mr. Mattoon and Mr. Taylor told us. When they had finished their prepared remarks, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Mattoon asked the classes generally if anyone had any questions. I didn’t have any questions. I did listen carefully to questions posed by other students and, most importantly, the trainer’s answers. One of the questions a student asked was regarding the daily grooming of our dogs. After Mr. Mattoon confirmed that we would learn how to groom our dogs and that they were to be groomed daily, another student asked if we had to have our dog’s toenails clipped. Mr. Mattoon’s answer was crisp. He said, If you are working your dog regularly, you won’t ever need to have its nails clipped. When there were no more questions, Mr. Taylor concluded the lecture. He suggested we return to our rooms and reminded us that it was Seeing Eye protocol that for the noontime meal (which he described as dinner) men were expected to wear a coat and a tie. The women were expected to each wear a dress. I remembered this protocol was clearly stated in the information my Mom had read to me. Being close to the doorway I quickly realized that I should be one of the first to clear the area. I stood, sidestepped to my right, turned around and walked back down the hall to our room. This time I returned ahead of Mitch. When Mitch came into our room, he asked, Did you enjoy breakfast this morning? It was great! I said enthusiastically. At the Seeing Eye, every meal is a feast, Mitch replied. The wonderful meals served during my stay at The Seeing Eye would attest to the fact that Mitch was right. Sam Hecsh had praised the food served at The Seeing Eye when I met him at his home. What was it that Sam had said? I asked myself silently. Then I remembered Sam’s words, I gain five pounds every time I go back to The Seeing Eye. I took off my shoes and reclined on my bed. Mitch was ahead of me and had already taken off his shoes. I kept checking my pocket watch. I wound my pocket watch. Time slowed to a crawl.

After what seemed a long, long time, Mitch announced that he was going to put on his suit, head down to the common lounge and wait for the call to dinner. Sounds like a good idea to me, I said.

Mitch was soon out the door and I sat up, put my shoes back on and went to my closet. I selected a sports jacket and its accompanying tie and put them on. I went to the open doorway of our room and stood, waiting for the bell. From directly across the hall another student greeted me. He introduced himself to me and I, in turn, introduced myself to him. He was considerably older than I was. I guessed he was in his fifty’s. He told me he was a lawyer. He was here to train with his third Seeing Eye Dog. He asked where I lived. California, I replied. You are a long way from home. Have you called your family yet? The question was asked politely, but, it hit me like a truck. No, I haven’t. So much has been going on that I didn’t even think of it, I said slowly. The lawyer asked, Do you know where the phone booth is located? Yes, I stated pensively, Mr. Mattoon said it was at the top of the stairs, on the right when you reach the top, I think. The lawyer confirmed, That’s right, and added, You should call home after dinner. Do you have a dime? No, I only brought dollar bills with me, I said. The lawyer offered, Here, let me lend you a dime so you can call home tonight. You can give it back to me later. I appreciated his gesture and expressed my gratitude. It’s nothing, the lawyer said, We have to help each other out when we can. He handed me the dime. I thanked him again and placed the dime in my coat pocket. As I did, the bell sounded that announced dinner was ready and the students should make their way to the dining room. I’m hungry, the lawyer said and added, Follow me. Charge!

Sunday dinner was fit for a king. Mr. Mattoon was seated at the head of the table again. I was on his immediate left. When all eight of his students were at the table, Mr. Mattoon greeted us all by name. He read the dinner menu which sounded great. The roasted turkey sounded enticing, but, I elected to have the roast beef with mashed potatoes and brown rice. I requested lemonade. Dessert was either chocolate layer cake or strawberry shortcake. I chose the chocolate layer cake.

After the scrumptious dinner, Mr. Mattoon announced that we would be meeting in the common lounge in about thirty minutes. Mr. Mattoon’s voice inflections made it clear that attendance was not optional. One by one we excused ourselves and made our way back to our respective rooms. When I returned to the room we shared, Mitch was already there. Mitch asked, Joe, did you have the chocolate layer cake for dessert? Yes, Mitch, I did, I replied. I think that is the most delicious chocolate layer cake I have ever had, Mitch said dreamily. I smiled and said, They should rename it Chocoholic’s Dream Cake! Mitch laughed and said, That describes it pretty darn well. I removed my neck tie and hung it with my sports coat in my closet. I slipped on a light sweater over my long sleeve shirt. I was ready to go. I announced to Mitch that I was heading to the common lounge. Mitch said, I’ll be about two minutes behind you.

