Graduate Team: Abigail and Annie
About the Team: Annie, a female yellow Lab; Abby’s 1st guide dog
Location: Concord, New Hampshire
Training: September 2025 On-Campus
Abby attends New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, where she is pursuing a triple major in psychology, criminal justice, and history. Abby and her guide dog, Annie, live in a dorm apartment on campus. Abby is a member of several campus clubs, such as the history club and the Ravens and Writing Desk Club, a creative writing club. When not busy with clubs or her studies, she enjoys sourdough baking with a starter she affectionately named Dot Junior, based on a time-honored tradition. Her best friend’s grandmother, Dot, shared her own starter, named Jenny Junior, after the friend who shared it with her. Abby also enjoys watching anime, but over the winter, her life mainly becomes all about ski racing, which she doesn’t consider a hobby, but more of a lifestyle. Abby is training to make it to the Paralympics this year, so she anticipates spending a lot of time in the mountains with Annie! She enjoys playing and spending time with her. When not at college, Abby calls Concord, New Hampshire home and lives with her dad, brother, and their two cats: Allie and Ruffles. Less than a mile down the road, she often spends time at her aunt’s home, which she shares with two golden retrievers, Mango & MacGyver.
How would you describe your guide dog? “I would describe her as amazing, and I love her! She’s my favorite person in the whole world. When she’s working, she’s serious and she’s fully like ‘I’m on and paying attention. I will keep you safe.’ When you take the harness off, she’ll attack you with love! She’s cuckoo bananas, for sure. She is a very loving puppy. Definitely the cutest ever. My family members keep buying her toys, so she has too many that I don’t know what to do with. She really likes stuffed animals, and once I learned I could trust her with soft things, I gave her a squishmallow, and she uses it as a pillow every night.”
What made you decide to apply for a guide dog from Guiding Eyes? “I decided I wanted a guide dog when I was a lot younger, but didn’t apply for one until I thought I was mature enough to handle a living being. When I first got into college, I thought it was probably a good time to apply. I didn’t know where to apply, so I started asking people I knew who had guide dogs, but I fell into the hole of everyone recommending the school they came from because they loved the school that gave them their dog! My rehab counselor, Jessie, has had three dogs from Guiding Eyes. Her current dog, Elwood, is just so well-behaved and a very good guide dog. I’ve seen her travel with him, and it seemed like a good school for me to look into. I’m a big proponent of positive reinforcement, so I like the philosophy of Guiding Eyes, and the support I got immediately when I applied. The person who did my home interview, Kathy Rooney, was wonderful. I decided to apply to Guiding Eyes and nowhere else. Everyone at Guiding Eyes has been so amazing.”
How has having a guide dog impacted your life? “I find that I get to places more efficiently and faster. The partnership with a guide dog, also, is something that can’t be felt through a cane. My cane certainly never sniffed the ground when it wasn’t supposed to, but I know that there are things my cane may have missed, but Annie won’t. It’s an incredible partnership.”
Were there any training highlights? “My training highlight was my instructor, Michelle Tang. I loved her! She brought me coffee, so I didn’t die without it. I love my iced coffee! Also, a training highlight was the silly moment when Annie and I were learning to target a chair at the mall. I asked Annie to find the chair, and she got so excited that she jumped on top of the chair! When I tried to get her off the chair, she jumped on the coffee table. She and I had to learn through it, and we had a good laugh. That’s why we have training after all! The highlight was Michelle, but the funny moment was absolutely at the mall!”
DOB: 8/16/2023
Litter ID: 1A323
Color/Breed: Yellow/Labrador Retriever
Gender: Female
Brood: Vanna
Stud: Gusto
Littermates: Army, Alban, Almond, Arabelle, Anderson, Aztec, Atlas
Region: Catoctin
Regional Puppy Instructor: Jeanyne Gembarski
Puppy Raiser: Phoebe Spence
Facebook: Catoctin Puppy Raisers
Special Recognition: Annie was special named by Palma Goodman in memory of her aunt Antoinette who had retinitis pigmentosa. While Antoinette passed away in 2001, we are glad her legacy lives on through sweet Annie.
Annie was a joy – Her positive energy, enthusiasm and love were infectious. Our whole family loved helping Annie learn and grow, including our black lab, Meadow. When Annie arrived she was a tiny puppy and would run under Meadow’s legs. Annie never realized that she eventually grew bigger than Meadow and even when she was way larger and taller would still try to sneak under Meadow’s legs, lifting her up in the process and making us all laugh! We miss our big, goofy Annie and the smiles she always brought. ~ Phoebe, Molly, David and Jackson Spence
