Trainer Seeks Help for Dog

   Aggie guide dog, Anya, gets personal attention from her trainer, Melissa Sullivan, a junior animal science major. Anya, an eight-month-old German shepherd, was returning from a trip to Wal-Mart with her trainer, Melissa Sullivan, when she escaped and was hit by a maroon sport utility vehicle. The car never stopped. She was left with a broken rear left foot, injured jaw, nasal trauma and a cracked cheekbone.

Anya is not just any German shepherd -- she is a guide dog in training being raised by Sullivan, a junior animal science major, as part of the non-profit group Aggie Guide Dog and Service Dogs. Soon after the accident, Sullivan found a clause in her training contract that held her, as a trainer, financially responsible for Anya's medical bills.

"Two thousand dollars isn't something I can easily come up with," Sullivan said. But Sullivan has not been left alone with the burden. The animal clinic which treated Anya discounted services, an anonymous donor paid the first medical bill, and a local cafe in Bryan donated $1000. A public fund, called the Anya Relief Fund, was established by the Aggie Guide Dog and Service Dogs to help aid in Anya's medical bills, which are still increasing from repeated visits to the animal clinic.

Shelly Novotny, president of Aggie Guide Dog and Service Dogs, said that at the time of the accident, Anya was the club's best prospect to next be placed with a national organization, placing her estimated value at $2,500. As a fully trained guide dog, Anya would fetch $10,000. Novotny said her primary concern is if Anya will be able to finish her formal training. "We're willing to invest a lot now in order to make her more profitable for someone later," she said. Novotny believes a possible fear of cars could be a major hindrance to Anya's training. "As long as she doesn't have any fear of cars, she should be great," Novotny said. "I don't think she has any clue what hit her."

Any donations to the Anya Relief Fund beyond the cost of Anya's medical bills will be used for unexpected future incidents with other guide dogs. Donations can be made at the Student Center in the Koldus Building, cubicle nine. Novotny says the club's purpose is to educate the public and provide initial training for guide dogs that will eventually be wheel chair assistants or guide dogs for the deaf or blind.

Puppies are provided to puppy walkers who take the dogs through the first 18 months of training. Six-to-eight months into initial training, they receive a jacket allowing them access to all places as a full service dog. They are taught basic obedience and are familiarized with traffic situations. Afterwards, they are placed with national organizations such as Texas Hearing and Service Dogs, and then are placed with lifetime partners. -- The Battalion, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas -- 02/14/00.