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PACK from 1A
their lives.
Our puppy raisers have a
very important job in the train¬
ing process,” said Sumlin.
“They teach the dogs basic obe¬
dience skills they will need and
eve'n more importantly, they
expose the dogs to various
social situations. The puppy
raiser takes the dog with them
wherever they go — whether
that’s to work, the grocery store
■
or even out to eat.
And of course that also
includes school. For the past
two months, Wink has become
a part-time War Eagle since he
accompanies Jennifer to school
one day a week.
Decked out in his blue and
white vest, which signals he is
working, Wink stays by
Jennifer’s side throughout the
day practicing skills that he will
someday use to help guide a
blind person through everyday
life.
He guides her from the car
to the school in the morning,
helps her navigate through the
hallways between classes, joins
her for lunch in the cafeteria
and is apparently a very well
behaved student.
tt, He just sleeps under my
desk during all of my classes,”
said Jennifer. “He’s so quiet that
sometimes when he gets up
after class, people will say,
‘Whoa that dog has been there
the whole time. »?*
Jennifer’s mother, Susan,
said Wink spent a lot of time
building up to the entire day at
South.
“After we got permission
from Mr. (Richard) Gill (SFHS
principal) for her to bring him
to school, she took him to just
SITE from 1A
ous governmental functions,
including juvenile court
operations, and is leasing
part of the space to nonprofit
groups. That purchase
included 6.3 acres, 174 park¬
ing spaces and four buildings
totaling 43,473 square feet
with 105 rooms.
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one class and then just two and
so forth until he was comfort¬
able staying the whole day,
said Susan.
The first class Wink attend
ed was band class, since he was
already well acquainted with
the members,
“Wink’s been to a perform
ance this year,” said Susan,
“He’s become the unofficial
South Forsyth High School
band mascot.
Wink has also become a part
of the Copeland’s family — a
member they say will be hard to
give up when the time comes,
it Giving him up will be hard,
but it will be worth it to know
what he’ll go on to do,” said
Susan. “The way I look at it is,
he’s like a child. When you
have children you want to raise
them so they become independ
ent and responsible adults so
they can go out on their own.
While we’ll miss him (Wink),
we’ll know he’s gone on to do
such a great thing,
But in the meantime, the
Copelands are working hard to
get Wink ready for “doggie col¬
lege,
After the initial year-and
a-half “puppy raising,
Southeastern dogs then go to
the training facility in Palmetto
for the final six to eight months
of training. The dogs are then
matched with their blind part
ners. The pairs then spend
another month in training
together,
U Really that first year to
year and a half with their puppy
raiser is the most important part
of the dog’s training,” said
Sumlin. “The rest of the train
ing is just improving on what
While the DDS facility
would consume only 5 acres
of the land, Quesenberry said
other governmental functions
also could be included on the
property.
We’re looking at doing a
government complex,” he
said. “There is a strong pos-
was learned with the puppy
raiser.
Southeastern is constantly
looking for families willing to
become puppy raisers.
Currently, Sumlin and the
Copelands are the only two par¬
ticipates in the program from
Forsyth County and two of only
around 40 puppy raisers
throughout Georgia.
We especially need puppy
raisers in the north Georgia
area,” said Sumlin.
While the need is great,
Sumlin warned that not every¬
one is cut out to be a
Southeastern puppy raiser and
those wanting to become one
must go through a long applica¬
tion and interview process to
determine if they are suitable.
Everyone thinks, ‘Oh rais¬
ing a puppy would be so fun, >»»
she said. “It is fun, but it is also
a lot of work. You basically
have to dedicate your whole life
to this dog’s training.
Sumlin said the process of
becoming a puppy raiser
involves a lengthy telephone
interview, a home visit and
attending several meetings with
other puppy raisers.
I first do the phone inter
view and if they’re answers are
good, I would ask them to come
to one of our area meetings. If
that goes well, they then have to
attend a total of six meetings
after that,” she said. “During the
meetings they’re allowed to
work with other people’s dogs
so I can see how they are with
the animals. If they make it to
all six of the meetings and
decide they still want to do this
and I decide they’re suitable, I’ll
then come out and do a home
sibility [a new] jail will be
going up there.
However, other county
operations such as those at
the administration building
and courthouse likely will
remain in downtown
Cumming, Quesenberry said.
“We consider the down-
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Photo/Ron Logan
Puppy raisers Karen Sumlin, left, and Jennifer Copeland work with guide dogs Belle
and Wink at Sweet Sensations Candy Shop in downtown Cumming Thursday.
inspection. If they pass that
inspection, I’ll then give them
the manual for them to study
while they’re waiting for their
puppy.”
Sumlin said the waiting time
for a puppy can vary from one
week to six months or more,
depending on the litters of pup
pies that are born at the
Southeastern facility in
Palmetto,
. So most calls I get are
worthless,” said Sumlin.
“People just don’t realize the
commitment this takes or
they’re just not right”
She said the biggest prob
lem with potential puppy raisers
is a lack of a strong personality.
We prefer to place puppies
with people who have an
town central area of
Cumming very important,
said the county manager,
The $10.8 million for the
new property purchase is to
come from the county’s
reserve fund. Quesenberry on
Friday said the county’s
reserves currently total
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Sunday, Decern bur 4,2005
authoritative personality,” she
said. “If they can’t dish out the
tough love required to make
good guide dogs, then they
shouldn’t apply. If we place
dogs with ‘softies,’ the puppies
end up being useless to us as
guide dogs.”
Not all puppies bred by
Southeastern will make the cut
to be a guide dog.
Sometimes dogs are a little
too aggressive or to timid,” said
Sumlin. “Other times they’ll
have physical problems that
will prevent them from being
placed with a blind person.
Only the cream of the crop end
up being guide dogs.”
The dogs that don’t make
the cut often will go into other
services such as pet therapy for
around $40 million but will
begin shrinking as multiple
construction projects are
completed or begun, such as
expanding the administration
building and finishing the
new Public Safety Complex
on Settendown Road.
And that’s causing some
PAGE 5A
hospitals and nursing homes or
bomb or arson dogs for law
enforcement agencies.
u If a dog just isn’t cut out
for any other service positions,
they get adopted as regular
pets,” said Sumlin. “The puppy
raiser can adopt the dog or if
they don’t want the dog, it will
go to another home. We always
have a long waiting list of peo¬
ple wanting to adopt a
Southeastern dog because
they’re so well trained.”
Southeastern Guide Dogs
Inc. anticipates graduating
between 80 and 90 guide dog
teams by the end of this year.
The school currently has more
than 2,000 guide dogs placed
with recipients in 36 states and
Canada.
concern, Quesenberry said,
as he attempts to ensure the
reserves remain at close to
$20 million.
We’re going to start see¬
ing a fairly fast drop in the
amount of reserves that we
have,” he said. “Bills are
starting to come online. ■