TWIN VALLEY, Minn. -He isn't listed among Norman County Soil and Water Conservation District staff, but Truman plays an important role in District Conservationist Curtis Borchert's day. Truman is Borchert's Labrador retriever guide dog.
Truman guides Borchert through wetlands and is welcomed by most everyone he meets.
Borchert, who has a limited field of vision due to the rare genetic disorder called Pax 2, realized he needed a guide dog during a farm visit three years ago. The two started walking to a wetland when the farmer said he had to get something from his truck. Borchert continued the jaunt, despite his limited vision. Soon he thought he heard the farmer yelling, "Goose! Goose!" Suddenly he heard a splash and the farmer's footsteps rapidly approaching.
Instead of a goose, it was a moose that Borchert was heading toward.
"That's when I thought a guide dog would help me avoid these situations," he said.
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He turned to Guide Dogs of America and spent a month on its California campus to be paired with Truman. Truman, a large dog, was almost kicked out of the program because of his size. Truman seemed the right height for Borchert, who stands more than six feet tall.
Truman also has the qualities Borchert wanted in his guide animal. He requested a fairly docile animal. In his job he sometimes encounters landowners who are upset.
Normally guide dogs are trained for urban settings, but Truman also learned to guide Borchert on grass, dirt and through wetlands.
As Borchert goes to the wetland to determine the waterline, Truman seems to sense where the marker flags need to go, Borchert said.
While Truman guides Borchert, the conservation worker relies on technology to do his job. Digital binoculars give Borchert a good view of the topography. He can color the screen to show stress lines most can't see. Borchert videotapes the projects and uses software that magnifies the materials he needs. He also uses audio software that can read documents and other materials to him.
"I can do my job better now than I could before," he said.
His vision wasn't an issue growing up on a Valley City, N.D., farm. His father and three uncles raised hogs, beef and dairy and grew crops. Borchert married his high school sweetheart, Theresa, and the two earned college degrees. Theresa studied library science and Borchert majored in vocational education. He taught two years in South Dakota before moving to Twin Valley. Theresa took a resource library position at Concordia College.
Doctors were baffled by the illnesses that their sons, James and Otto, battled. A urologist from the University of Minnesota said she wanted to feature the family at a medical conference in Canada and asked them for blood samples. Next a New Zealand doctor asked for blood samples to work on genome sequences of the family and discovered a mutation. The mutation was Pax 2. The disease started with Borchert. None of his uncles, aunts, cousins or parents carried the gene mutation.
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The disorder, which affects the kidneys and eyes, is rare. Only 34 people in the world have been identified with it, he said. Of the couple's five sons, three have Pax 2. Each of them has had a kidney transplant. Although Borchert's own kidneys are small, they function normally.
Borchert noticed changes in his vision five years ago. It was confirmed when he went to renew his drivers license, he said.
Through the Minnesota State Services for the Blind, he learned to adjust to his diminished vision by using a cane and new technology. Then he got Truman.
They are constant companions and close friends. While Borchert works, Truman lays in the corner on his dog bed. When Borchert prepares to go to the Post Office with the mail, the dog stands ready. With his harness on, Truman guides Borchert down the sidewalk.
No matter where he travels, people often stop to talk.
"If I was sitting on a bench with a cane, people probably wouldn't stop to talk," he said. "But with Truman, they will sit down and start a conversation. Often they have a dog and start talking about their own pup."
Borchert plans to leave his SWCD post in April to join friends in a business venture. The company, Char Energy, will produce mobile horizontal gasifiers.
His job may change, but Truman will remain at his side guiding Borchert through new challenges and experiences.
