Her guiding light
Julia Aguilar and Reggie have bond built on mutual reliance, friendship, trust
By LISA CARNLEY Staff Writer

PHOTO BY LISA CARNLEY Lampasas High School grad Julia Aguilar brought her dog guide, Reggie, home for a recent holiday break. The pair live in New Zealand where Miss Aguilar is set to begin her master's degree studies.

Reggie never takes his eyes off his master; he is at attention even when he's resting.

The 7-year-old Reggie is a working dog -- a dog guide -- and his master is Julia Aguilar. They are a team. He is her sidekick and so much more.

Reggie is her "eyes."

Miss Aguilar, blind since birth, didn't want a dog guide when she was a teenager due to the responsibility it would entail.

The 1999 Lampasas High School graduate changed her mind, though, after realizing that a canine companion would bolster her mobility and strengthen her independence.

Prior to getting her dog, Miss Aguilar attended Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center in Austin for an intensive two-month college preparation program.

After finishing a psychology course at Austin Community College, she attended Temple College for three years.

PHOTO BY LISA CARNLEY Reggie, the dog guide belonging to Julia Aguilar, is a loyal companion for his master.

In the summer of 2002, Miss Aguilar entered The Seeing Eye in Morristown, N.J., to acquire a dog guide and learn how to work with him.

After she completed the program, Miss Aguilar attended Texas Tech University at Lubbock, where she graduated magna cum laude with double degrees in psychology and music performance.

She and Reggie relocated to New Zealand in the summer of 2006 in anticipation of attending the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, where Miss Aguilar will begin her master's program in psychology in February.

A two-year study program will be followed by a one-year internship with the goal of clinical psychology work with children who suffer various mental disorders, such as bipolar disorder, anxiety and schizophrenia.

"I liked what the university offered, and my fiance' lives there," she said. Miss Aguilar met her fiance' in 2004 in Los Angeles at a conference. He also is blind. The couple plan a January 2009 wedding in Austin, and a second ceremony to follow in New Zealand for her fiance's family.

Deciding on a dog guide was a big decision for the Lampasas product. "When I was 14, I said I didn't want a dog guide because I didn't want the mess or the responsibility. I'm retracting that statement now."

It wasn't until she planned to go to Texas Tech that she seriously considered acquiring a dog.

Miss Aguilar mailed her application in the summer of 2001 to The Seeing Eye, the oldest school of its kind in the U.S., in operation since 1929. In September, she received a call from a field instructor in Austin, and he arranged to meet her at Temple College.

A four-hour interview ensued, which included a "juno walk" where the instructor plays the part of the dog and holds the harness and leash in his hand, while at the other end the potential dog recipient walks along.

"That gauges how hard you pull, the pace of your walk and how you would walk if there really was a dog at the end of the leash," Miss Aguilar explained. "It also tests orientation and mobility skills. They wouldn't want to give a dog to someone who can't find their way around and has a tendency to get lost."

After her acceptance to The Seeing Eye, Miss Aguilar was asked her dog-breed preference. She initially requested a German shepherd, but agreed that the school could match her with a dog they found most appropriate.

"I told them if they found a dog that suited me better, I would take it."

Pairing a dog to a student is a process of matching personalities with lifestyles, she said. "If you are a fast walker, you wouldn't do well with a dog that moves slowly, and if you move around a lot, you don't want a dog that isn't as active. The school tries to match your lifestyle to a particular dog."

School officials select several potential matches for each student, and instructors then meet with the director of programs and manager of training and instruction to make a final recommendation.

Reggie, a golden retriever, was chosen for Miss Aguilar.

The Seeing Eye utilizes several dog breeds: Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds and Labrador/golden retriever crosses. Boxers are avail- able for students allergic to long-haired dogs.

The dogs are bred at a state-of-the-art facility in New Jersey, and at about eight weeks old they are placed with temporary families -- puppy raisers who are found in many eastern states.

There, dogs live for 12 to 16 months, depending on how quickly they learn.

