In spite of blindness, Janice Oliveira takes no nonsense from bad dogs

Janice Oliveira and her companion, Georgia. Oliveira is an animal science major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from Shirley, N.Y. Barry DeLibero/University Photography

By Lissa Harris

Navigating through the challenges of a Cornell education can be a daunting task for any student. But senior Janice Oliveira, a certified canine behavior counselor, has handled it with singular aplomb.

Oliveira, who lost her eyesight to retinal cancer at the age of 2, has not allowed blindness to prevent her from pursuing a passion for animal science and animal communication. It's notable that in 2001 she graduated near the top of her summer certification class at the Animal Behavior Center of New York, in Rego Park.

A lifelong animal lover, Oliveira was drawn to Cornell because of its strong animal science program. Originally, she had planned to study ornithology -- she is an avid birder and can identify over 100 birds by sound.

However, Oliveira has found working physically with animals to be the most rewarding, and she has centered her studies at Cornell around animal behavior and physiology. In addition to her studies and her work at the Animal Behavior Center, she has been a volunteer with Cornell Companions, a program that promotes the interaction of pets with nursing home residents, and she has worked for the Guide Dog Foundation, raising and socializing puppies destined to be working guide dogs for the blind.

"I'm interested in behavior modification with animals that have behavior issues," Oliveira said. Behavior modification is very different from simply training an animal to behave the way you want it to, she explained. "Behavior modification deals with animals that are aggressive or fearful, and working with them to change that."

As she spoke, Georgia -- a small tan-and-white, smooth-coated collie who has been working as Oliveira's guide dog since last June -- whined anxiously at her feet.

"I know, this is boring," she told her companion softly, reassuring her with a gentle scratch.

The life of a working guide dog is stressful. "On the first day she was kind of shell-shocked. But I think she learned pretty quickly," Oliveira said of Georgia. Her previous guide dog, a Labrador named Pavarotti, found the pressures of working life too intense after several years, and now is living in retirement with Oliveira's aunt and uncle.

Oliveira uses a combination of tactile and auditory cues to tell how animals are behaving. "Especially if I have them on a leash, I can feel what they're doing -- if they're moving off course, or if they tense up," she said.

Oliveira plans to apply to graduate school to study animal science -- a pursuit, she says, that may bring her back to Cornell in the near future. Undoubtedly, many of the university's residents -- both four- and two-legged -- would be glad to have her return.