Her children are grown and living on their own, but Bonnie Lorensen has a new addition in her household. She's two-and-one-half, furry, black and she offers the Kirkland native a renewed sense of independence. The new addition is her leader dog, Tess.

Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at age 22, Bonnie traveled a long road before she was ready to accept the assistance of a four-legged companion.

Retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, is a hereditary, progressive retinal degeneration. Night blindness develops, usually in childhood, followed by a loss of peripheral vision, progressing to tunnel vision and, eventually, blindness.

Bonnie said she was fortunate that she was able to continue her work as a typesetter for various local newspapers, including The Mid-Week, for many years. She continued working at The MidWeek until 1988, when a serious car accident put her in the hospital for nearly a month. She stopped working then, not because of her vision, but because of other physical problems, including an inability to sit for long periods of time. Although the disease is believed to be hereditary, Bonnie said she has found no one else in her family affected. Fortunately, her two children, Courtney, 25, and Clark, 21, show no signs of the sight-robbing disease. Today, Bonnie explains her field of vision as "like looking through a straw. That's the only way I can explain it.

Throughout the course of her vision loss, Bonnie said she has learned how great it is to live in a small town. "When my kids were in school, Lynn Tindall used to take me to a lot of events. I never missed an event my kids were involved in," she said. Lynn's husband, Rich, a member of the local Lions Club, called Bonnie about three years ago, asking if he could come see her. Without a clue of what Rich wanted, Bonnie agreed. It was then he brought her a packet of information about Leader Dogs for the Blind, in Rochester, MI.

The school receives about one-third of its financial support from Lions Clubs. Bonnie said she considered Rich's gesturewell-meaning,but wasn't ready to follow up. She did, however, have to learn to get around on her own with the help of a cane. She received training from orientation and mobility instructor, Linda O'Reilly, then with the Center for Sight and Hearing Impaired, in Rockford. "She came once a week and got me mobile," Bonnie said.

In the fall of 1998, her son, Clark, brought home a computer. Bonnie said she had not touched a keyboard since her accident 10 years before, "I loved my job as a typesetter. I loved to type and I loved the people I worked with. It just hurt too much to not work, that I just couldn't type," Bonnie said. Clark convinced his mom to try out his new computer. Bonnie said she loved it. Eventually, she went on-line and found others with RP. "I've met a lot of people with RP on the computer, and we've become close friends. "I guess that's what gave me the final nudge to get a dog." Bonnie said many of her new friends were encouraging, telling her how leader dogs had helped them gain their independence. "I finally called Rich and told him I was ready.

We put together an updated application, including six letters of reference and a videotape showing me getting around town with my cane. "I had to walk up and down my street, to the Post Office, around town," Bonnie said. She explained that the trainers need to see not only that she is independently mobile, but also to have some idea of her size and gait to allow a better match with a dog.

Bonnie received a call from the school on a Tuesday afternoon in September, saying they had a cancellation and asking if she could be there on Sunday. "I guess the short notice was good, because I didn't have time to chicken out," she said with a laugh. Bonnie said she was fortunate there was a flight from Rockford to Detroit, where she was met by trainers who took her to the school in Rochester. Although she was nervous about taking the trip alone, she said airline personnel were very helpful.

The first few days at the school were spent getting around the community using only the dog harness and learning the commands. Then, it was time for class members to meet their dogs and begin training with them. Bonnie said her roommate, Barb, was getting her second dog. She said going to the school was a wonderful experience. Other members of Bonnie's class traveled from all over the U.S., Mexico, Germany and Poland. After the 26-day training, Bonnie said she had a great deal of confidence in herself, and in Tess. "It's slow walking with a cane. She's given me freedom and independence," Bonnie said, stroking Tess' silky black ears.

Being the people-person that she is, Bonnie also likes that Tess is a "conversation piece." The dogs are not only smart, but incredibly well-trained, Bonnie said. She told of going with family members to a lunch at Red Lobster. Tess laid quietly at Bonnie's feet for the entire two hours.

When she got a follow-up phone call from a trainer at the school, she asked if anyone was coming to visit. Their response. She and Tess were doing just fine.

Bonnie has recently(April 2002) broken in another leader dog. A beautiful yellow lab named 'Autumn', pictured below.