After home instruction, potential dog guides return to the school for four months to undergo more stringent training to learn the skills that will make them proper seeing-eye dogs before being paired with a human partner.

During the dog's "final exam," it ventures outdoors with a blind-folded instructor who judges the animal's readiness to become its new owner's lifeline.

When dogs are pronounced ready to train with students in their month-long program, sessions start daily at 5:30 a.m. and last until the early-evening hours. Classes consist of 24 students with six instructors.

Students -- paired off -- take two trips each day with their dog guides, an instructor and a supervisor.

"We start out with the basic routes," said Miss Aguilar. "We go through quiet, residential streets, and progress to streets with quite heavy traffic."

There also are three solo routes mapped out for first-time students near the end of their stay. The third course is the most difficult, as it takes them through a high-school route with heavy business traffic and streets with cars whizzing by. The instructors don't offer assistance to students but are there if needed.

"I took a lot of notes about that route," Miss Aguilar said of venturing out with her partner. She plotted the course on a tactile map (where one can feel the diagram with fingertips). "It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be," she added.

The course also challenges the dog, as distractions are placed along the way. Other dogs in early stages of training are stationed along the route to see how the dog guide will react when with its partner. "The instructors do that because they know it's instinctual for the dog to bark or be distracted. You can't get rid of the distractions, but you can learn to minimize them," she said.

Students also face special challenges, such as barriers on sidewalks that dogs must navigate their partner around, and low-hanging trees the guides also must help the students avoid.

It should be a smooth walk for the dog's companion, and the student should never know the canine has obstacles to face even if it does, Miss Aguilar said.

When the dogs -- and their masters -- are pronounced ready, their one-on-one relationship begins to develop.

Average working life of a canine companion is about 10 years. Most students receive a dog guide when it is 2, which gives them about eight years together, depending on the animal's health and continued proficiency.

When retirement nears, dog owners consider whether to return the animal to The Seeing Eye to be adopted, or the student can keep the guide as a pet. They also can give the dog to a friend or family member.

"I don't even want to think about that," said Miss Aguilar, who knows her time with Reggie is limited, and she likely will have to replace the dog in a few years' time.

Reggie then will have a permanent home with Miss Aguilar's parents, Maria and Jerry Aguilar, who have come to love the golden retriever that has worked so hard on their daughter's behalf.

"It will be hard to leave Reggie. I am very attached to him because he is with me 24-7," she said. "I realize it will be hard to let go, but it will be a little bit easier knowing he will be with my parents and that they love him."

Though Reggie is the first dog she was given, it wasn't the first she trained with.

"I had a black lab, Blossom, and we trained for a while," said Miss Aguilar. "I took her to New York City, and she did very well. After that, it started to go downhill.

"During the last week of training, Blossom just froze. We were by ourselves and were walking down the street. When we got to a street light, I said 'forward,' giving her the command to go, and she just sat down."

A supervisor said the dog likely was stressed, and from time to time a dog doesn't work out.

"It was very emotional saying goodbye to her. Blossom and I really connected, but it didn't work out. The school's staff were there for me, and they wanted me to succeed."

Though Miss Aguilar was disappointed to leave the school without a dog guide, she enrolled in the next training session, and there she was matched with Reggie.

The LHS grad and her companion have traveled all over the world together.

In New Zealand, where the traffic flow is opposite of American standards, Miss Aguilar expected it could be difficult for her and Reggie to adjust. "It didn't seem to phase him, and since I just listen to the traffic because I can't see it, and traffic is traffic no matter which way it travels, it didn't make any difference to me either."

Reggie has been in stores, restaurants, places of business -- everywhere his master goes.

Local, state and federal American with Disabilities Act guidelines guarantee access by blind persons and their dog guides to all public places and on public transportation.

New Zealand also accommodates those with dog guides, as do a number of other countries.

In the five years Miss Aguilar has had Reggie, she has been turned away only twice at businesses that didn't allow her dog access.

