by Kent Jennings Brockwell
Staff Writer
Judge Emmet Ferguson has taken “bring your dog to work day” to the ultimate level.
For the past four months, he has taken Lear Jet, a six-month old black lab, to work with him every day.
As a volunteer puppy trainer, Ferguson is helping to train Lear Jet, to become a professional service dog for a future handicapped owner.
“Our biggest function is to socialize the animal to an urban environment,” he said. “We take her everywhere we go.”
Besides going with him to court everyday, Lear accompanies Ferguson and his wife, Julie, in every aspect of their daily lives. Lear tags along on trips to the grocery store, shopping mall, movie theater - even concerts.
“(Lear Jet) got to see Eric Clapton and Shania Twain,” he said.
Lear even rides the bus with Ferguson.
“Everybody on the bus loves the Lear Jet,” he said. “Now, the bus drivers recognize us on the street and will honk at us.”
In the fall, the Fergusons (and Lear) are looking forward to several football games, including the Florida-Georgia game.
As expected, Lear Jet will be rooting for the ‘Dawgs, Ferguson said.
Ferguson became interested in training after meeting a fellow trainer at an Atlantic Beach coffee shop.
“I had coffee with her and asked a lot of questions about the dog,” Ferguson said. “It was something that really appealed to me.”
After getting permission from his wife and Chief Judge Donald Moran, Jr., Ferguson signed up for the program and soon received a four-week old puppy from New Horizons, an Orange City-based training organization.
Lear Jet comes from a litter raised for the program. Lear’s brother, Turbo Jet, and her sisters, Piper and Cessna, are all being trained for service work by volunteers like Judge Ferguson.
Though Lear and her siblings have odd names for dogs, New Horizons’ founder Janet Severt said all of the puppies from service dog litters are named according to a certain theme.
“It helps us keep track of who was born at the same time,” Severt said.
Previous themes used have included names of heroes, Disney characters and birds, she said.
As a quadriplegic and service dog user for 40 years, Severt said she founded New Horizons out of compassion for people in her position.
“There are just not enough (service) dogs around for people who need them,” Severt said.
She places about 12 service dogs every year, Severt said she plans on having 20 placements next year.
“People don’t realize how much time and effort goes into each dog,” she said.
In addition to two or three years of constant training, Severt said it costs about $15,000 to train a single dog.
But, as Judge Ferguson said, “It’s for a great cause.”
As for now, Lear Jet, who is only four months into her training, can be found most days “on-call” at the bench in Judge Ferguson’s courtroom.
He said the dog is very popular at the court house.
“Everyone says hello to me now,” he said, “but they really want to know how Lear is doing.
“Usually, in court, she will just fall asleep at my feet and chew on my shoes,” he said.
Thogh Lear is trained to sleep or rest when Judge Ferguson is not active, he said she will sometimes pay extra attention in court, depending on the situation.
“She does perk up for animal cruelty cases,” he said. “That is when she chews on my shoes.”