Man heads back to Purdue with guide dog

[responsiblek9]

http://www.tribstar.com/statenews/cnhinsall_story_216135753.html

Me and my Shadow

Man heads back to Purdue with guide dog

By Meg Grey
Hendricks County Flyer (Avon, Ind.)

BROWNSBURG, Ind.

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Petraits said he used to use a cane to get around. And while he says it gave him more freedom and made him stronger, he still hated using it. The cane, he said, made him feel less normal.

Last year, however, he attended a convention for the blind in Las Vegas and met other young people like himself who weren?t about to let their handicaps get in the way of their lives. All of those people, Petraits said, used guide dogs.

?I saw myself being like them in a couple of years,? he said.

He took the idea home to his family over the Thanksgiving holiday and asked about adding a member to the family. He said his family was supportive of the idea and the application process began shortly after that.

Petraits was paired up with Shadow at Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., a school in San Rafael, Calif. He said his four-legged friend is a dead-on match of what he needed. The 80-pound dog is active, but can rest while he studies or works at his desk.

?He?s a big guy, but he?s someone that can withstand different environments,? he said.

In addition to fitting in on campus, Petraits said Shadow did fine while he worked a summer internship at Clarian Hospital. He said children at the hospital, as well as his co-workers, loved the dog but respected the fact that when his harness was on, he was working.

?I?m learning more and more things with him everyday,? Petraits said of his new best friend.