second article

Going Doggone Well

Puppy raiser and pooch plan for college

* Editor's note: Davis High School student Julianne Phillips is a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind. She currently is raising a German shepherd named Randolph. The Enterprise is following her story. This is the second in a five-part series.

By Julie Rooney Enterprise staff writer

It's been an exciting spring for Julianne Phillips. The Davis High School senior received a thumbs up from all seven colleges she applied to earlier this year. The letter she was most anticipating was mailed from just a few blocks away. It read, "Congratulations, you have been accepted to the University of California at Davis."

Attending the university with her will be Randolph, her 7-month-old guide dog puppy in training. Phillips is raising her fourth puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind. She began working for the organization as a puppy sitter at the age of 12 and has emerged as a leader in the Yolo County puppy raiser group, Eyes For Others, where she works as a teen leader and manages the group's Web site.

Now, she and Randolph will soon pack up and head to college.

"We won't stay in the dorms," she says. "They won't let us."

By law, blind people have the right to take their guide dogs with them everywhere. The rule doesn't apply to guide dog puppy raisers, and at UC Davis, there's a "no dogs allowed" policy in the dorms.

Not the least bit concerned, Phillips quickly found three roommates and has already signed a lease for the apartment she will occupy in the fall.

By the time she graduates, her constant companion, Randolph, will have moved on, hopefully a Guide Dogs for the Blind graduate. Only 50 percent of the dogs graduate from the rigorous program. Others change careers, working as search and rescue animals or drug sniffers, or simply becoming a beloved family pet.

So far, Randolph is progressing nicely. For a while he was too vocal, but has since quieted down. Other than a trip to the emergency vet for a case of clostridium poisoning, Randolph is in top form.

He's a regular around town, accompanying Phillips wherever she goes, including Davis High School. A recent outing to the Whole Earth Festival was a big hit, says Phillips. Next up is the "Soggy Doggy Party," an annual pool party for Yolo County puppy raisers and their pups. Yolo County puppy raisers gets together about twice a month for meetings, instructional time and a fun outing to help socialize the dogs.

Randolph learns his commands quickly, which Phillips credits to the German shepherd breed, among the most intelligent of canines. Not every puppy raiser is given a German shepherd. Only those with previous experience can tackle the highly intelligent and devoted breed.

Phillips says Randolph is the friendliest dog she has ever had.

"He just thinks people are the greatest," she says. "If I sit on the floor, he's on my lap."

He's also grown attached to Danny, Phillips' other dog. A black Labrador retriever, Danny flunked out of the guide dog program. Phillips opted to keep the dog as a family pet.

While she would love to keep Randolph, too, she has high hopes the dog will graduate.

"Danny will be the most heartbroken when he goes," Phillips says.

While the dogs each have their own bed, they prefer to curl up together in one bed.

There is no doubt devoting her time and energy as a volunteer for Guide Dogs for the Blind has helped Phillips gain admittance to the college of her choice. But, she says she didn't do it to boost her chances of getting into college. Instead, it is her passion.

Phillips plans to double major in animal science and psychology, meshing the two degrees into a career guiding troubled kids through the use of therapy dogs.

Youth volunteers

Does volunteering help you get into the college? Yes, says Davis High School counselor Courtenay Tessler.

"Colleges aren't just interested in SAT scores and GPAs," Tessler says. "They want to know what those students are doing with the knowledge they have gained. It's important to show that you are making the world a better place, solving problems that help others, giving back."

And giving back means volunteering. But be careful, Tessler warns. She says colleges see right through applications that are padded with community service hours from a hodgepodge of organizations.

"It's about commitment to a cause, devoting the hours, seeing the need and coming up with a solution," she says.

Phillips is one of thousands of Davis youth volunteers. From school clubs to Scouting, kids as young as 5 are devoting time to helping others.

The biggest youth service group in town is the Girl Scouts, with more than 800 girls registered. Each year, Davis Girl Scouts put in volunteer hours for causes both near and far. This year's projects range from sewing dog beds for the Yolo County SPCA, to hosting a Halloween Haunted House fund-raiser for Katrina victims.

"I think it's important for all kids to see outside of themselves and community service provides that opportunity," says Linda Souza, service unit manager for Davis Girl Scouts.

An added benefit, Souza says, is personal satisfaction.

"It makes them feel good about themselves and helps them with their own self-esteem."

Not to be outdone, it's Davis Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts who each year put on the largest canned food drive for the Short-Term Emergency Aid Committee, stocking the Davis Food Bank shelves with literally tons of food.

In addition to Scouting, there are 4-H groups, Campfire Kids and several community service clubs throughout Davis schools. The club names speak for themselves, like Davis High School's Random Acts of Kindness Club and Marguerite Montgomery's Make A Difference Club.

At the junior high and high school level, students can put their volunteerism skills to work for course credit. At Emerson Junior High School, eighth-grade students are required to perform 10 hours of community service as part of their social studies curriculum.

"We want to show students how important active participation in a democracy is," explains Eric Jacobson, an Emerson history teacher. "We want students to find places in the Davis community that could benefit from their time and talents."

Junior high and high school students also can serve as peer helpers and peer tutors. And those with a foreign language background are putting their linguistic skills to work aiding ESL students.

Tessler says students find the experience rewarding.

"They just love it," she says.

Julianne Phillips says she would like to see more teens in volunteer work. "You really get a great sense of joy when you volunteer," she says. "Things can give you happiness. But you get twice the happiness when you give back."

To learn more about Yolo County's guide dog puppy raising program, visit www.yologuidedogs.com.

— Reach Julie Rooney at jrooney@davisenterprise.net or 747-8051.