Browsing by Author "Voutilainen, Emilia"

This thesis examines the guide dog topic by looking into different phases of the guide dog in its lifecycle, phases such as how the dog puppies become guide dogs, how guide dogs work and what the guide dog’s work offers. This thesis also questions how the guide dog is seen in different phases of its lifecycle: is it seen as a part of the family, as a family member, a work partner or as an aid tool. This thesis has ethnographic fieldwork material but also general history of the dog, guide dogs, and human-animal anthropology theories from wild animals to domestication and the dog becoming a pet. Theories that are used include the ideas of trust and domination, the idea of a social contract between humans and animals. Crucial ideas that are used are ‘becoming with’, ‘being with’ and from kinship the ‘mutuality of being’ and from exchange theory the idea of ‘inalienable possessions’. This thesis will look into how interspecies networks are formed between the guide dog and the people participating in its life. The ethnographic research and fieldwork are based in Finland, the capital area of Helsinki and the surrounding cities of Vantaa and Espoo. The ethnographic material has been collected with interviews and participant observation in the Guide Dog School and puppy training classes during Spring 2017. Interviews are semi-structured and in total 12 interviews were done. The participant observation was done in the Guide Dog School, including the puppy training classes and observing the trainers’ workdays with the trained dogs. Additional material was gathered in the penitentiary setting where a drug and gun dog trainer practiced finding different substances with his working dog. Other material has been gathered from “Opaskoira” (Guide Dog) yearly publications and from other animal and dog magazines and internet sources. The gathered ethnographic material in this thesis indicates that guide dogs are a part of many families during their lives and get to know many different people. The guide dogs are not identified as a pet during the puppy period, training period or working period. Only at retirement can a guide dog be treated and identified as a pet. The guide dogs are seen as a family member and as a companion. In addition to the previously mentioned roles the guide dogs are also an aid tool, but they are not treated as an object; instead guide dogs have a more active role than a mere object might have. A guide dog is not seen as having only one role, instead these different roles blend together making the guide to have these all roles. The guide dog, through its work, gives out much more than just the ability to move to its user, the guide dog is a companion through life and is a builder of social relationships between different people. Interspecies networks are formed and built due to the nature of the training of the guide dog and its work and its lifecycle. A positive side-effect of the guide dog is that it removes or lessens the stigma of being vision impaired compared to using only the white stick. Defining the dog’s work is difficult as different people defined and experienced the meaning of work differently. The guide dog being an object is not a negative issue as being seen as an object, an aid tool, allows the dog to participate in every aspect of life of the vision impaired person. It is very clear that no one speaks about the guide dogs as if they are cold objects, instead they are warm, living animals that work as guides and are companions through life. Most importantly, guide dogs are trained and worked with in a way that suits the ideas of active engagement, being and becoming with.