SHAOZHUO CUI The Roanoke Times

Phil Pickett, a veterinary ophthalmologist and faculty member at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, checks service dog Daisy's eyes while technician Betsy Snyder holds her head steady. The college offered free eye exams to service dogs Friday as part of a national effort in collaboration with the American College of Veterinary Opthalmologists and Pet Health Systems and sponsored by Merial, an animal health company.

BLACKSBURG -- Chief needs to see so he can fetch basketballs and toys for Christopher Matney, an 11-year-old Roanoke County boy who's learning to walk.

Daisy needs to see so she can carry the mail and retrieve the phone for Sue Karr of Bent Mountain, who has multiple sclerosis.

On Friday, both Chief and Daisy got clean bills of health from Phil Pickett, a veterinary ophthalmologist and faculty member at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. The exams for Chief, a 128-pound yellow Lab, and Daisy, a 58-pound golden retriever, were free because they're service dogs.

The exams were part of a national effort in collaboration with the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists and Pet Health Systems and sponsored by Merial, an animal health company. The veterinary college has been offering free exams to service dogs for several years, but this is the first year of the national event. More than 1,000 veterinary ophthalmologists around the country and in Canada offered free exams this week as part of the program. The ACVO is also funding blood tests for the dogs to check for disease. Those tests are done by the dogs' regular veterinarians.

Sitting in the waiting room after his exam, Chief wagged his tail and looked for treats from Ed Matney, who along with his wife, Dawn, adopted Christopher in February 1997. Complications from a premature birth -- he weighed 1¹₂ pounds -- led to developmental difficulties. But Christopher is intelligent, Ed Matney said. And he loves Chief, who helps Christopher get around, opening doors for him and keeping him company. They've had Chief for about nine years.

"Chief, you could tell right off the bat that he was the right one," Matney said.

Daisy wagged her tail as Pickett shined various lights in her eyes and administered eyedrops. She looked on hopefully when Pickett peeled the plastic off a bottle of solution. Alas, it was not a treat.

Karr, who uses a walker and wheelchair to get around, talked about how excited Daisy gets to make the quarter-mile trip from the front door of Karr's Bent Mountain home to the mailbox. Karr said Daisy loves to work, wagging her tail when asked to carry the mail or turn on a light. And for Karr, the benefits of having her around go beyond practical chores.

"She just makes life fun," she said. "She really does."

Daisy's examination lasted about 30 minutes, and Pickett checked her eyes from front to back, looking at everything from her eyelashes to her retina. He checked the flow of her tear ducts and measured her tear production by sticking small paper test strips in her eyes. Daisy sat patiently for one minute as the strip absorbed her tears.

Pickett, who has been at the veterinary college for 20 years, said he gets special satisfaction from working with service dogs.

"Most of these dogs are more than a part of the family," he said. "People depend on them."