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NORTH ATTLEBORO - Yet she doesn't consider her blindness a handicap or a disability. To her, it's merely an inconvenience that keeps her from doing the things she would like to do, like driving a car or simply reading her mail.

But it hasn't prevented her from doing computer work, caring for herself, participating in the community, socializing with friends and even knitting afghans.

And it hasn't kept her from walking, which she does daily in her hometown of North Attleboro alongside Dudley, her seeing-eye dog.

Today, she and Dudley will be walking for a cause in the neighboring community of Attleboro when they participate in the annual Crop Walk that benefits global and local food programs aimed at fighting hunger.

Nerney said she wanted to walk to show others she would do it, and to show herself that she could. "I had to prove it to myself," she said.

The idea came to her during a recent weekend Mass at Sacred Heart Church in North Attleboro, when Maureen Miconi-Ross, who heads the parish's ecumenical committee, spoke about the Crop Walk to encourage participation in the event that her husband, Jeff, helps to coordinate.

Nerney approached Miconi-Ross after the service to sign up for the three-mile trek that begins and ends at Capron Park.

Miconi-Ross said she welcomed Nerney's participation as an encouragement to others who have physical challenges.

This will hardly be the first time that Nerney has taken part in an organized fundraiser. She has done other charitable walks for various organizations, including the Relay For Life that benefits the American Cancer Society.

But this will be her first Crop Walk, and the first time she walks this particular route.

She'll have the guidance of other walkers, since about 300 volunteers are expected to participate. She'll also have the black Labrador who has been her companion since 2002 and who guides her every day.

"He's wonderful," she said of Dudley, her eighth seeing-eye dog.

After getting dogs from another school for much of her life, Nerney is now connected to The Seeing Eye in Morristown, N.J., which provided her with Dudley.

The school breeds and trains its own German shepherds, Labs and golden retrievers, then matches each dog with a blind person and trains them together. The owner learns to judge traffic by its movement and sound, and to then issue commands to the dog, which carries out the command when it's safe to do so. On their walks, Dudley guides Nerney along sidewalks, across streets and around obstacles as she holds on to the harness he wears whenever they are outside the house.

"If there is something in the way, he takes me around it," she said.

There's a bonding that takes place between an owner and her dog, she said, and theirs began during the month she spent at the New Jersey school in 2002 after she was matched with Dudley.

"He has been by my side since then," Nerney said.

Although Dudley loves the attention visitors lavish on him when he's at home, he is best left alone when he is wearing the harness.

According to The Seeing Eye, any petting or talking by a stranger can be an unexpected intrusion and can even be dangerous because it distracts both the dog and its owner.

Nerney said Dudley keeps her safe.

"He is such a good worker," she said. "I am so pleased with him. Of all the dogs I've had, he is by far the best."

She is certain that the two of them will easily navigate today's route, and she's been signing up sponsors and soliciting donations in preparation for the event.

"I feel confident walking with him in the Crop Walk," Nerney said. "It should be a piece of cake."

A fourth of the money raised at the Crop Walk - which stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty - will go to the six area Food 'n' Friends soup kitchens sponsored by the Attleboro Area Council of Churches, while the rest goes to Church World Services to fund programs around the world.

GLORIA LaBOUNTY can be reached at 508-236-0333 or at glabounty@thesunchronicle.com.