LAB IS BLIND WOMAN'S COMPANION, AIDE

JACKSON -- Unlike the fate that befell folk legend Tom Dooley, Susan Noland's black labrador of the same namesake no longer has a reason to hang down his head and cry.

Noland's Tom Dooley has survived an abusive owner and an appointment with a lethal injection.

Although he is in much better company, the dog will whine and whimper to command the attention of his newly adopted family.

"Dooley isn't content until he knows we're all home and safe," said Susan's mother Noma. "It's like he's as human as the rest of us. He seems to need us as much as we need him. If he needs to go out and someone isn't paying attention, he'll whine until we react to what he wants."

Susan Noland and Tom Dooley enhance each other's life through love, respect and understanding. Noland, who is blind and has difficulty maintaining her balance on occasion, needs the dog to achieve independence.

Dooley, who was abused by his original owner, needs the affection and constant attention of the family that has paid dearly for his services.

It cost Noland's parents $8,000 to have the dog trained to meets its new owner's needs. "The organization we got him from requires donations for training, and we really couldn't find any clubs around here that would pick that up,"' said Noma.

It began as a project that carried no guarantees. "I tried to work with a German shepard one time and that just didn't work out," said Susan. But she developed a rapport with Tom Dooley from the beginning.

"He was so thin and weak from abuse; they were thinking of just putting him to sleep at the dog pound in Ohio," said Susan Noland.

But after Happy Canine Helpers Inc. of Johnstown, Ohio, found a suitable match and nursed the dog back to health, Dooley was given a new name and a second chance.

Happy Canine Helpers was formally incorporated as a nonprofit organization Jan. 20, 1984. The organization goes to the handicapped person's home, school or work environment to teach the client until the individual can work with his helper.

"His real name is just Dooley, but I wanted to call him Tom Dooley because I heard the song," said Noland, who contacted Happy Canine Helpers after she heard about the organization from a friend.

Judging from the way the dog keeps a constant watch over his new owner and her parents, Dooley isn't about to squander the opportunity to be happy.

"Before I got Dooley, I had to stay at home and rely on others to do the simplest things," Susan Noland said. Noland is quick to point out that she has much more than a seeing-eye dog.

"Most people look at him and assume that Dooley's a seeing-eye dog, but he's not," Noland said. "He's what is known by Happy Helpers Inc. as a two-in-one dog."

Dooley wears a harness complete with a handle on the top. "If Susan would fall, Dooley would run to her aid and give her the support to help her get back up," said Noma, who has equipped the harness with fanny packs to carry Susan's medicine. "Without Dooley, Susan would not be able to get herself back up," said Noma.

The training Dooley received from Happy Canine Helpers enables him to open doors, answer the telephone, open the refrigerator and serve as a skillful watchdog.

"Owners of seeing-eye dogs are taught to be rough when the dogs don't do what they're supposed to," she said. "Dooley was trained with care and consideration for his feelings. It's like dealing with a sensitive child," said Noma.

Said Susan, "I really believe Dooley looks at me as his mother and mom and dad as his grandparents."

The Noland family count their blessings in church on Sundays. "He's tied down in church so there's no chance that he would ever do anything to anyone," said Noma. "He wouldn't want to hurt anyone unless he thought they were attacking me," said Susan. "Sometimes parents tell their children to stay away from him because they think he'll bite them. I wish they wouldn't feel that way, because he's a very loving dog."

Sometimes innocent instincts of children conflict with the instincts of Tom Dooley. "Sudden movements startle Tom Dooley and cause him to rush to my aid," said Susan. "Unfortunately kids want to run up to him and pet him and that puts him on the defensive. If they would just let him smell them so that he could tell they mean no harm, he would let them pet him."