介绍:
"Jenny, sit... Jenny, up...Good girl."
After receiving the command, Jenny, a beautiful purebred black Labrador sits down and then gets up without any hesitation.
According to owner Chen Yan, Jenny is able to understand both English and Chinese. When she was in the training school, she was trained in Chinese. On the second day Chen Yan adopted her, she began to train Jenny in English.
"I have my own considerations. I've heard from other guide dog owners, when walking on the streets, there were many vehicles and passersby. The guide dog often arouse the curiosities of the people nearby. They may shout at the dog, like 'come over here', 'turn left', or 'sit down' in Chinese. Occasionally, the dog might sit down during the walk."
To avoid such dangerous situations, Chen Yan taught Jenny English. It took just 3 days for Jenny to master the common commands.
Now, Jenny is able to relate complicated information to Chen Yan through simple actions. If there is a step in their way...
"She put her front paws on the top of the step to tell me its height. I will know how high I should climb by touching her paws."
"Mama I Am Your eyes" is a funny and easy-to-read book, which could become a source for the ordinary people to understand more about the lives of guide dogs and visually impaired people.
Most of the book is, of course, about the love shared between Chen Yan and Jenny.
"The intelligence of guide dogs is different. In my opinion, Jenny is as smart as a 10 years old kid. Though she cannot talk, if there's anyone saying something she doesn't like, she will stare or roll her eyes."
The author explains in details about what Jenny is able to do. As a guide dog, she can find the right direction for her mom. She can remember what her mom likes to eat, and go and buy them by herself. She can also lead her mom to enter the cabin of an airplane because guide dogs are permitted to take flights according to air transport rules.
Chen Yan tells a funny story about their flight trip which is also in the book.
"Every time we board a plane, we enter the cabin ahead of the other passengers. And we sit at the last row. I sit in the aisle seat; other 1 or 2 seats beside me will be empty for us. Jenny will lie down under the seat beside my feet. Thus other passengers won't find her. But once, the plane is so full that a passenger looked back and found that I was occupying 3 seats. He asked me to let him sit beside the window. I said no because there was some stuff under the seat. He told me to put it in the baggage holder after looking down at her. Then he looked at her closer and cried out 'dog!', which made all the passengers nearby know. After the flight taking off, they all asked to take photo with her. The secret was given away."
When Chen Yan first met Jenny in the China Guide Dog Training Center in Dalian, in northeast China's Liaoning province, Jenny was a little bit naughty and mischievious. The author says, at that time, I know nothing about dogs, but know a lot about human being. Generally speaking, naughty kids are more likely to succeed.
How can a dog become a guide or an assistant? According to Wang Xin, a teacher in Dalian guide dog training center, the most important qualification is that there is no attack record in its seven generations. After being chosen to become a guide dog, the puppy will take years of strict training. They won't eat anything without the owner's permission. They will always keep calm and patient. They never get angry or excited, even upon hearing gun shots.
"Even if someone steps on their tails or fur, so that they cannot stand up, they will lie down on the spot."
They are extremely meek and never bark. Chen Yan recalls one particular incident.
"Which made some journalists from radio stations gloomy. They complained that their interviewee is a dog, but never make any sound. How are we to account for the listeners? "
Wang Xin again:
"The rate of elimination is very high during the training. There will only be 20 to 30 who become real guide dogs. Those who fail are not because of their intelligence, but their characters."
During the over 200 years of guide dogs history, there had never been a single case of them hurting human beings. The only court case that concerned a guide dog was one in which a guide dog died in a car accident in order to save the owner's life.
According to international practice, Golden Retrievers, Labradors and German Shepherds are most likely to be chosen by guide dog facilities. Guide dogs come with a variety of benefits and aid their owners in many ways. They give a blind person more confidence, companionship and security.
After years of restrictions, Beijing has finally enacted laws to allow guide dogs to ride public transportation with their owners starting May next year.
Ignorance leads to prejudice. Thanks to Chen Yan and Jenny and their book, "Mama I am Your Eyes", which will surely let more readers know and understand and then respect or even love those meek and capable animals.
For Studio+, I am Chi Huiguang.
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