Guide Dog and Golf Connoisseur Alphie is Lab of the Month
By Scott Nyborg

Alphies seen just about every golf course imaginable. Bill McCafferty chuckles fondly as he remembers his black Lab Alphie. McCafferty means it, too before he passed away recently, Alphie graced such prominent courses as Keens Point, Disney World, Concord C.C., Dupont Nemours, and Peekskill.

Wait a minute! youre saying. A dog on a golf course? Thats right. McCafferty is an expert and seasoned golfer. He's also completely blind and Alphie was his loyal and devoted guide dog. That meant that Alphie enjoyed a lifetime of better-than-front-row privileges on the many courses on which McCafferty has competed, and sometimes even stole the show!

Bill met Alphie at the Guiding Eyes for the Blind training school in New York. After losing his sight in 1989 from a combination of glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment, McCafferty depended on a cane for mobility. That was until a state worker in his home state of Delaware suggested a guide dog. At first I rejected the idea, says McCafferty. The arguments for getting a dog were strong, though. A cane gives you 2.5 feet, McCafferty says, referring to the radius of awareness which the cane provides him. A dog gives you 2.5 miles. Indeed, Bill learned that a properly trained dog can use his sense of sight and smell to help a blind person be aware of hazards that are up to 2.5 miles distant and that simple fact makes daily life a lot more accessible. This promise of increased independence helped McCafferty to give Guiding Eyes a try.

A guide dog is not the best solution for everybody, McCafferty notes. When he contacted Guiding Eyes to inquire about a dog, the organization sent a representative to his home to interview him and check me out, Bill says. They asked McCafferty to do a practice walk with a " Juno dog" a Guiding Eyes instructor acting as a guide dog to see if he had the ability to follow a dog. There's an art to it, he says. You're only six inches from the dogs paws. After determining that McCafferty could truly benefit from a guide dog, he was allowed to apply to receive one. His application included references and doctors reports. Finally, after this extensive screening process, Guiding Eyes told Bill that he had been selected to receive a guide dog.

McCafferty took the train from his home in Delaware to New Rochelle, New York. He was met there by a volunteer and taken to the Guiding Eyes school in Yorktown Heights. Each individual approved by Guiding Eyes must live and train at the school for one month with their new dog. McCafferty was met at the train station and taken to the school, where he was shown to the room that would be his home for the weeks to come. Right away he noticed that there was a tie-down next to his bed his dog, when he received him, would even sleep in his bedroom with him.

The following two days were filled with lectures, training sessions with Juno dogs, and good food, McCafferty says with a laugh. During this time, the Guiding Eyes instructors spent time getting to know each student, so that they could match them with dogs that fit well with their lifestyles and personalities. On the third day, McCafferty was introduced to an affectionate, long-legged black Lab named Alphie his new best friend.

McCafferty and the other students began training with their dogs right away. They started in the residential area of White Plains, working the dogs one block at a time, Bill says. At first, he says, he felt nervous, giving Alphie the wrong commands or being unclear in his intentions. Slowly, though, the pair became more comfortable around each other and began to understand the ways in which the other behaved. McCafferty notes that just as he had to work to learn his dog, the dogs get to know you too. The four week training class was hard work, but the rewards were great. Once you get to know your dog, Bill says, it's the sweetest thing.

He's talking about the value that Alphie contributed to his life. Suddenly, thanks to Alphies patient and faithful assistance, McCafferty could go to work, ride busses, negotiate train and subway platforms, and handle busy city streets on his own. When you go blind, he says, the world is not warm to you. The dogs give you the ability to overcome that... Your sense of confidence goes way up. With Alphie at his side, Bill began to enjoy a degree of freedom and independence that he had not since he became blind two years earlier. McCafferty says proudly: Its just you and your dog!

Maybe it was this new-found sense of confidence that helped McCafferty to meet the next big challenge in his life: picking up his golf clubs. McCafferty had not played since before losing his sight. But now, in 1992, Paul Truka of the Tobin Foundation, a Delaware-based organization benefiting the blind, challenged him to start playing again. At first I said no, Bill said, thinking that it was impossible for him to play golf again. But David Gaynor, his friend, insisted he try it. Gaynor took him to the driving range and coaxed Bill into taking a swing. McCafferty swung and felt the club connect with the ball! His friend was silent for a long moment. Then, Gaynor said, I don't believe it! McCafferty had sent the ball 200 yards, straight out.

After that, I got the fever, McCafferty confesses. He played in the Tobin Open in 1992 and scored a 118. After that, he went on to join U.S. Blind Golfers Association and became one of the top 16 players in that organization. When McCafferty was invited to play the Ken Venturi Guiding Eyes Golf Classic, a competition which benefits the Guiding Eyes school from which he received Alphie, his golfing career truly came full-circle. Bill had always wanted to play [the Ken Venturi] for the school, he says. He played admirably, placing 11th in the final standings. The Ken Venturi Classic generates about $20,000 in proceeds for Guiding Eyes, which makes a big difference in their ability to continue providing their valuable services.

On the course, McCafferty is assisted by his coach, Justin Buchwald. Buchwald describes each shot to McCafferty, telling him how to align the shot, how hard to hit the ball, and any number of other details that Bill requires in order to work his magic. Of course, McCafferty had another teammate who was always present with his support: Alphie. McCafferty notes that for Alphie, golf tournaments were mostly an exercise in riding the golf cart and looking good for the crowd! He also notes with mock disdain that Alphie often was treated better than he was. He recalls playing in the Florida Nationals and watching as the juice cart brought cool, damp towels to drape over Alphie while Bill himself stood in the sun and sweated!

Alphie became something of a celebrity as a result of McCaffertys golf career. He appeared on television and in magazines, and his pawprint hangs on the wall in places like the Governor Generals Residence in Canada, and the South Carolina legislature building. Of course, Alphie stole the show at home, too. He became an important part of Bills family. McCafferty remembers putting a birthday hat on Alphies head to celebrate his birthday, and laughing as Alphie opened his own Christmas presents. McCafferty's partner would hang dog biscuits by a string from the Christmas tree each Christmas Eve. The next morning, the string would remain undisturbed but the treat was nowhere to befound!

Alphie died tragically on April 11, 2002, of dilation/volvulus (GDV) syndrome (known more commonly as bloat see sidebar below). This was deeply shocking to McCafferty, especially since Alphie had followed his normal routine that day and upon his collapse was immediately rushed to the vet's office, just 2 miles away, where he had had a check-up just the day before. Bill becomes wistful as he reminisces about his beloved friend. All dogs, he muses, have the ability to reach inside and grab your heart. Any Lab owner can understand what he means. Most of us can point to that one dog who first captured our hearts. But try, for a moment, to imagine how truly special a dog like Alphie must have been to McCafferty. Alphie was not simply a friend, but contributed a wealth of value to Bills life. Alphie was a very dear companion, McCafferty says. He was very, very special.




























For more information on Guiding Eyes for the Blind and other assistance dog organizations, see our links.