Guiding Eyes for the Blind - Guide Dogs for People with Vision Loss

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This week's Transformation Tuesday features Icarus

This week's Transformation Tuesday features Icarus, a sweet yellow lab. In April, the happy pup completed home training with his handler, Kate. Icarus is Kate's 2nd guide dog from our Specialized Training Program, developed to empower people with vision loss who have additional challenges.
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While training, Icarus impressed Kate with how quickly he caught on to navigating her neighborhood. “I have walking routes around the neighborhood and the second time we returned, he automatically knew where my house was and which driveway was mine. It blew my mind!"
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Kate also highlights how much she enjoyed her time with Andrea Martine, Specialized Training GDMI. "My instructor, Andrea, was wonderful to me. She was very patient and taught me a lot of new things as well as some refreshers, like leash cues and keeping my arm relaxed. She even helped us with the integration of Icarus into a household with two other dogs. We greatly appreciated all her help."
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Icarus was raised by the Yang Family in our @guidingeyes_dominion Region. They sent us this note about their time with Icarus:
"If I had to sum up your journey, I would say 'perseverance'! You were quite the pup, keeping us on our toes. Having three young kids at home we 'persevered' a ton on ignoring stuffed animals and socks and learning good house manners. Perseverance in helping you through your fears of hand dryers and metro gates and all the challenges we have faced together. You paraded through IFT like a champ and persevered through specialized guide training throughout a pandemic. You made it 'Icky', and we are so proud of you and overjoyed!"
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Click the link in our bio to read more.
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Picture Description:
[1] Icarus, a yellow lab, is pictured as an adorable puppy sitting in the grass.
📷: @JosephGruber / @BlueMarblePhotography
[2] Icarus poses for a portrait with Kate in front of a lake at a local park. As Kate smiles, Icarus reaches his head up to give her a kiss.
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#InternationalAssistanceDogWeek #GuidingEyes #AssistanceDogWeek #FromPuppyToGuideDog #DogWithAJob #PupWithAPurpose #GuideDogsOfInstagram #CharityTuesday #AssistanceDogWeek2021 #InternationalAssistanceDogWeek2021

“The real test of friendship is can you literall

“The real test of friendship is can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple?” – Eugene Kennedy
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Today is a celebration of fur-ends 🐾 ❤️ #InternationalDayOfFriendship
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Picture Description: Yellow lab puppy Reagan cuddles up to her housemate and fellow pup on program, an adult yellow lab named Jane. The two are fast asleep on the wood floor in the kitchen.
Photo Credit: @geb_jane & @geb_reagan
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#DogFriendsAreTheBestFriends #DogFriendship #Furend #TogetherIsBetter #GuidingEyes #DogSnuggles #FriendshipIsTheBestShip #DogFriends #PuppyRaiser #FutureGuideDogs #DogsFriends #Furends #DoggyFriends #DogsAreFamily #DogBestFriends #PuppySnuggles #DogBuddies #AdorableDogsOfInstagram #SnugglePup #DogsOfIthaca #InternationalDayOfFriendship2021

Join the Wag-A-Thon this September 🦮👟. This

Join the Wag-A-Thon this September 🦮👟. This September, our Wag-A-Thon is back and better than ever! The Guiding Eyes Wag-A-Thon is a cumulative marathon that you and your dog can do anywhere, at your own pace throughout the month of September. The goal is to hit 26.2 miles by September 30 – all while raising critical funds to support Guiding Eyes for the Blind’s mission to provide guide dogs to people with vision loss. No matter what distance you decide to go, it’s an opportunity for people and dogs alike to stay active and make a PAWsitive impact.
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Click the link in our bio to learn more and register.
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#Wagathon #DogWalkies #Wagathon2021 #WagMoreBarkLess #Pawsitive #LifeIsBetterWithDogs #HappyDogHappyLife #WalkingWithDogs #GuidingEyesForTheBlind #Walkies #WalkingTheDog #OhMyDogs #Wagathon21

Meet this week's Transformation Tuesday pup: Nona

Meet this week's Transformation Tuesday pup: Nona is a beautiful female black lab described as "the 'sports model' of guides" and "both attentive and energetic" by her handler, Lisa.
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Lisa returned to Guiding Eyes to train with her second guide dog in May. While it was a bit different this time around, Lisa once again enjoyed the experience: "Like everything, the training program was not immune to the impact of the pandemic. Guiding Eyes did a great job of adapting the training to Covid protocols and delivered a quality training experience. The class size was 1/3 the normal class size, (my class had only 4 students), and the training took place over 10 days versus 3 weeks, but what did not change was the quality of the training! Caryn was my instructor again this time, providing both a high standard & consistency. Just as I had in 2011, I observed and was so impressed by how well each student and dog are perfectly matched."
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Nona started out her journey in Ohio with her volunteer raisers. She first started with Danielle Slover in our Cleveland East Region, and then finished out her time in puppy program with Haley Cloyd in our Columbus Region. Haley sent us a wonderful note about her time with Nona: "Nona was truly the greatest gift I have ever received. I miss my little peanut every day, but then I think about how excited that sassy girl will be to get up and learn every day for the rest of her life and it’s worth it. I truly cannot wait to see what she does as a guide – she embodies 'born for it.' Nona never stopped learning for a second. [...] She is the smartest dog I’ve ever met (for better or worse!), but also one of the kindest & most loyal. She changed my life and now I can’t wait to watch her change somebody else’s world."
Click the link in our bio to read more about Lisa and Nona
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Picture Description:
[1] Nona, an adorable black lab pup, sits in a patch of purple flowers.
📷: @geb_nona_heg
[2] Lisa smiles for a photo while sitting on the nature path bench. Nona sits in harness on the bench beside her.
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#RaiseAPuppyChangeALife #DogsAndFlowers #PuppyWithAPurpose #TalesOfAPuppy #GuidingEyes #PupWithAPurpose #PrettyPuppy #FlowersAndDogs

Look out world, here comes SCOUT! This adorable pu

Look out world, here comes SCOUT! This adorable puppy is named and sponsored by our friends at Cerberus Capital Management (@cerberus_capital_management). They will follow along with Scout on his journey as he grows and learns what it takes to become a working guide dog.
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Learn more about the Corporate Puppy Project by clicking the link in our bio.
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Picture Description: Scout, a yellow Labrador retriever puppy, sits on the whelping kennel aisle floor and looks up at the camera with a curious expression while wearing a tiny puppy harness. Scout places one paw on the staff member's leg who sits on the floor beside him.
Photo Credit: Melissa Luthi
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#CerberusCapital #CerberusCapitalManagement #PuppyTime #GuidingEyesForTheBlind #CorporatePuppyProject #FutureGuideDog #DogsOfNewYork #GuideDogPup #PuppiesOfInstaWorld #DogsOfNY #PlanetOfPuppies #PawfectPuppy #PuppyFriday #PupPup #LabradorableLove #YellowLabsOfInstagram

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