Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
In early April, Roger Trusler, of Marlinton, was preparing to take a trip to Michigan to pick up his new leader dog at the Leader Dogs for the Blind facility. Then, he received a phone call informing him that in-field instructor Sue Hackman would be traveling to Marlinton with his leader dog, Neelix.
Hackman and Neelix arrived at Trusler’s house April 13 and hit the ground running with training.
“We started off slow, and then we gained momentum,” Hackman said. “They work as a team, so a lot of times – there’s something that the dog does that the client isn’t sure about and doesn’t know how to react. And there’s times when the handler does something and the dog doesn’t understand. That’s where I come in.
“I explain it all,” she continued. “I speak for the dog and explain to the client, and then hopefully, little by little, if these things come up again, they understand each other.”
While last Saturday was the first time Trusler and Neelix worked together, neither are strangers to the training. Trusler received his first dog, Koda, from Leader Dog in 2019. The two had an instant connection and continued their work together until Koda passed away in 2023.
Trusler applied for a second dog, and he was paired with Neelix, who has been preparing for his new job since the day he was born.
With Leader Dog puppies, work begins when they are eight weeks old. They are assigned to puppy raising families who spend a year with them, getting such as acclimated to people and learning basic commands like sit, stay, down and heal.
“They spend the next year just raising a nice dog,” Hackman said. “They’re not trainers. The puppies don’t wear a harness. They don’t do any formal training with the dog, but what they do is the important work of setting the foundation for a nice dog.”
After the puppy’s first birthday, the family returns him or her to Leader Dog in Michigan and there, they begin the specific training they need to be an official leader dog. The puppies are given a medical evaluation and taken through several phases of training. At any point during this time, if the puppy has issues or is not learning like it should, it is taken out of the program.
The puppies that do not “graduate” are either sent to be emotional support dogs or adopted as pets.
“I raised two puppies for Leader Dog and one was career changed, medically, as a puppy,” Hackman said. “She had an allergic reaction to a vaccine, so that automatically excluded her from the program. I have her at home. Then I raised a German Shepherd, and they pulled her to be a breeding dog. I was really, really honored.”
The German Shepherd went on to have four litters and of the 16 puppies, two became leader dogs.
While the puppies are being trained, Leader Dog staff evaluate client video submissions to match the dog to their new human. Once that is complete, it is time for the individuals to go to Michigan for training with their new dog, or an in-field instructor brings the dog to them.
Hackman said they usually plan for the instructor to be with the individual and their dog for two weeks, to make sure that their personalities mesh and there are no issues.
She only needed a week with Trusler and Neelix.
“They bonded so quickly,” she said. “I think Neelix picked up the warmth and the comfort that Roger was able to show when we weren’t working. When we went out to work, he was like, ‘I’ll do this for you; I’ll keep you safe; You’re a good guy.’ The turnover was quick.”
Neelix joined Trusler on his daily routine of walking around Marlinton, going grocery shopping and even attending Marlinton Town Council meetings.
Last week, there was a special town council meeting, which ended up being short, so it was an ideal time to introduce Neelix to the routine of walking from home to the municipal building auditorium.
“We were able to go in and Roger patterned him up to the doors, up the stairs, into the room and then to his chair where he sits all the time,” Hackman said. “So the next time they go, he’ll be able to just take him right to it.”
Hackman was pleased, so only one questioned remained – how did Trusler feel?
“It’s been good,” he said. “He walks a little different from my previous dog. I’ve got to make changes. As far as walking in town, it went as well as can be expected with a new dog. With time it will get better.”
Although he was prepared to go to Michigan to get Neelix and train with him, Trusler said he’s happy to have done the training here at home.
“It’s really worked out well,” he said. “I really appreciate it. It’s more intense one-on-one.”
Neelix has met his veterinarian and is on a diet that will keep him fit and in healthy condition to serve Trusler for many years to come.
Leader Dogs for the Blind was founded in 1939 and is located in Rochester Hill, Michigan. The organization has recently expanded internationally and will soon have facilities in Israel and India.
