The golden guide dog years
I look around in the neat flat and my eyes come to rest on the display cabinet, filled with photos of family members, young and old – and lots of photos of Labradors!
I guess this is nothing to be surprised about. These special dogs have shared the past 50 years of Marthie Steyn's (75) life, as well as that of her younger sister Elise Snyman (73). That is much longer than most people can stick it out with another human being!
Marthie's friendly face lights up as she talks about her canine companions and every so often she chuckles as she tells me tales of adventures they have had together.
It all started long ago in a town called Potchefstroom (yes, it was still a town then) when Marthie was a young typist at a legal firm. She struggled to get to and from work, but usually asked someone to walk with her to the office. Her sister Elise, however, was not that lucky. She enrolled at the local university and needed to get to and from classes. Unfortunately her fellow students often forgot about her and she got stuck many times (true to the nature of students, I suppose). Apparently blind persons had no orientation and mobility training in those days, so the sisters did not even have white canes.
Marthie had the solution to the problem. She remembered one day seeing, what she describes as “a miracle–dog that sat next to the man for the whole day”, and knew that it was the solution to their mobility problems. Elise applied for a guide dog and Marthie was asked to join her in the same training programme in January 1961.
The Guide Dog Association used to be in Benmore, Johannesburg, in a double- storeyed house when the two ladies went for training with their first dogs. The trainers came from England, as there was no local expertise yet. Marthie fondly remembers the trainers Lionel Wilson and Kim Kuhn, with whom they had lots of fun outings in the city.
The only down-turn of having European trainers was that they did not adapt the training to local conditions. The blind people with their new guide dogs had to go for a walk in the city every day at two o' clock – despite the scorching January Highveld heat. That was the way that it was done in England, and that was the way it would be done in Africa!
The course finished after three weeks and then it was back to business as usual – or not quite. Marthie and her new guide dog, Sheeba, walked to and from work every day and Marthie enjoyed the companionship and being independent.
One day a lady selling wigs visited the office and the ladies all bought wigs made from real human hair (50 years ago it was high fashion and considered to be elegant to wear a wig). Marthie took hers to the hairdresser to have it styled in lovely curls. The next day Marthie dressed with extra care, even wearing gloves, packed only her elegant clutch bag and put on her new wig. She started down the street on her way to the office, but disaster struck when she reached the church.
Her wig got ripped off her head there in full view of everyone in the main street. There was a low-hanging branch under which they passed every day without Marthie being aware of it. Now, with the wig being styled much higher than her own hair would ever be, she did not fit under the branch any longer and Sheeba didn't realise that her friend had 'grown' a few centimetres that morning.
She was now faced with a dilemma. Should she keep on walking and pretend that nothing had happened? That would mean losing the brand new wig on which she still owed some instalments! She decided to try recovering it, not knowing if it was still hanging in the tree or if it was on the ground.
She managed to get hold of it quickly and stuck it back on her head, full of gravel and not knowing which side was the front. She hurried to the office for help fixing the wig – her whole carefully planned grand entrance ruined!
Three years after Marthie had received her second guide dog, Vicky, she met the love of her life, Hannes, who is also blind. When they were married, they moved to the big city, Pretoria. It took Marthie some time to adjust and to become acquainted with her surroundings so that she could confidently move around with Vicky.
The first time Marthie and Vicky went to the supermarket in Sunnyside without Hannes, she bought quite a few items, including a bag of potatoes – forgetting that she would have to carry it all home with her in one hand, as she would need the other one to hold onto Vicky.
To make matters worse, she was uncertain about operating the lifts and would have to haul everything up the stairs. Luckily someone came to her rescue and pressed the right button. After that ordeal, her mother gave her a shopping trolley which she could pull behind her. This made life much easier, except for navigating narrow doorways and lifts. It was quite a struggle to have herself, the dog and the trolley enter simultaneously! Vicky refused to get into the lift by herself, so Marthie had to shove the trolley in first and then had to follow with Vicky.
One of Marthie's dogs was rather small and they struggled to get into the old municipal busses (Marthie being short herself). She had to pick the dog up and put her into the bus and then climb up on all fours – sometimes only to hear that it was the wrong bus she had just boarded.
Then they had to disembark, and repeat this spectacle when the next bus arrived. Luckily the modern busses are much lower!
Over the years the guide dogs took the place of children in this family and Marthie has had five guide dogs up to now. She prefers female Labradors, whereas her sister Elise prefers to work with German Shep-herds. They went together for the training with their new dogs, except or once when Elise's dog had to retire, but Vicky was still healthy and fit to work.
After many happy years in Sunnyside, the couple and their current 'child', Wrayna, had to move into a retirement facility. They live in a lovely flat in Groenkloof, on the first floor. Wrayna is the only dog in the complex, as pets are not allowed. The residents view her as 'communal property' as they all miss their pets they had to give up when they moved there. They watch her every move and question Marthie and Hannes if she changes her routine. Like all the residents, Wrayna, who is also ageing fast, has her own medicine cabinet with pills and drops for pain, incontinence, bloating, etc.
Do you have any habits regarding your dogs? 
* “I believe in preparing my dog for the day when I get ready. I brush her daily, which helps reducing dog’s hairs in the house and on clothes. The dog loves being groomed and it strengthens your bond with the dog.”
* “I give all my dogs a cup of rooibos tea with milk every morning. I believe it to be beneficial to their health.“
How does having a guide dog improve your life?
* “I am able to walk to the hairdresser, the shops and the doctor on my own.”
* “I can tell you this: a guide dog gives you lots of friends and people find it easy to talk to you when you have a guide dog.”
What is the downside to having a guide dog?
* “To have a dog when you stay in a flat is hard work. You cannot climb into bed early when it is cold, as you need to take the dog outside. You can also not sleep late in the morning, as you have to take her out early.”
* My one dog had a sensitive stomach and used to vomit when people gave her 'treats'. The only thing that kept me from also vomiting when I was cleaning up, was the knowledge that I would have to clean that up as well.”
* “It is very sad when your dog retires and even more so when they die.”
Wrayna is Marthie's guide dog, but looking at them, I cannot decide who is fonder of her, Marthie or her husband, Hannes. Guide dogs have surely enriched the lives of Marthie and Elise for half a century - as long as this wonderful magazine, Imfama, has been around!