I found an empty seat in the lounge and sat down. I could hear Mr. Taylor and Mr. Mattoon speak with different students as they made their way into the common lounge. I heard Mitch enter the room and ask if there were any empty chairs on his left. Another student, a woman whose voice I had not heard before, spoke to Mitch. She said, Mr. Mitchell, there is an empty seat next to me. It is the second seat on your left. She lightly slapped the seat cushion of the chair to her right. Mitch thanked her, excused himself as he stepped in front of the student seated in the first seat and located the empty chair. Mitch sat down and thanked the woman, now on his left, and the man, now on his right.

LECTURE 1

Mr. Taylor asked for everyone’s attention. The students stopped talking with each other and the room was silent. This afternoon we are going to talk about the Juno walk. [FN1] We will do some portions of the Juno walk here in the common lounge and some of it on the streets of Morristown. Mr. Taylor first described the actual harnesses we would use in training. He then explained that the Juno harness is a harness that has been especially modified so that it may be worn by a trainer who, standing erect, will be able to approximate the way a Seeing Eye Dog pulls, the way it starts, the way it stops, the way it turns. Mr. Mattoon and I know the dogs we have on our strings. We each have ten dogs currently. We expect that we will be able to match 16 students with 16 dogs from our combined strings of 20 dogs. Mr. Taylor proceeded to give each of the students a brand new leather leash. He described the functions of each of the two metal clips and the two metal rings. Mr. Taylor instructed us how to make a long leash and a short leash. [FN2] We also learned how to replace any of the metal attachments on the leash should it ever become necessary to do so. Mr. Taylor turned over the floor to Mr. Mattoon to tell us about the harness. Mr. Mattoon began, When you receive your Seeing Eye dog, we will give you a training harness to use while you are here. Upon graduation you will receive a new leather harness for your dog. The leather of the training harnesses is supple, whereas, the new harnesses will be brand new and rather stiff at first. We will talk more about this in a few weeks. For those students who will be flying a long distance on their return home, we recommend that, after you have pre-boarded the aircraft, you remove the harness and store it in the overhead bin. I thought to myself, That means me.

Mr. Mattoon proceeded to tell the students that, when we each received our new dogs, it is our job to make friends with our dog and, with the use of affection, win over your new dog so it will work for you. Mr. Mattoon paused to let the significance of his statement sink in. After a prolonged silence to emphasize what he had just said, Mr. Mattoon continued, Right now the dogs Mr. Taylor and I have trained love us. That is why they will work for us. Seeing Eye dogs do not work for food. They work for affection. You must give them the affection they crave, the affection they live to receive. You must win over your Seeing Eye Dog so your dog will love you. Again, Mr. Mattoon paused, and by doing so, added poignancy to his statements. In addition to your leashes, I am now going to hand out your grooming equipment. Each of you will receive a brush and a curry comb. Tomorrow evening after dinner we will meet here in the common lounge and go over how you are to groom your dogs. As Mr. Mattoon and Mr. Taylor distributed the grooming equipment to the students, I was thinking about how much I appreciated both Mr. Taylor’s and Mr. Mattoon’s clarity. Seeing Eye dogs are working dogs, well trained and educated working dogs to be sure, but, they are not trick and treat dogs.

