7 minute read
Raising Puppies With A Purpose
Courtney Cook, 21, a Warwick High School graduate and current Millersville University junior studying psychology, has been raising dogs for The Seeing Eye Inc., located in Morristown, N.J., since about the age of 8. Working with her family and the Lancaster County 4-H Seeing Eye Puppy Club, Puppies With a Purpose, which meets regularly at the Farm and Home Center, Courtney has helped raise about 10 dogs, most of which have gone on to become working dogs, guiding those with vision impairments.
“When I was 6 (years old), I really wanted a dog,” recalled Courtney, whose mother, Paula, was not sure the youngster was quite ready for the responsibility. Paula looked into raising a puppy to become an assistance dog and found the process too intensive. After learning the requirements for Seeing Eye puppies, though, she decided to give it a try, putting the first dog under her own name. Courtney, however, surprised her mom, completing much more of the dog’s care and training than Paula had expected.
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“The two main things we do for the dogs is socialization and loving them,” said Courtney. “That’s the basic puppy raiser formula.” Included in that formula are commands such as sit, down, forward to start walking, and rest for stay. Housetraining is one of the first tasks, since the puppies are only seven weeks old when they arrive and do not even know their names. Courtney explained that housetraining is important because the dog must learn to utilize different surfaces, since its eventual owner may live in a city with limited access to grass.
Socialization involves taking the dog to stores and other public areas, such as parks. Courtney brought Ives, the German shepherd she is currently raising - Seeing Eye also breeds golden retrievers, Labradors, and a golden/Labrador mix to be guide dogs - to Lititz Springs Park for the interview for this article, and she pointed out the distractions there she uses to train him. “There’s water going under a bridge, ducks quacking, kids screaming, trucks (on Route 501),” she said. “We give them praise (rather than food) as a reward,” she noted. “It establishes the bond so that they are looking to please you and want to work for you.” She added that those who see a dog being trained and wish to interact should ask the trainer. “If it’s a working guide dog in its harness, it’s very important that people don’t approach them and talk to them or pet them,” she said. “They are working, and they need to be focused.”
Dogs remain with their puppy raisers for about 15 months before returning to Morristown, where a Seeing Eye trainer works with them for approximately four more months to complete their training. At the end of that time period, the dog will complete a “town walk” with the trainer. The puppy raisers may walk with a guide about half a block behind during this event. “The dog guides (the trainer) through the streets of Morristown and shows off what he’s learned,” said Courtney, who noted that the successful dog will stop at curbs and for cars, avoid objects, and ignore other dogs. Once the dog graduates, it will be assigned a student who has vision impairment or is blind to work with, eventually becoming that student’s dog.
Courtney said that Ives, who is a little over a year old now, already loves to work. “As soon as his leash comes out, he knows he is going to work,” she said. “They love to work, and you can see it.”
Readers who would like to know more about the Lancaster County 4H Seeing Eye puppy club may visit https://extension.psu.edu/ programs/4-h/counties/ lancaster/clubs/project-clubs.
Ferris Wheel frompg 1
Paying it forward involves teaching family too. “I have four grandchildren … and I love being able to show them when they don’t need something anymore, we can pass it on,” said Gassert. “They constantly donate their clothes and toys.”
Readers who wish to donate gently used clothing and other items may contact the organization at ferriswheel14@hotmail.com. More information may be found by visiting https://ferriswheel14. wixsite.com/fwci/ or searching for “Ferris Wheel Clothing Bank” on Facebook.
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A Walk Through The Past
Cocalico Valley Museum Reopens
BY ANN MEAD ASH
The email from Joanne Bender, board secretary and publicity chair of the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley, arrived on May 24. “Good news! The Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley is opening again!” wrote Bender.
The William and Jemima Brossman Library, located at 237 W. Main St., Ephrata, in the Hamaker House adjacent to the museum, reopened on June 2 with hours from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. During June, visits should be scheduled by calling 717-733-1616. The Theodore Sprecher Museum in the Connell Mansion will open for self-guided tours each Saturday beginning July 10, with hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Groups may visit by appointment.
For those who have passed the Italianate 1869 mansion and the 1930s Tudor-style home with the stained glass bank sign in front and wondered about the picturesque buildings (both owned by the historical society), a trove of historical treasure is contained within. “We have three floors of exhibit space,” explained Bender, who noted that each display case has detailed descriptions. One case is dedicated to the family that built the home. Moore and Rebecca Connell had eight children, with five girls surviving to adulthood. None of the Connell daughters married, and when the last surviving child, Nora, died in the early 1960s, the historical society purchased the home.
According to Bender, members of the society have painstakingly decorated and furnished areas of the home to make them look the way a Victorian home would have looked in the period. The parlor furniture is from other homes in the area, but the bedroom suite is original to the Connells, including the bedspread, curtains, and curtain rods with tiny mirrors attached. The bathroom with a commode and copper-lined tub is the same as when Nora lived there. “There is no water supply to the tub,” noted Bender, who said that heated water from the kitchen had to be brought up the back steps to fill the tub.
Although located in Ephrata, the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley does not limit itself to that area, but rather includes any township or borough that touches the banks of the Cocalico Creek, which includes Akron, Clay Township, and Denver. “Anything in this museum was made by or owned by someone who lived in the Cocalico Valley,” explained Bender. Clocks by well-known area clockmakers, Hibshman family items, and the Ephrata 12 o’clock steam whistle, which was blown from the Ephrata Borough Electric Light Plant on Church Street, are all on display.
A children’s room includes a guessing game to help youngsters identify a toaster, a celery vase, a form for knitting stockings, and a boot jack from the past. Another room is dedicated to local industries, including saddle making, printing, dairy processing, and cigar making. One display recalls a radio station that operated on the square in Ephrata into the 1980s.
The William and Jemima Brossman Library boasts a colorful clock from a bank that was once nearby.
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Courtney Cook of Lititz and Ives, the Seeing Eye puppy she is raising, visited Lititz Springs Park as part of Ives’ training.
See Museum pg 8
