International Guide Dog Day: Handlers share their stories

For International Guide Dog Day 2021, Dog O’Day looks at how guide dogs enrich the lives of those they work with, as some recent graduates from Guiding Eyes for the Blind share their stories with us.

A trio of very recent graduates (from March-April 2021) from Guiding Eyes agrees that their guide dogs enrich their lives tremendously, which has been the case for thousands of students since the late 1950s.

Since teaming with the yellow Lab Sloan, Walle has seen her self-esteem and confidence skyrocket, because “I’m able to feel safe and secure in my decisions and the ability to go outside my door and know it’s going to be OK. I know he’s always there taking care of me.”

She is able to let her guard down now, which she states that made a colossal difference in her life, to the point where she described it as “100 percent better.”

Deborah, who works with Ames the black Lab, is thankful for how her horizons have broadened as well.

“Ames has enabled me to get out more, and with confidence, to many different places now. He’s also given me someone new to love and he just makes me happy!” she explained in a quick note.

One of the specialty areas that Guiding Eyes focuses on, in addition to the basic guide dog training, is that some canines become trained as running companions, as is the case with Daniel and his yellow Lab Ursa, a pair of adventurers who reside in the Pacific Northwest.

“I love the fact that Ursa is a running guide dog. One of our next endurance challenges is a 93 mile run around Mount Rainier, so I’m spending a lot of time training. She opens up opportunities, because whereas before I used to spend time lining up people to go for a run, now I can run with Ursa. It’s so liberating and brings a lot of joy and a sense of freedom,” Daniel explains.

And while the pair probably won’t be crashing high school relay events like a stray dog in Utah recently did, commuting has become a far less stressful experience for Daniel, now that he has Ursa’s calming presence providing assistance.

“I’ve mapped out a route to my office – about 6 miles through a bicycle trail. There’s also a 2.6 mile route, all on city sidewalks, that I’ve never been able to do by myself; it was unnerving with the cane, but Ursa and I have done it and it is so liberating. I can just go to the office whenever I want.”

For more information about how you can help a guide dog organization in your area, see their websites (linked at the front page of this story) or social media pages for more details.

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