Mr. Mattoon paused for emphasis and spoke, Retrains will have heard this portion of the lecture before. Nevertheless, we want you to listen anyway. Again Mr. Mattoon paused. Mr. Taylor said, Now, this is important, people. Listen up. When the room was absolutely silent, Mr. Mattoon began, When you receive your dog, it is fully trained and has passed all of the requirements, and they are formidable, to be certified by The Seeing Eye as safe to lead a blind person. Each of these dogs has a series of commands it has learned to respond to and each of these dogs understands a command sequence or command hierarchy. Mr. Mattoon paused to let his statement take effect, particularly on the first time students. The commands all Seeing Eye Dogs know include come, sit, down, rest, steady, left, right, forward, fetch and out. Don’t worry about trying to memorize the list I just gave you. You will quickly learn the commands and the hand signal that is given with certain commands after you receive your new dogs. The dogs work for praise and you must give it to them when they obey a command you have given. Good dog, good girl, good boy, that’s a good dog and multiple variations of these are the positive verbal reinforcement you must give them when they do what you command them to do. The dogs know these words. They also know two correction words; no and the German word pfui. No is the milder correction word. Pfui is the correction word which means something like ‘knock it off right now’ or ‘stop what you are doing right now.’ Mr. Mattoon paused again for emphasis. Each Seeing Eye dog has been educated to engage in what we call ‘intelligent disobedience’. Mr. Mattoon paused to add emphasis to his statement and continued, What we mean by intelligent disobedience is that each Seeing Eye dog is educated to disobey a command that will place it and or you in immediate danger. For example, you are at the down curb at an intersection. You need to cross the street. You listen and are unable to hear any traffic. You believe it is safe to cross and give your dog the command, ‘Juno, forward’. Juno doesn’t move because Juno sees a person on a bicycle who is about to go in front of you. We will teach you what to do when your dog does not obey your command later in the course. For now, you need to remember that your dog is educated to intelligently disobey your command and your dog is not trained to obey your command without question. The lecture ended with each student completing the first portion of their Juno walk. In turn, each of us was asked to clip our leashes onto Juno, to pick up the harness handle and to hold it in such a way as to stand erect with the harness handle in a position which resulted from the student positioning his or her upper arm directly down so that the student’s elbow flexes from the lowest point of the upper arm. You’ve got the idea, Mr. Klatt. It is harder to describe than it is to actually do, Mr. Mattoon said. Mr. Mattoon instructed me on the proper way to administer a leash correction. Give Juno a leash correction now, Mr. Mattoon said. I dropped the harness handle and then gave a backwards jerk on the leash. That wasn’t too bad for a first time. Try it again and see if you can make your correction a little stronger." I did as Mr. Mattoon asked. He was pleased with the next leash correction and said so.

THE REST OF THE JUNO WALK

Mr. Mattoon drove four of his students into Morristown in a Seeing Eye Travel All van. He parked the van and, one by one, he invited each of his four students to exit the van and to walk with him as he enacted the role of Juno to determine each student’s agility, latency of response, pace, strength, and, stride. After our Juno walks were completed, Mr. Mattoon drove us back to The Seeing Eye. Both Mr. Mattoon and Mr. Taylor informed their students that they would be going into a meeting with the training staff to discuss which of the twenty dogs would be best matched to each of us.

I sat down on my bed and thought about the day. When I came to the conversation I had with the lawyer in the room across the hall, I stood, went to my closet and retrieved the dime from the coin pocket of my coat. I said to Mitch, I’m going to make a phone call. I’ll be back soon. I walked down the hall, made my way across the common lounge, through the map room and into the area near the stairs. I found the telephone booth. The bi-fold door was open. I decided to ask, May I use the phone? There was no answer. I stepped into the phone booth and slid the bi-fold door closed. The phone booth had been there for many years. I deduced this from the smooth wooden seat, wooden interior walls, and its slightly larger size than any modern day phone booth with which I was familiar. I lifted the receiver from its cradle, put the dime into the coin slot at the top and dialed 0 for the operator. I heard the mechanical buzz twice and then a woman’s voice said, Operator. I’d like to make a collect call, please, to La Jolla, California to the phone number 454-4112, I said in a clear voice. Just a moment, let me ring that number, the Operator replied. I listened and recognized my Mom’s voice say, Hello. The Operator said, I have a collect call from, your name sir? Joe Klatt I said. The Operator asked, Will you accept charges? Mom said she would and the Operator said mechanically, Go ahead, Sir, and clicked off

Hi, Mom! I said enthusiastically. Hi, Joe, how are things going? Mom asked. The flight was uneventful and the ride from the airport to The Seeing Eye went fine, I began. I continued, I’ve been going non-stop since my arrival. Mom asked, Do you have your dog yet? No, I answered, That should happen soon. Mom asked, Do you have everything you need? I replied, As far as I know. Everything seems to be going great. The food here at The Seeing Eye is wonderful! Mom said, Keep in touch and let us know how you are doing when you can. Will do, I began, tell Katherine and James hi for me. Will do. Thanks Mom, love you! Mom replied, Love you too. We each said goodbye and I put the receiver back in its place. The telephone released the dime. I retrieved it from the coin slot and put it in my pocket for future use. I returned to my room feeling relaxed. Today was the day when my freedom of movement would be again found.

