Rusty Perez and Guide Dog

Rusty Perez, a college English teacher from Riverside, California, remembers the exact moment he finally decided to get a guide dog. "A friend of mine and I were out for a walk.

He was in front with his guide dog and I followed behind with my cane. Suddenly, I ran right into a truck that was parked in our way. 'What happened?' he shouted back to me. '

You okay?' 'I ran into a truck,' I replied, pretty perturbed. 'Oh,' he said. 'My dog led me around that truck.' Right then and there, I decided I had to get me one of those!"

Within months, Rusty was at the San Rafael, California, campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind, enrolled in a four-week training course and learning how to take care of a beautiful black Lab named Relish.

He was amazed that both the course and the dog were offered to him for free. Guide Dogs for the Blind, supported solely by donations, even provided the airfare to the campus. "They were great!" he said. "They went all out and everything they did was first class!"

"The training was a challenge for me, however," he continued. "I had to learn to speak dog. These dogs are amazing; they're taught to take you to a curb, and get you across the street safely.

But once they get used to their new environment, they can do so much more. One time I was tutoring on a college campus and was in a strange building a long way from where I usually taught.

I had to meet a friend but I wasn't sure how to get there. I said to Relish, 'Go find Aunt Wendy.' She took a moment to reconnoiter, then took off and got me clear across campus back to the area I was familiar with. Unlike a cane, these dogs can think."