W.Va. sociology professor side job is going to the dogs
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SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Forgive Shepherd University sociology professor Amy DeWitt for telling one of her latest students to sit.
DeWitt is raising a 13-month-old black Labrador retriever for a New York-based group that provides dogs for blind and visually impaired people.
“I’m just amazed at what these dogs can do,” DeWitt told The Martinsburg Journal. “I’ve always been fascinated by the fact dogs, in essence, can be decision makers. As they guide, they have to make a lot of decisions.”
DeWitt and Luther the dog attended training classes in Purcellville, Va. She now takes him to malls, airports and grocery stores and they take public transportation rides to get accustomed to busy places.
“I’m typically a patient person, but this really teaches you patience,” DeWitt said. “Sometimes, when dogs are very young, they have a shorter attention span. You do get to practice patience quite a bit.”
Luther spends much of the day with DeWitt at college, staying in her office when he’s not in the classroom. He also attends meetings and goes with her to the library. She said Luther does things that make her laugh and he takes away her stress at work.
“Getting him out in the middle of the night when he was a puppy, getting to class, and making sure I had time in between classes to take him out was a little bit difficult,” DeWitt said. “But the rewards are so phenomenal. I really hope he succeeds in the program. Nothing would make me prouder.”
DeWitt is raising Luther for a local group tied to Guiding Eyes for the Blind of Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
Her interest in training dogs began in high school after seeing the film “Buddy” about a German Shepherd trained to be the first official guide dog in the United States.
DeWitt doesn’t look forward to handing Luther back when his training is completed. She plans to eventually consider taking on another young dog for training.
“In one respect, I’ve told myself right from the beginning that Luther has a purpose, and I am really happy to socialize and prepare him for that,” she said. “But it definitely will be hard.”