Click here to see the previous SKR story on Bob Weis.

By David Myers

Southwest Kansas Register

Spearville resident Bob Weis has met his guardian angel; he’s got four legs, a thick layer of white fur and likes to have his ears scratched.

In return, "Sarge," a young white Labrador dog, is Weis’s eyes, guiding him along when Weis, who is blind, goes for his daily strolls to St. John the Baptist Church, the senior center, or just for a walk.

Weis and his wife, Sheila, recently had Sarge blessed by Deacon Dwaine Lampe on the lawn of St. John the Baptist Church. Sarge is Weis’s third seeing-eye-dog and the second he’s trained himself, a task that can be daunting at times.

"He’s doing really good for eight months old," Weis said. "At the training center in Michigan they don’t start training them until they’re at least nine months."

His first guide dog, Rambo, was trained at Leader Dog School in Rochester, Mich. at a cost of $7,500, which included 25 days of training Weis had to undergo at the school. While he had long been legally blind, it was two years after being presented Rambo that Weis lost his sight entirely.

"When I got home with the dog I walked down to the corner," Weis said in an earlier interview with the SKR. "That’s as far as I went. A few days later I went a few more blocks. After a week-and-a-half, I ventured downtown to the bank. Then I ventured to the Federated Church. And now I can go anywhere in Spearville I want.

"It was very hard to learn to trust the dog 100 percent," he added.

Ten years later in 1997, when Weis was given his second dog, Harpooa, the cost to train a dog and its master had climbed to $16,500. Although paid for by the Lion’s Club, Weis felt he had learned enough from his first experience to train Harpooa himself.

In only two months time, the dog was trained well enough that the pair could go from one end of Spearville to the other.

Several months ago, Harpooa began to struggle with her health, and one day after Mass, she simply lay down near the church steps and refused to move. Attributing the problem to arthritis, Weis imagined that Harpooa’s health problems would only intensify come winter.

That’s when Weis’s son, Bobby, Jr., found a young Labrador in a kennel in Missouri.

"We got him home, and Harpooa just came to life," Weis said, laughing. He then wondered if getting Sarge wasn’t just a bit premature. Harpooa was only eight years old and seemed to be doing fine.

But then Harpooa started exhibiting signs that perhaps something more serious was wrong. It was soon determined that Harpooa had diabetes. And when she began to lose control of her bladder, Weis knew he would no longer be able to take Harpooa to the places they had walked to together nearly every day for more than eight years. That’s when Sarge’s training was launched.

"I began to take both dogs together for a walk," Weis said. "And Harpooa kind of showed Sarge what to do."

"It’s very frustrating at times," he added. "Sometimes you just want to throw your hands up. You have to be careful when you get them by themselves that they do what they’re supposed to do.

"Once in a while you get a little thrill, like when they take you in the middle of the road," he added, laughing.

Weis explained that he doesn’t depend solely on his dog to guide him along. His hearing is very important, which is why windy days (wind distorts sounds), and snowy days (snow muffles sounds of approaching traffic) can present some challenges.

Each of his dogs has had its own personality. While at church, Rambo would, on rare occasion, let the priest know when his homily was dragging a bit long. Harpooa, on the other hand, was generally quiet. As for Sarge, Weis said that except for once hopping up on the pew to get a better view, he’s been well behaved.