After nearly three years, Savannah woman has 'hole in her life' filled with seeing eye dog

After 33 months without a guide dog, Marj Schneider of Savannah finally has a young German Shepherd to help her navigate the streets in her neighborhood.

Because she is blind, Marj has used guide dogs most of her life and has been more than happy with the ones she has been paired with that were bred and trained at the The Seeing Eye organization in New Jersey. That’s where her latest guide came from, but it hasn’t been easy since Marj brought her new dog home.

“It’s a challenge adjusting to whatever new dog it is,” she admitted. “I think it’s easy to assume that a dog trained to guide will come home and come out of the box and will be adjusting just fine.

“It’s easy to forget all that’s involved,” she added. “It’s like bringing home a new baby (after having other children). You don’t remember the overall experience.”

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An email Marj sent earlier this year was filled with optimism: “ … the time has finally arrived! I have been invited and will be attending class at The Seeing Eye in Morristown, N.J. from Jan. 30th through Feb.16th. A dog that seems to be a fit for the personality and temperament I was asking for, as well as being a match for the pace and pull I need in a guide dog, has at last come through the training process.”

About three years ago, Marj was perfectly content with Fennel, a German Shepherd guide dog that she had acquired 11 years previously from The Seeing Eye. She and Fennel would walk throughout the Kensington Park neighborhood and beyond, and Marj never worried about distractions – a misstep, another dog barking or a squirrel scampering by.

But in early 2021, Fennel suddenly died, a traumatic event that left Marj heartbroken. To add insult to injury, the Seeing Eye facility shut down when the pandemic began and no dogs were available.

Now nearly three years later, Marj has another dog. (She has named this new dog but prefers not to reveal it because she’s afraid if people know what his name is, he will be distracted if he is called. It was the same with Fennel and his predecessors.)

Fennel was a German Shepherd and this one is too because Marj prefers “their seriousness,” she explained. Also, she pointed out, that this particular breed is “less distracted and gets a lot of respect from the public.”

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As she was with previous guides, Marj is in awe of her new dog. “It’s truly a miracle that we ask a dog (to guide),” she said. “I need to always remember that.”

But, she added, “working with a new dog is a lot of work initially.”

'A hole in the fabric of my life'

The months between Fennel’s death and the re-opening of the Seeing Eye practically was torture for Marj.

“I had over 30 years with a dog on my left side,” she recalled. “Walking (with a dog) everyday was important to me. In all these years I’ve spent very little time without a dog, and suddenly it’s all gone, and though the time easily fills with other activities, there is such a hole in the fabric of my life."

Marj’s new dog “is far more dog than I’ve had in the past with the four female shepherds or even with my first, a male golden retriever,” she said. “By more I mean his weight of 79 pounds, his height of 26 inches and his length, which I haven’t measured, but I know how much more of him there is to come through doorways or be positioned under tables."

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The new dog is two years old and was bred at The Seeing Eye. When he was eight weeks old, he moved in with what is called a “puppy raiser” for more than a year. Then it was time for him to work with Marj for two and a half weeks with a group of blind people and their dogs in New Jersey.

“It was a great class of 16 people from ages 17 to 77,” Marj said. “Everyone was kind and courteous to one another and encouraging to one another. The four instructors and class manager were unfailingly patient with our repeated mistakes, while asking us to meet the high expectations they have for us and for our dogs.

“My last class was nearly 11 years ago and I had forgotten so much of the verbal and nonverbal instructions we need to give our dogs, especially at this early stage, to help them guide effectively,” she said.

Now that she is home, Marj is “reestablishing routines that have been absent for the past two years, locating the extra leashes, grooming equipment and tie-downs that have been in storage and thinking about what toys and bones he might prefer,” she explained. “The challenging part is teaching him our neighborhood and beyond. I know that this will take time, but I’m finding I have to go more slowly than I expected.”

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Marj thought she knew her neighborhood better in terms of how each intersection has to be negotiated, which corners don’t have ramps, the ones with higher curbs and those with storm drains, for example.

“So far, the dog is happy, affectionate and willing to guide, has a strong sense of where home is, and seems to have a good sense of direction when we rework or reverse a route we’ve already taken,” she said.

“Though our traveling to new places may happen more slowly than I would wish, I know that success at walking in our neighborhood will build the bond and sense of mutual trust that comes with adjusting to every new partnership between guide dog and blind handler. I’m very much looking forward to continuing this process, however long it takes.”

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA woman receives seeing eye dog after unexpected death, wait