For a person who is reading this book prior to their first training at The Seeing Eye, allow me to make some observations. Many changes have been effected at The Seeing Eye since 1967. For the most part, there were two students to each room until circa 2000. This arrangement allowed a first time student to room with an experienced student. In this way, the experienced student could help the first time student by answering any questions the first time student might ask. When I returned in 1976 to train with my first replacement Seeing Eye dog I roomed with Mr. Jim Lemons. In 1986 I roomed with Mr. Bill Wesloski. In 1992 I roomed with Dr. Peter Putnam. When I returned for my fifth Seeing Eye dog on November 26, 2000 additional rooms had been added to the facility and I was assigned to a room in the new wing. The existing rooms had been converted from two students per room to one student per room. It was nice to have a room to one’s self, although, I thought this arrangement might make it harder on first time students.

In January 2006 when I trained with my sixth Seeing Eye dog, I was assigned an original upstairs room which had been renovated for a single occupant. Howard Della was assigned the room directly across the hall from mine. Howard would successfully graduate with his new Seeing Eye dog named Nyack. When I trained with my seventh Seeing Eye dog in 2010 I was assigned a room in the wing that had been added circa 2000. It was in September of 2010 that I met Buddy and Paul, two first time Seeing Eye students. Buddy was older [FN3] than I was and he had to put forward his best efforts each and every day to conform to the training regime. Buddy and I were able to spend some time in the men’s downstairs lounge talking in the evening. Buddy asked me questions that I was able to answer from my experience. Seeing Eye training is demanding and rigorous. There is little time for the trainers to stop and repeat instructions to the students. The general expectation is that you are told once and you may ask once, but, asking twice may indicate you aren’t paying attention. Being able to focus one’s attention on whatever is at hand is vital when one works with a Seeing Eye dog. The handler and the Seeing Eye dog are fast pacing along and the dog is sending the handler signals through the rigid harness handle. The handler is communicating with the Seeing Eye dog verbally combined with hand signals. If a handler allows his or her attention to stray, the working unit’s safety is compromised. While in training students are not expected to be perfect. They are expected to bring their A game each and every day. For a first time student to learn the basic skill set with their newly trained Seeing Eye dog that will permit the unit to travel safely in unfamiliar environs from the time they graduate as a unit is a considerable task. Most first time students do graduate. Most retrain students do graduate. Yes, Paul and Buddy graduated and returned home with their new Seeing Eye dogs. Enya and I would graduate too, but, that part of my story will be told in a later chapter.

The miraculous transformations that take place each month at The Seeing Eye are the result of the concerted efforts of many people in The Seeing Eye organization. Beginning with the breeding station where the majority of Seeing Eye dogs are born, the pups, when weaned, are placed with Four H Club members and their families. There the pups learn the basics of proper behavior and their feeding and grooming regime is established. A Seeing Eye dog is groomed each and every day. Daily grooming spreads the natural oils and makes the dog’s coat reflect health and vigor. Seeing Eye dogs are so accustomed to their daily grooming that they expect it. As the dog makes the lifetime commitment to safely lead a blind person, that blind person must, in turn, dedicate himself or herself to the daily maintenance of the dog. As I write this in 2012 Seeing Eye dog handlers are expected to administer monthly doses of heartworm preventative medication and flea medication. Seeing Eye students are taught to groom their dog daily, to clean their dog’s ears, to brush their dog’s teeth, and, to pill their dog. Regular veterinary visits and treatments are a part of the commitment the handler makes to the Seeing Eye dog. Vaccinations and dog licensing as well as regular veterinary check ups are part of the care the owner of a Seeing Eye dog is expected to provide. For those of us who have Seeing Eye dogs, it is well understood that love does lead the way.

[FN1] A Juno walk is the longstanding term given by The Seeing Eye to the assessment walk with each student to evaluate their pace, their stride, their agility, their strength, and, their latency of response. A trainer wears a specially adapted harness on his or her hand and arm and, while standing erect walks various distances, makes a variety of turns, and, does so at various speeds with the student to assess which Seeing Eye dog would be best suited to each student.

[FN2] During Seeing Eye training with Enya (my current Seeing Eye dog at the time of this writing) in the September-October 2010 class, I was introduced to a three-quarters leash configuration for the first time. (See Chapter 20 for details)

[FN3] Buddy was 77 years old when we met. Seeing Eye practice is not to accept applications from first time guide dog users for anyone older than 75. Buddy had applied when he was 75 and, based on his age when he applied, he was accepted for Seeing Eye training.

