Bais Menachem
students learn about
the four-legged "eyes"
that guide blind
Israelis.

Dr. Yoni Peres talks to the students about the Israel Guide Dog program.

SUSAN TAWIL

Special to the Jewish News

B

eing sightless himself, Richard
Bernstein, 27, of Birmingham
was especially interested to
visit the Israel Guide Dog
Center for the Blind last year while on a
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit-sponsored mission to Israel.
Impressed by the work of staff veteri-
narian Dr. Yonatan (Yoni) Peres,
Bernstein helped arrange a whirlwind
speaking tour for him in Detroit, Dec.
6-8.
Although in town to raise money for
his organization, Peres made time on
Dec. 6 to speak to about four-dozen
boys and girls of the Bais Menachem
Academy in Oak Park. The Lubavitch-
run elementary school is housed week-
days in the Congregation Beth Shalom
school wing.
Peres, son of former Israeli Prime
Minister Shimon Peres, asked the chil-
dren to imagine what it must be like to
be blind. He explained to them how

guide dogs give their owners indepen-
dence and companionship. Following a
video that showed how the puppies are
raised and trained to help blind people,
the veterinarian cheerfully fielded a del-
uge of questions from the curious stu-
dents.
Among their questions:
Q: Why are dogs used instead of cats
or monkeys?
A: Dogs are more friendly and trainable
than cats. Monkeys, which are wild ani-
mals, may not be safe.
Q: What happens if the dog gets old or
tired?
A: Guide dogs are retired after eight-10
years of service.
Q: What if a blind person is allergic to
dogs?
A: Standard Poodles, a breed that does
not trigger allergies, can be trained as
guide dogs. However. they are not quite
as good as the Labradors and Golden
Retrievers primarily raised at the center.
Q: How does the dog know where to
go?
A: The owner must know the route; the

Inset: Richard Bernstein introduces Dr. Peres to the Bali Menachem students.

dog will just guide him there safely.
Q: What if a cat runs by and the dog
wants to chase it?,
A: The dogs are trained to resist distrac-
tions like cats, birds and other dogs.
Afterward, Bernstein said: "I've never
heard such smart questions from chil-
dren! You are really wonderful!"
Peres cautioned the students to ask
for permission before petting a guide
dog and told them not to try to pet or
call to a guide dog while it is "working."
Bernstein noted that Israel is an espe-
cially difficult country for a blind person
to navigate — the terrain is rocky, the
pavement is uneven and the traffic is
‘`crazy." Guide dogs, trained to lead their
masters around hazards, give someone
who is sightless a tremendous sense of
safety, confidence and independence, he
said.
Following the presentation, fourth-
grader Alona Aharonov, 9, of West
Bloomfield said, "It was interesting to
learn about how blind people function
and how the dogs can help them."
Classmate Devorah Bennish, 9, of

Oak Park agreed. "It's amazing that the
dogs can even save people's lives."
Opened in 1991, the Beit Oved-
based Israel Guide Dog Center, "gradu-
ates" about 20 guide dogs a year. Given
to blind people completely free of
charge, the cost to raise and train each
dog is nearly $20,000. The center is
funded almost entirely by charitable
donations, including endowments,
fund-raising walks and races, bar and bat
mitzvah project sponsorships and private
contributions.
There are 17,000 blind people in
Israel, but only about 200 of them have
guide dogs. "Most people don't realize
the need," said Bernstein. "[Peres] is
here to promote awareness." O

r
\NZR'sZi'
rad Guide Dog
eBlind, write its
01 Easton Road,
l'A 18976; phone:
3 .0373; or visit it on the

www.israelguidedog.org

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