[Mt-blind] Missoulian Article on George Kerscher

[dmgina]

Say this is grate.
Now I wonder if my brother can handle this one.
First I call him and tell him I hope he didn't become the Bishop who stays 
in Grate Falls?
Now Mikey is a dog.
Oh dear,
what a contrast.
Smile.
A fun story and thanks for sharing.
I know the team will grow just fine.
As far as my brother,
I can't promise that one smile.

--Dar
www.mypowermall.com/biz/home/5779
Every Saint has a past
Every Sinner has a future

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Marks" <blind.grizzly at gmail.com>
To: "'Montana Association for the Blind List'" <mt-blind at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 10:51 AM
Subject: [Mt-blind] Missoulian Article on George Kerscher


> >From http://www.missoulian.com
>
> New set of eyes: Missoula man discovers his new navigator
> By JAMIE KELLY of the Missoulian
>
>  Nesbit, left, an 11-year-old yellow Labrador who has served as owner
> George Kerscher's eyes for the past 10 years is retiring, handing off the
> leash to a much younger Mikey, right, who has already started guiding
> Kerscher through his busy world.
> MICHAEL GALLACHER/Missoulian
>
> He's a tired old pooch now, no longer the energetic young pup that George
> Kerscher found to be his eyes to the outside world nearly 10 years ago.
>
> Nesbit yawns. He takes his place at Kerscher's feet in the blind man's
> Rattlesnake home. After a lifetime of watching his master's ankles, 
> guiding
> him from curb to street, through airports across the world and 1.2 million
> miles of sky miles, the yellow Labrador has earned his place on his tummy
> and off his paws, whiling his time by watching the world through droopy
> eyes.
>
> Nesbit is retired.
>
>
> "It's nice that it's under such pleasant circumstances that he gets to
> retire," says Kerscher, scratching Nesbit's ears. "We've got a nice
> backyard, and Mr. Squirrel is ready to torment him full time."
>
> Kerscher's new guide dog is Mikey, also a yellow Lab. At 22 months, he's 
> far
> more up to the challenge of navigating his master through the world, which
> began to go dark in the late 1970s when Kerscher's retinas began
> degenerating. Kerscher met Mikey in March at Guide Dogs for the Blind in 
> San
> Rafael, Calif. Together, the two graduated from the intense training 
> school
> in April.
>
> Mikey has been at his feet ever since.
>
> And he'll be put through his paces, that's for sure.
>
> As secretary general of the DAISY Consortium, which develops media 
> software
> for people with disabilities - mostly, the vision-impaired and dyslexic -
> Kerscher is a globetrotter.
>
> DAISY, which stands for Digital Accessible Information System, creates 
> text
> and audio software for those who, for various reasons, can't read. Among
> other things, it synchronizes text to audio, translating the written word
> into the spoken.
>
> And it has Kerscher, who earned his Ph.D. from the University of Montana,
> meeting some of the biggest figures in the software world. In fact, DAISY
> just finished a project with Microsoft, allowing users of Microsoft Word 
> to
> save text files into the DAISY format.
>
> After retiring Nesbit, Kerscher went looking for a new companion.
>
> And he wasn't after just any dog. Yes, he wanted a sturdy and dependable
> guide dog. But it had to be, above all, a nice dog, a good boy.
>
> "I said that I wanted a happy dog, and I didn't care if it was a Lab or a
> golden (retriever) or a cross," says Kerscher. "I really like the idea of 
> a
> happy dog, not just a working, morose, nose-to-the-grindstone dog."
>
> When he's not working, Mikey is a ball of energy.
>
> "He is the happiest dog I've ever seen," says Kerscher. "He's got a
> full-body wag, from his nose to his tail and everything in between."
>
> There is a special bond between the blind and their guide dogs. Traveling
> around the world, lots of people got to know and love Nesbit. Delta Air
> Lines honored him when he retired, and the folks who were regulars at the
> Crown Room Club at Salt Lake City International Airport knew Nesbit by 
> name.
>
> "Everyone knew him," says Kerscher. "He knows the command, 'Find the Crown
> Room.' "
>
> In Nesbit's last trip in March, a lot of people who don't even know 
> Kerscher
> by name said goodbye to his faithful dog.
>
> "I broke into tears," says Kerscher. "I was a blithering idiot."
>
> Mikey is fully trained, but he's still getting to know his new master and
> his habits. Over the next year, there will be adjustments as the two get
> familiarized and settled into their new lives together.
>
> "At only 22 months, he's still a pup," says Kerscher. "It takes time. 
> We've
> graduated, and we're walking down the street safely, but there's a whole 
> lot
> more he needs to learn before he's working as a well-oiled machine."
>
> As for Nesbit, well, he's doing what many humans do when they retire -
> eating and sleeping.
>
> "He's earned his Kibble for life," Kerscher says. "He's now going to 
> become
> a guard dog. He's going to guard our couch."
>
> Reporter Jamie Kelly can be reached at 523-5254 or at 
> jkelly at missoulian.com.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
>
>
>
>
> -------
> Jim Marks
> blind.grizzly at gmail.com
>
>
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