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Joe and Rani 1967

CHAPTER 2

RANI 1967

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, OCTOBER 29, 1967:

Here’s a small piece of liver, Mr. Klatt. I am going to bring your dog into your room. You are to call her by saying her name followed by the command, ‘Come.’ I will unclip my leash from her collar when I bring her in. After she takes the small piece of liver, clip your leash onto her collar. She is a German Shepherd named Rani. [FN1]

With those words Mr. Mattoon prepared me to meet my first Seeing Eye dog. The small piece of liver had a moist feel to it, but, I kept it in the palm of my right hand where Mr. Mattoon had placed it. Momentarily, I heard Mr. Mattoon’s voice outside the door of the dormitory room I shared with Mitch. I was ready to receive Rani with a leash in my left hand and the liver offering in my right hand. Mr. Mattoon turned the door knob and stepped into my room with Rani at his left side. For the first time I heard the inimitable click of Rani’s nails. Mr. Mattoon took several steps into the room and I heard him unclip his leash. Call your dog, Mr. Klatt, Mr. Mattoon instructed. I said, Rani, come. As I did so, I opened my right hand to reveal the tidbit of liver. I extended it in her general direction. She advanced, briefly sniffed the piece of liver and then gently lifted it from my hand with her velvet tongue. As she did so, I clipped my leash to her collar. Mr. Mattoon said, Remember that you are to keep your dog either on leash or attached to her bed chain [FN2] at all times. I heard Mr. Mattoon quietly leave and gently close the door. I began petting Rani and talking to her immediately. She didn’t seem worried in any way that I was treating her as my dog. Rani was and forever would be fearless. As Rani and I became lifelong friends, I began to have a mental image of her strong body, her classic lines and her amazing intelligence.

While I was absorbed in getting to know Rani, Mitch entered the dorm room we shared. He had his new Seeing Eye dog at his side on leash at heel. I heard Mitch say, That’s a good girl, Ella… that’s a good girl. Mitch heeled Ella to his bed on the far side of the room and said, Ella, sit. That’s a good girl.

The first step had been taken. Step by step Rani and I would forge ahead under the expert guidance of Mr. Mattoon to quickly become a skilled working unit.

Heeling is the first hurdle for all newly paired units. Under the watchful eyes of Seeing Eye personnel we would heel to park, [FN3] heel to the dining room, and, heel to the common lounge. Each student would harness their dog before traversing the distance to the park, to the lounge and to the dining room. I would quickly learn that the harness for a Seeing Eye dog was analogous to a business suit for a person. Given the command, Heel is to ask the dog to walk at a person’s side but not to get out in front and try to lead the person. The instinctive behavior of herding is the trait which heeling a dog manifests. Thus, the dog is now being reinforced when it engages in the natural behavior to herd. For Seeing Eye returning students, it feels unnatural to limit a dog in this way, but, it serves multiple purposes. Another aspect of heeling is to fully equip the Seeing Eye dog with a reinforced behavior which is used at least once or twice a day. Each morning and each evening when I walk from my house to my garage with a food pan in one hand, I do so with my Seeing Eye dog on leash at heel. When my Seeing Eye dog stops at the gate I reinforce the correct behavior by saying, Good dog, that’s a good dog! This is said with an appropriate amount of enthusiasm to reinforce the desired behavior. As I express the words of affection I invariably reach down and pet my Seeing Eye dog’s ever ready head. In a 24 hour period I intentionally touch and pet my Seeing Eye dog hundreds of times. This is to reassure the dog and to reinforce the relationship between us. I am the master and the dog is the dog. To lose the position of alpha dog in the relationship is to forever doom the unit. The Seeing Eye denominates the paradigm as affection correction. When a Seeing Eye dog behaves properly, it must be rewarded. When a Seeing Eye dog misbehaves, it must be corrected.

