SYLMAR : Guide Dog Gives Woman a New Outlook on Life

After living in virtual seclusion last year because she could only make out shadows and colors, Rose King decided to get a new pair of eyes: a 2-year-old golden retriever named Nikos.

The guide dog is a gift from Sylmar-based Guide Dogs of America, but to King, Nikos represents her lifeline to freedom.

“I feel this dog is going to open so many doors for me,” said King, who has retinitis pigmentosa, which causes a gradual loss of eyesight. “It’s going to give me freedom and independence.”

After training together for three weeks, the pair “graduated” with 10 other person-and-dog teams during a recent ceremony in Sylmar.

The organization, formerly known as International Guiding Eyes, has been training guide dogs for blind people since 1948.

Once the dogs are taught basic obedience by volunteers, trainers at the Sylmar facility teach them 20 commands, such as “forward,” “turn right” and “find the stairs,” spokeswoman Sandy Hanner said.

Hanner said 60 guide dogs will graduate from the facility this fiscal year, the highest number ever for the organization.

King, 40, a San Bernardino resident, said she signed up for a guide dog after she spent months unable to leave home because she hated to bother friends and family for help. With Nikos around, King says she will pursue modeling and return to school to study psychology.

“I feel free for the first time in many, many years,” she said.