10B
Friday, December 7, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
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740 Mass.
843-3933
School to provide dogs for the blind
The Associated Press
Company is 3 years from full operations
WASHINGTON, Kan. — Dandy seems happiest when she gets to imitate a floor mat.
Unique likes the office kitten so much she pets it with one of her big boxer paws.
Indy, her ears perked as she strains enthusiastically on her leash, always seems to be about a half-second from getting into trouble.
They hardly seem like pioneers. But the dogs are part of a Kansas first.
resource for people wanting to obtain leader dogs is interesting, said Smith, who heads a company that provides job training jobs for people who are blind.
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Acree has trained dogs for similar schools in Ohio and California. But he couldn't talk those schools into start-
Some of the dogs trained by Kansas Specialty Dog Services will serve as guide dogs for the visually impaired. They work with people in wheelchairs.
They belong to the first company in the state that trains dogs to work with physically impaired people. Started just this year, Kansas Specialty Dog Services is bounding along like a puppy frolicking on a warm spring day
According to state officials, there are 4,100 blind people in the state of Kansas. Fewer than 10 of them have guide dogs. So the need is there.
owner, Kansas Specialty Dog Services
It has to, owner Bill Acree said.
Bill Acree
"According to state officials, there are 4,100 blind people in the state of Kansas. "Acree said. "Fewer than 10 people have guide dogs. So the need is there."
"There isn't anything in this part of the country, and the possibility that there will be a good outlet and a good
A canine housing unit across the street has been proposed.
The project is welcome news to people such as Jackie Smith, director of Wichita Industries and Services for the Blind.
The non-profit company's home, next to the Nebraska border in a county that has more dogs than people, still looks more like the steak house if once was than a dog-training facility.
"We don't like the word 'kennel,' head trainer Kirstyn Lovell said.
"We're actually ahead of schedule." Acree said. "But it's frustrating, when you think about all the times we were changed when they get their dogs."
But a couple of dogs already have made it as far as the "foster families" that will teach them basic commands, obedience and social skills. And the first placement with a disabled resident will be made within a year. Acree said she wished it could be earlier.
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ing operations in his home state of Kansas, although a school in Missouri was the only one he found in a nine-state area.
"It was like, 'If they want a taco, they can come here.'" Acree said "but." But in people who need the dogs here in Kansas can't afford to make those trips.
Armed with a business plan and statistics illustrating the need for the trained dogs. Ace this year won more than 10 awards and state grants to start his company.
When they are 8 weeks old, the pups are sent to foster homes throughout the state.
Once their work with a foster family is completed, the dogs are returned to Kansas Specialty Dog Services for six to eight months of specialized training. Then each is matched with a prospective owner.
Members of Acree's staff are training Dandy, a golden retriever; Independence, a German shepherd; and Unique, a boxer. When they're grown, all three dogs will serve as breeding stock for the school
The fully trained dogs are worth about $3,000 each, but their masters will get them free. Acree said. The cost of the training will be underwritten by corporate sponsors and charitable contributions, he said.