Bailey, Cedar Hill's 15th Seeing Eye Dog, makes way for new puppy

As school reopened on Monday, January 5, 2015, students at Cedar Hill Elementary School gathered to bid farewell to Bailey, the fifteenth Seeing Eye Dog trained at the Towaco, New Jersey school. School Nurse, Bonnie DiCola, runs the Seeing Eye Dog training program at the Montville Township Public School. For over fourteen years DiCola and the Cedar Hill staff and students have worked together to train puppies as service dogs.

According to Jill Jaycox, an Area Coordinator of Puppy Development for The Seeing Eye, DiCola is the only Seeing Eye trainer who takes the dogs to school.

“My dogs are well trained service dogs,” DiCola said, “because they are working all the time. Every day, here at school with the children, the dogs learn how to listen and take commands. Our dogs are docile. There are a lot of distractions, but, you can see, the dog knows what to do. And the children know what to do. They love the dogs, and the dogs take care of the children.”

Bailey came to Cedar Hill as a puppy at the end of last summer. On January 5 he left Cedar Hill in a Seeing Eye van bound for the organization’s Morristown headquarters and the next phase of his formal training as a service dog.

On hand to see him off were Cedar Hill Elementary School’s acclaimed fifth grade Character Education Committee members.

Both the Committee, and the entire student body, were sad to see Bailey leave, yet they were also excited that he will ultimately help to make someone’s life easier.

“It is always difficult saying good-bye to the dogs,” said Principal Dr. Michael Raj. “But the process is also rewarding.”

The students are also excited because on January 20, a new Seeing Eye puppy will join the school staff. All that DiCola knows about the new Seeing Eye trainee is that its name begins with a “J.”

“Cedar Hill will be holding a ‘Guess the Puppy’s Name’ contest, in the upcoming weeks to raise money for The Seeing Eye,” said School Counselor, Heather M. Praml.

In several months DiCola hopes to be able to attend Bailey’s official Town Walk in Morristown. DiCola will only be allowed to watch from afar. If Bailey does well he will graduate and become a full-fledged Seeing Eye service dog who will be placed with an owner.

In the meantime, DiCola and the students and staff of Cedar Hill are preparing to welcome the new puppy with the “J” name. This will be the sixteenth Seeing Eye Dog trained at Cedar Hill Elementary School in Montville Township.