Guide Dogs In Action

Just the other day I received a short blog article from Google Alerts about a person’s experience or actually eye witness of a fully trained guide dog in action.

Lucky for me I see guide dogs in action almost on a daily basis. There’s a lady who walks by our office with her guide dog daily, I’ve also seen several people at my local grocery store probably on a weekly basis. Finally, as a guide dog puppy raiser I get to see the unpolished version of a guide dog (puppy in training) daily.

I’m always amazed to see how focused guide dogs are when out in public, how they can successfully navigate their handler through obstacles, and how obedient they are with the many distractions going on around them. Of course this is the final goal for me as a puppy raiser.

The Guide Dog

Here’s a short blurb from the guide dog blog article I read the other day:

The dog led on, and we walked along the same street heading to my office. As we approached a van parked entirely on the pavement, I readied myself to warn the woman that she’d have to walk in the road, when the dog looked around, saw a car approaching from behind us, and stopped instantly. I told the woman that there was a vehicle parked in the way and that she’d have to dismount the curb; she thanked me and we walked on. The dog was very hesitant, constantly turning back and forth to check for traffic, before leading his mistress back onto the pavement once we’d passed the van.

Amazing! This is just one of the many reasons I’m proud to be a guide dog puppy raiser. I feel so honored to be a part of the process that will someday allow a blind individual to travel and move around with confidence and ease knowing that their guide dog will get them from point A to point B clear of danger.

Derby and I are working hard to prepare him for his formal guide dog training. I’m hoping in the next year and a half I’ll be sitting proudly next to Derby and his new blind companion at guide dog graduation.