Both places are in Central Texas, and both times the police were called. "I called them after explaining to the store managers that they are required to let us in," she said. "They still refused. I even showed them my card that identifies Reggie as a dog guide. They insisted no pets are allowed in their stores.

"People have to realize that these are not pets. I just want them to be aware of the law and that I have a right to go where I want and need to," she said.

"These dog guides undergo a lot of training and are very well-behaved and are necessary for us to get around," said Miss Aguilar.

Two places a dog guide is not allowed are hospital operating rooms and an intensive care unit.

Reggie has traveled on airplanes countless times. He wiggles underneath the seat in front of his master and lays his head on her feet, trying to be as unobtrusive as a 50-pound dog can. He sleeps most of the trip.

When she flies, Miss Aguilar opts for a window or center seat to keep her dog's paws out of the aisle. "I don't want the flight attendant to accidentally run over his foot with a drink cart."

She also pointed out that while she appreciates folks admiring her dog, she would rather they not touch him without her permission.

"If you try to distract or touch a dog guide when it is with its owner, it is the same as grabbing a steering wheel, and you wouldn't do that. It's distracting the dog from doing its work."

Most handlers don't want their dog to be touched, but others don't mind if they are asked permission first, Miss Aguilar said.

"If we are out and someone asks if they can pet Reggie, I tell them 'Not right now; he is working.' But if he is lying under my chair and is at rest, I don't mind, as long as they ask first."

Even when Reggie is at rest, as long as he is wearing his harness he is working. He is just waiting for instruction, she said. "The minute I stand up, Reggie stands up. He is always ready to move when I am." When the dog is off both the harness and leash, he's like a pet and knows then he can relax, said his owner. "But when that leash and harness are on, it's work time."

Said Miss Aguilar: "People ask me if Reggie is trained to protect. He is a guide dog, not a guard dog, although I would hope Reggie would protect me if he needed to."

Headed back to New Zealand after the Thanksgiving holiday, Miss Aguilar noted the country -- a rabies-free zone -- has strict petentry laws that require a one-month quarantine.

Since Reggie is a dog guide and is necessary to his master's way of life, quarantine laws are relaxed, but the dog must undergo an expensive and extensive series of tests before he is allowed admission into the country.

School begins soon for the former Lampasan, and she looks forward to being with her fiance', the vice president of Freedom Scientific, a company that produces hardware and software for the blind.

New Zealand's population is 4.1 million, and 300,000 of that number live in Christchurch, a city comparable in size to Lubbock.

"The entire population of New York City could fit into New Zealand," she said. The country's production centers around agriculture, specifically sheep and lambs.

Miss Aguilar hopes her parents will visit her overseas. "My mom doesn't fly, but my dad might," she said. "I think he would really like it here.

"If I'm not living in the states, then New Zealand is a good place to be. It is clean and green, and it has a woman prime minister," she said. "New Zealand also is very liberal, and it is a free country. English is a common language, and the people are genuinely nice and friendly." She added that the crime rate is low, and unemployment is negligible.

Miss Aguilar also appreciates that her money is "accessible" in New Zealand. "Here, I can tell the coins from each other by the way they feel -- some have different textures or ridges -- and the paper money is a different size for each denomination."

While her life is planned out for the next few years, Miss Aguilar hasn't totally ruled out a second master's degree in another passion: music.

An accomplished flute player, the instrument still holds an important role for her. "I have been looking for an ensemble to play with, and they just don't have those here, not even at the university. But I will keep looking," she said.

Meanwhile, she plans to enjoy the time in New Zealand with her fiance' and with Reggie, and for now his retirement is the furthest thing from her mind.

But with Reggie creeping closer to his "golden years," Miss Aguilar said it will become clear when it's his time to throw in the bone. "When he isn't as eager or as able to get up and jump into his harness, if he walks extremely slow, tires easily or his health is poor, then I will have to think about it. Reggie will tell me in his own way."

Until then, the pair remain inseparable. They rely on each other for love, comfort and guidance. Just like all best friends do.