February 26, 1999 Calvin College Chimes
IN OTHER NEWS: Dominican Republic program postponed, students protest National speaker gives Y2K address Calvin ready for Y2K Grant gives students research opportunities with Calvin Prof.’s		Guide dog gets a look at campus and dorm life photo courtesy DeKruif DeKruif volunteered to train Fellow, a guide dog who he brought to the dorms. By Angela Meldrum STAFF WRITER Recently, there was a dog on Calvin’s otherwise pet-free campus. Ryan DeKruif, a freshman from Denver, Colorado, brought the young dog, which he is training to be a guide dog, to Calvin’s campus two weeks ago. The dog, whose name is Fellow, is a 13-month old male golden retriever-yellow lab cross breed. DeKruif has been training Fellow since March. This training continued through August until he left for school; his parents then took over the socializing part of the guide dog’s training. DeKruif, a BV resident, decided that Fellow needed to spend a few days experiencing dorm life before his training was over. In order to do so, DeKruif had to obtain special permission from his RA, RD, and, finally, John Witte, the assistant dean of residence life. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, DeKruif was legally allowed to bring Fellow onto Calvin’s campus. The act allows guide dogs to enter any public place. DeKruif had to write a letter to the BV residents about the special dog he was bringing into the dorm, and certain guidelines that must be followed if residents wanted to interact with Fellow. The letter basically stated that no one should pet Fellow without DeKruif’s permission. DeKruif stated afterwards that everyone was good about following this rule. The importance of having Fellow in the dorms was twofold. It was important for the dog to experience the plane ride to Grand Rapids and to get a taste of dorm life in case he was ever in this kind of environment. Witte indicated that this was a “cooperative experiment” in how the students would react to guide dogs, and how the dogs would behave on campus. Witte also said that even though he did not receive any negative comments during Fellow’s stay, this truly was a unique circumstance and “it is not to indicate a change of the ‘no pet’ policy.” Ted Walter, resident director of BV, said that he was “impressed how Fellow responded to this aspect of his training.” Walter also said that Fellow was well-received and well-liked by BV residents. Vince VanDyk, DeKruif’s roommate, said he liked having Fellow around. Fellow slept right next to DeKruif’s bed and was very well-behaved, said VanDyk. There was no barking, and students were generally not even aware of Fellow’s presence. Fellow is not the first dog allowed on campus, although he is the first in-training guide dog for the blind. The campus has been home to “helper” dogs on two previous occasions, five years ago and eight years ago. DeKruif was impressed at how well-behaved Fellow was. Although Fellow may or may not become a guide dog for the blind, since only 50 percent of the dogs in training make it, DeKruif is planning on training another dog next summer. He enjoys both working with animals and helping others.
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