LVUSD teacher's aide, guide dog make a good team

CLOSE COMPANIONS- Robin Schneider will have more independence and mobility with her new guide dog, Evita.

Calabasas resident Robin Schneider, a visually impaired teacher's aide with the Las Virgenes Unified School District, has been paired with a guide dog named Evita.

Schneider and the dog, a black Labrador retriever, completed a month of intensive training at the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus in San Rafael. They became an official team upon graduation from the training program on Nov. 10.

As a guide dog, Evita has been trained to provide a combination of companionship and safe mobility while helping Schneider to feel more confident and be more independent. Schneider serves as an aide for children with special needs. In her spare time, she enjoys horseback riding.

The specialized training for Schneider and Evita included learning to negotiate stairways, elevators, overhead obstacles, crowded sidewalks and busy streets. Guide dogs are trained to avoid distractions and to disobey commands to cross a street if traffic is approaching.

For additional information on the Guide Dogs for the Blind organization and the services it provides at no cost to those seeking to be matched with a companion/service animal, visit www.guidedogs.com.