Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Kevin Nortz / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Dr. Susan Jacobi (right) and assistant Reva Monk (center) prepare Otto, a Labrador retriever service dog, for an eye exam at the Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle in Lynnwood on Tuesday. Otto's owner, Karen Hazelrigg, holds the leash.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • The legacy of William Shatner 5/7/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, May 7, 2009 Free eye exams in Lynnwood help keep service dogs on the job By Chris Fyall Herald Writer LYNNWOOD -- Otto can pick up his owner's fallen credit cards, her car keys, her crutches. Sometimes, he evens pushes elevator buttons for her. But Otto, a beautiful 9-year-old chocolate Lab, cannot do any of that without good eyesight. That's why Karen Hazelrigg, who has post-polio syndrome, brought him to Dr. Susan Jacobi at Lynnwood's VCA Veterinary Speciality Center of Seattle for a free checkup Tuesday afternoon. Jacobi is an animal eye doctor and is volunteering her time for the service dogs this week. The exams normally cost $135. She is one of about 150 veterinary ophthalmologists across the United States and Canada participating in a program sponsored by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists. More than 1,500 dogs are signed up across North America, veterinary college officials said. Registration closed on April 30. Protecting the vision of service dogs is the program's goal. "Our hope is that by checking these animals' vision on the national day of service, we will be able help a large number of dogs better assist their human friends," said Stacee Daniel, the program's executive director. With a dog as patient as Otto, an eye exam is a relatively simple affair. Jacobi gave him various eye drops and shined a series of lights into his eyes. Through it all, Otto wagged his tail like it was his job. After 45 minutes, he got a clean bill of health. Mostly. If he were a voracious reader -- instead of a dog -- he might need reading glasses, Jacobi said. Of course, that's normal for a dog his age, she said. Otto's health didn't come as a surprise for Hazelrigg. After his last blood test, things looked so good that doctors half-wondered if Otto hadn't cheated, Hazelrigg said. "He apparently has the blood of a 2-year-old," she said. Still, it was important to hear that his eyesight was solid, too. Hazelrigg and her husband, Nigel, drove all the way from Point Roberts, the peninsula near the Canadian border, for their appointment. The checkup was worth the hassle. "It is a great offer," Hazelrigg said. "Otto is a great dog." Chris Fyall: 425-339-3447, cfyall@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. Girl's death in car crash stuns Granite Falls 2. 787 starts ‘final gantlet' of tests before first flight 3. Inmates to help families of police 4. Lewd baristas face stricter rules 5. Swine flu shots to be available to all in county 6. Woman who died in fire named 7. Roe picked as interim prosecutor 8. Gregoire's budget offers no easy way out of deficit 9. Payout of $44.7 million to clean up Asarco contamination in Everett 10. Roche Harbor's second derby a big hit 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Zambian woman thanks students for their help • Food banks see rise in use • ‘Making Spirits Bright’ in Edmonds • Wolfpack takes aim at state • Seahawks help students smile • 95 and still volunteering • Sno-King joined by local TV king • Veterans back for Wildcats • Lynnwood seeks to plug $2 million budget gap • Snohomish County offers the best and most affordable venues for conferen ... • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed