Auggie the guide dog helps T.J. Meloy walk home from school. (Brandi Stafford photos) | ZOOM |

        Auggie leads the way. Sammy is a fire scene investigator. Ivy is a country-club bouncer. J.D. just makes people feel better when they haven't been feeling so good.

        While some of us are returning to work today and others are vacationing, this might be a good time to appreciate these dogged workers — Auggie, Sammy, Ivy and J.D.

        Yes, they're dogs. But they're dogs with jobs.

        “We have had our rough moments, but we're becoming a good team,” said T.J. Meloy, a senior at Mount Healthy High School. Blind since he was 6 months old, he got Auggie, his first guide dog, last summer.

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Auggie

        “It's working out really well,” he said. “I walk quicker. I have a lot more freedom and confidence when I walk.

        “It's opened up a whole new world.”

        Auggie is a 2-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever who goes to school, where his favorite spot is the lunch room and its frequently food-littered floor.

        “He pretty much goes where I go,” Mr. Meloy says. “But I wouldn't take him to a rock concert. And a lot of my friends have small cars, so sometimes there's not enough room for him.”

Sammy

        Sammy, a 7-year-old black Lab, has a much different job. She goes to the Green Township firehouse with her owner, Steve Claytor, a member of Hamilton County's special arson team.

Sammy and owner Steve Claytor examine a fire-damaged house. | ZOOM |

        “She's one of the guys,” Mr. Claytor says. And a little more.

        As part of routine fire investigations, Sammy walks with Mr. Claytor through fire-damaged buildings, sniffing for signs of fire accelerants, such as gasoline, kerosene and alcohol.

        “I take Sammy through and let her indicate,” Mr. Claytor says, using the technical term for signaling a suspicious discovery. “When she finds something, she just sits down and points her nose. . . . She'll bark occasionally, if I'm not paying attention.”

        Because her training is food-based and fragile, Mr. Claytor is with her all the time. When he flies, she flies with him, in the passenger cabin.

Ivy

        Speaking of flying, Ivy, the border collie who lives at Ivy Hills Country Club, Newtown, works as an air traffic controller on the golf course — sort of.

Ivy watches for geese at Ivy Hills Country Club. | ZOOM |

        Actually, her job is directing geese to the air — off the greens, tees and fairways.

        “As soon as we got her (summer 1999), it really started helping, said Jeff Green, assistant superintendent at the club.

        “She's the smartest dog I've ever seen,” he said. “She catches on to what we're trying to do. . . . As soon as she sees them (geese), she chases them off.”

        Ivy, who goes home with club employees for holidays and special occasions, will be 2 in March.

J.D.

        All J.D. has to do is be a dog. A good, lovable one.

J.D. brightens the day for Mary Cameron at Good Samaritan Hospital. | ZOOM |

        Like the other eight dogs in the Tristate Caring Canines hospital therapy program, he visits patients at Good Samaritan, Children's, Shriners Burns, Veterans and Deaconess. Other local hospitals are developing similar programs.

        “We know we do good for patients,” said Nancy Doak, program coordinator. “It's been medically proven.

        “But we also know the program is beneficial for the (hospital) staff, too,” she said. “Especially in places like the oncology department. The dogs can really lift spirits.”

        J.D., 6, was a natural for the job.

        “He just thinks everyone loves him,” said owner Kristin Aeh, of Anderson Township, who accompanies him every other Saturday on visits to hospital and nursing-home patients. “He thinks it's a blast because he gets to see people.”

        For five years, J.D. has been making sick and aging people he's never seen feel a little better.

        “We can usually tell the patients that have dogs at home and haven't seen them for a while,” said Joe Kelley, spokesman for TriHealth, the organization that operates Good Samaritan and Bethesda hospitals. “When we ask who would like to see a dog, they're the eager ones.”

        Because the “work” load continues to grow, therapy dogs and handlers are in demand. To learn more about screening procedures, rules and scheduling, call 231-7251 or 231-0911.

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