Local Guide Dog Hailed a Hero

Friday, December 22, 2006

12/22/2006 (KFSN) -- The black lab, Calliope, just moved to Fresno this week to assist her owner who is blind. Calliope not only created a new life of opportunity for her owner, but she's being credited with saving the life of another. This black lab's big brown eyes help 73 year old Flora Farrell see what she can't.

Emily Simone, Guide Dogs for the Blind says, "Flora has Macrodegeneration, which is the number one cause of blindness."

Two year old Calliope moved in to Flora's senior housing village in southeast Fresno this week. At three in the morning, on her second night in her new home, Calliope started acting strangely. Farrell says the dog finally got her out of bed and pulled her straight to the bathroom, leading her to a wall. She says, "She was looking at the wall, and then I heard (moaning sounds) and I said what is that? I said 'oh my goodness, that lady must be hurt!'" It turns out Flora's next door neighbor had fallen an hour earlier, hit her head, and couldn't get up. Flora called security and her neighbor was taken to the hospital for help.

Emily Simone who trains guide dogs for the blind feels Calliope saved that woman's life. She says, "To have this dog just intentionally go and wake her up in the middle of the night out of her normal routine and to be so insistent about Flora getting up. That is impressive. And to take that one step further and take her into a bathroom, I means this dog is just a hero, absolutely a hero to me."

They say what is so impressive is just how new this dog and owner are. The fact the dog keyed in and the owner paid attention, is something worth celebrating. Says she had been teaching her to be quiet, this was the first time she was.

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