It’s Training Cats and Dogs in the Desert

Her name is Mia and her eyes are sapphire dipped in molten silver. She is a sybaritic female with a sinuous walk and a taunting voice. She is a large silver-gray Persian cat who lives and works at Guide Dogs of the Desert on a rolling hill off California 62 and above Interstate 10.

Mia was brought in to teach the guide dogs-in-training to ignore cats and not to break their concentration when they are working.

Chris Core, the executive director, says that Mia does a great job and enjoys her work. When the dogs are working in the courtyard, Mia walks languidly among them, sometimes flicking their noses with the tip of her impudent tail.

Everyone on the staff of Guide Dogs of the Desert, beginning with Core, is as perfectly suited for his or her job as is the beautiful Mia.

Core is a certified public accountant who worked for a large brokerage house in Palm Springs. One day, he was asked to go to the guide dog center and straighten out its books. He met a young woman who had come from Canada to be matched with a guide dog. She was blind and had cerebral palsy.

Core volunteered his services and spent dozens of hours setting up the center’s accounting procedures. He was there the afternoon the young woman was graduated with her dog. “I’ll never forget her smile. She looked like a slice of the sun. That’s when I knew I wanted to work with Guide Dogs of the Desert for good. The freedom and sense of worth the dogs help these people find cannot be measured.”

Core gave more and more time to the school, and in 1986 he became director. He told me there are 10 guide dog schools in the United States, but that California is the only state in which the schools are licensed and responsible to the California Guide Dog Board. The other nine schools are well run and do a fine job, says Core, “but we appreciate the help we get from our board.”

Guide Dogs of the Desert was started in 1976 by Bud Maynard, who ran it out of his home in Palm Springs with two students at a time. The school is the only one that takes students who are multi-handicapped.

When the school outgrew Maynard’s home, supporters rented a house and garage. With a $30,000 grant from the Lions Club International, the garage was turned into an office and kennel complex. When the owner wanted to sell the house, a number of people who were members of the Canyon Country Club and had Santa Claus genes bought the property. That was 18 years ago. Since then, club members have held 17 golf tournaments and all of the money has gone to the Guide Dogs of the Desert.

All of the center’s support comes from private contributions and grants. Denny’s restaurant employees sponsor dogs. The first dog was named Denny.

It takes $10,000 to train a dog. Puppies are raised at home by volunteers who teach it manners and how to get along with other animals. The pups are taught through gentleness and love and raising one is an approved 4-H club project. I asked Core whether people had trouble parting with the pups when they reach the training age of 10 months. He said some people have neighbors or friends return the dog to the Guide Dog School because the separation is so hard. But others take pup after pup and have raised as many as nine.

Guide Dogs of the Desert is proud to have its own breeding program now. Before, the dogs were purchased or were gifts. But with its own program, the organization can choose parents with desired dispositions and traits. The head of the breeding program and its originator is Cathy Laber, manager of canine development. The director of training is Keith Laber who has 19 years in dog training and guide dog instruction.

Students come from all over the United States and none is turned away. They stay, two to a room, for 28 days. Students and dogs are matched up according to size and temperament and for 28 days the two are inseparable. The student grooms the dog, feeds it, and works and trains with it every day.

The school sends the students and dogs with their instructors to Riverside and other cities to accustom them to traffic. Then they spend three days and nights in San Diego, shopping, eating in restaurants and staying in hotels.

They have a holiday at Disneyland where employees volunteer to come in on their days off and make up teams to accompany a student and a dog.

After graduation, students leave with confidence and an independent stride.

Dogs trained at Guide Dogs of the Desert are golden retrievers, Labradors and German shepherds. Core and Cathy Laber showed me the kennels and I wanted each one.

Contributions are tax-deductible. Fifteen dollars will vaccinate a dog; $25 will feed one for a month; $50 will pay for neutering; $100 will buy a leash, collar and harness; $500 will provide room and board for a student for the 28-day training; $1,000 will co-sponsor a dog in training; $4,000 will co-sponsor a student-dog team and $8,000 will provide a full sponsorship.

I don’t think I’ll take Peaches out there. She wouldn’t get past Mia.