His slower pace made it easier to see the strands of grey hair mixed in with the light yellow along his muzzle down to his nose. The rest of his body maintained the hazy maize-shaded youthfulness that may have given him a younger appearance, if it were not for that noticeably slower pace in which he walked.
It was clear to me that this loyal guide was nearing the end of his time as a Service Dog. He looked tired, appearing to be exerting intense focus in order to find hazards that were formally easily identifiable.
“Today is his worst day,” Buss said, when I asked whether his dog was having a hard time navigating through the restaurant in search of an open chair to be used during our lunchtime meal. “But he’s definitely slowing down overall.”
I asked what would happen to him, perhaps fearing the worst while also thinking there must be another option.
“Don’t worry, he isn’t going to visit a distant farm somewhere in the middle of Kansas,” Buss said with a chuckle. “He will retire just like you and I hope to do some day, and I will begin working with a successor dog, just as I’ve done three times before.”
It makes sense, that a guide dog would retire long before his handler would no longer be in need of his services. After all, a Labrador’s life averages about 11 years, far shorter than that of humans, limiting a dog’s “working life” to only 8 or 9 years. Logic would then dictate a blind person has at least the potential of having multiple guide dogs spanning several decades.
I asked how a process of retiring one dog then bringing in a successor works in real-life practicality, imagining a procedure involving intense difficulty.
“It’s funny, because as the years of working with my first guide dog passed and I began to think about what would happen when it was time to make a change, I became terrified. Despite knowing it was coming, I just hadn’t conceptualized how it would actually work.”
Glad to hear I wasn’t the only one that hadn’t thought about the transition a blind person experiences when moving on from one guide dog to working with a new one, I asked for further elaboration.
“It was really hard for me to get my mind wrapped around. This was not only my dog, but also my lifeline to independent mobility. With my guide, I left the small town in which I grew up and was able to travel the world, excel in a corporate environment, and live my life to the fullest extent. How could I replace him?
“I eventually found familiarity with the term the guide dog industry uses to identify the new guide: ‘Successor Dog.’ Successor, as in succession, was something with which I was, and still am, very familiar. In my professional life, I routinely transitioned members of management out of their current roles and brought in new leaders to fill the vacant positions. When I realized that, my succession plan became very pragmatic and an extension of intelligent operational behavior.
“It begins with my white cane skills. I try to keep them up throughout my guide’s working life, but realistically my cane skills get a little rusty because my preferred method of travel is by guide dog. As my guide starts to slow down and begins to enter the final months of work, I consciously start working with my cane in an attempt to regain my proficiency with that tool.
“In the corporate world, I always tried to have a contingency succession plan for each member of management. By doing so we were able to avoid succession crisis, just as I do with my guides when it’s time for them to retire. My life doesn’t stop just because my guide is growing old just as the corporate demands don’t stop just because you have an open leadership position.
“Maintaining my cane skills, and ramping them up when I know they may soon be needed, I position myself to implement a successful transfer of responsibilities, which I have learn to abbreviate as S.U.C.C.E.E.D.:
Survey
- Gain a quality understanding of the situation and the person, or dog, working in it by gathering data that paints an accurate picture of the circumstance
Understand the change that needs to be made
- Make a decision amidst total understating that is based on collected data
Cut down responsibilities
- Without visibly terminating job duties, reduce the level of work, within reason, or at the very least hold job obligations stagnant
Collaborate to find a new role
- Work with the person, or dog, to find a new role that best fits his skillset, which can include retirement. Help him find the next stage of life!
Employ a new team member
- Bring the new person, or guide dog, on who you have identified has the correct abilities to excel performing the tasks necessary for success
Expand slowly
- Ramp your new team mate up slowly and understand he may have the best education and experience in the world, but he still doesn’t know the ins and outs of your specific situation
Develop trust always
- The key to every relationship in life is trust. From beginning to end, hiring to firing, hello to goodbye, always be consciously working to increase the level of trust you have with everyone around you.
“That’s the ‘how’ of your question, but regarding ‘what happens to a guide dog too old to work,’ I retire them to my home. They make fantastic pets!
“Sometimes, they have to get used to the idea of staying home rather than going everywhere with me, but staying attune to my former guide’s needs and mental state is part of the greater succession plan. It literally takes only a couple of weeks for them to forget everything they know about being a guide dog! Within a month, they are jumping on the furniture, barking at cars, doing regular dog stuff. It is actually really fun to watch them settle into retirement.
“These transitions happen so easily because I follow the high-level succession plan I have always used and end up with a new guide dog that is better than the one that is enjoying retirement. I’ve done this three times with my guides and found the latest dog to be better and more capable than his predecessor.
“Perhaps getting the right dog in the right place at the right time is allowing me to grow as well, which has caused each dog to be more skilled than each predecessor. Follow the succession plan, S.U.C.C.E.E.D., to help you move through what would normally be difficult transitions with ease. I did it at work and at home, and have never looked back.”
I find it remarkable how similar working with a guide dog is to working with people, and how the lessons learned in working with a dog translate when working with people (and vice versa).
Feeling happier to have had this conversation about what happens to a guide dog as it ages, I am looking forward to “S.U.C.C.E.E.D.ing” in my life as I move through my career.
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