The general reader or a person awaiting admission to The Seeing Eye to train with their first Seeing Eye dog may think the previous paragraph is in someway descriptive of harsh or inflexible corrections. The reader who has drawn this conclusion could not be more wrong. This would necessarily oversimplify what the relationship is between dog and master. It is simplistic to think that the affection correction paradigm is as simple as a lights on, lights off dynamic. There are many variations and nuances the Seeing Eye dog handler uses each and every day. These start with the voice. All dogs are keenly attuned to a human’s voice, its inflections, its volume, its pitch, its timbre, its tone and its timing. Add to this the variations of the voice the variety of words of affection and correction the handler may employ to communicate to the dog and with the dog. Each day I say to my current Seeing Eye dog, a female German Shepherd named Enya who you will meet in Chapters 20, 21 and 22 of this book, You are a good girl in a voice purring with approval and affection. When I awaken in the early morning Enya will come into my bedroom. My morning greeting is likely to be something like, Good morning good girl. What’s up, good dog? Based on her response I might inquire, Outside? In that way I am asking her if she wants to go outside for morning park time [FN4]. If she pants, turns around and starts leaving the bedroom, it is her way of saying, Yes, it’s park time! I am immediately up and out of bed and walking to the sliding glass door which leads out onto a fenced concrete patio which has at its North end her park area. I will take this opportunity to mention that my 7 Seeing Eye dogs have each understood the vocabulary of a 12 year old adolescent. In truth, it may not be that a Seeing Eye dog understands each word, but, the dog understands the meaning being conveyed taking into account the inflection, volume, pitch, tone, timbre and timing of the words. Meaning is communicated between people more from the way we say something than what we say.

Words mean different things to different people and there is no universal repository for meaning.

As such, the way we say something to our Seeing Eye dog is much more meaningful than what we say. The correction word, No, for example, may be employed in many variations. A flat, No conveys a different message than a, No said in an annoyed tone. The handler of a Seeing Eye dog will learn to convey meaning with greater precision over time. For a first time student at the Seeing Eye to expect to have mastered this technique in four short weeks is not realistic. The first time student will be saturated with the concepts that will guide their communications with their Seeing Eye dogs long after the unit has graduated and returned home. Consistency is key to successful communication.

The German word pfui is used to convey to the Seeing Eye dog that it is doing something wrong and to stop it immediately. The meaning the handler wants to impart to the dog with immediacy is to Knock it off right now! The word may be said in a way that it cracks like a whip. Like every other communications to a Seeing Eye dog, the inflection, volume, pitch, timbre, tone and timing all impart meaning. A Seeing Eye student must learn to employ these variations of voice in short order. Retrains have the advantage of knowing and understanding these variations. The current challenge for the retrain is to adjust his or her communication patterns to the new Seeing Eye dog. No two Seeing Eye dogs are exactly alike. Each Seeing Eye dog has feelings, has an ego and wants to please its new master.

A SECOND PARADIGM

The second and equally vital paradigm Seeing Eye students must incorporate into their thought process is: FOLLOW YOUR DOG. The partnership between dog and human is based on trust. Without the trust to follow your dog, the dog’s confidence will be destroyed.

OUR FIRST SOLO

The days which followed were filled with training opportunities inside the Seeing Eye, outside the Seeing Eye, and, in Morristown. Mr. Mattoon drove us into Morristown where we trained with our new Seeing Eye dogs in real world conditions. Monday morning, Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning, Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning we were driven into Morristown to work the Maple Street route. The South Street route was the first route we were required to solo. Commencing on Wednesday afternoon, and thereafter, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, we traversed the South Street route with another unit in training. Mr. Mattoon followed behind us. As he did, he would make suggestions targeted to improve our performance. Mr. Mattoon announced at the dining room table that we would all be making our South Street solos on Saturday morning. He encouraged us to review the grooved map in the map room if we had any questions about the route. In this way Mr. Mattoon was treating us with respect. Rani and I soloed the incrementally harder South Street route successfully on Saturday morning. The South Street route began on the North side of Maple Avenue between Miller Road and Madison Avenue. After Mr. Mattoon parked the van, the students and their dogs exited the van as requested. When it was our turn, Rani and I proceeded East on Maple Avenue to Madison Avenue, turned left, walked to South Street, turned left, crossed Miller Road (a very busy intersection) crossed Community Place to Dehart Street, turned left, walked to Maple Avenue, turned left, crossed Dehart Street, crossed Community Place, crossed Miller Road and returned to the van.

A blind person’s capability to safely travel from point A to point B either with or without a Seeing Eye dog is based on their ability to remember the route to be traveled and to know where they are as they progress between point A and point B.

Before the development of Global Positioning Satellites and their attendant hand