Byron Nelson High students training guide dogs for the blind

Four puppies destined for service as guide dogs for the blind found special temporary homes Friday with Byron Nelson High School students.

The four puppies, which join three already loaned to the school, and seven students will be learning from one another along the way.

The students are members of the Northwest school district’s Byron Nelson High School FFA.

This year, the school established an FFA Chapter of the Texas-based Lone Star Guide Dog Raisers. With the four puppies handed out Friday, the chapter is training seven, including one raised by a home-schooled student.

The program is a partnership with Guide Dogs for the Blind, a nonprofit organization that is providing the dogs to the school’s chapter so the students can help the future guide dogs learn good house behaviors, as well as be exposed to a variety of situations, places and people.

Peggy Nelson, widow of the late pro golfer Byron Nelson — the school’s namesake — helped hand out the puppies.

One student, Jennifer Powell, said she is thrilled to help a visually impaired person she may never meet gain independence.

Powell, 17, a junior, was a key player in establishing the chapter.

“I’ve always had a heart for working with animals,” she said. “Combined with community service, it is awesome to me.”

In July, Powell was rewarded for her startup efforts when she was given Novella, a yellow Labrador, to raise.

In the beginning, Powell had to attend Puppy 101 School, where she learned the basics. Dog raisers keep current through weekly meetings.

Having to part with Novella when it is time for the dog to further her education at a higher level is part of the process.

“They’re not ours in the first place,” said Powell, whose dog sleeps under or beside her desk at school. “We raised them for a greater good.”

Among the lessons the pups will learn along the way, the junior said, is “obedience and socialization — that is our job.”

Saying goodbye, she knows, will be difficult.

“It’s really hard, but it’s very rewarding,” the junior said. “The end factor makes up for letting them go and helping a blind person have vision.”

‘Huge milestone’

School district spokeswoman Emily Conklin said Friday was “a huge milestone for the chapter” in its first year.

“The students are responsible for raising and training and the socialization of the guide dog puppies, including in the classroom,” Conklin said. “At approximately 18 months of age, the puppies will be returned to Guide Dogs for the Blind for their final training.”

Conklin said the dogs will then be matched to a visually impaired partner at no cost to the owner.

“This is a wonderful community service project for students at the high school,” Conklin said. “Not only are they helping someone else, they are providing community awareness of a condition that affects more than 1 million Americans and more than 60,000 U.S. students.”

Guide Dogs for the Blind employs a network of trainers, puppy raisers, donors and volunteers, preparing highly qualified guide dogs to serve and empower people who are blind or have impaired vision. All services are free.

‘The best of the best’

July 2010 marked the inception of Lone Star Guide Dog Raisers, which raises puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. The organizers started the group with six families and six puppies, and it has grown ever since. Their success has led other Texans to form volunteer puppy raiser clubs statewide.

“The development of the youth is just as important as the development of these puppies,” said Sandi Alsworth, McKinney-based community field representative for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

She said Byron Nelson is the newest of five FFA puppy clubs in Texas.

“I am contacted weekly by schools with FFA programs across the state that want to participate,” Alsworth said. “It’s a big, big deal.”

When the puppies are about 8 to 10 weeks old, they embark on their first journey to becoming guide dogs. Once in the comfort of their new volunteer homes, the pups begin to learn about their environment. They learn basic obedience and good manners and are socialized to the world.

At about 14 to 18 months they go to the Guide Dog for the Blind school for formal training to become guides.

Byron Nelson FFA adviser Mark Goggins said the program is a perfect fit with their mission of servant leadership and giving back.

“We selected the best of the best,” Goggins said of the puppy raisers. “We picked our best students who showed a genuine desire for community service.”

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Byron Nelson High students training guide dogs for the blind."