Graduate Team: Alan & Forbes
About the team: Forbes, a male black lab, is Alan’s first Guiding Eyes guide dog
Location: Davie, Florida
Training: August 2024 On-Campus
Alan has been retired for 20 years after a long career working in sales & marketing for consumer products and medical and pharmaceutical systems. He has two grown daughters that live in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Alan enjoys going to the Jewish Community Center five days a week, visiting the gym regularly, and attending senior luncheons. He and Forbes are also regulars at Temple, where Forbes is said to have excellent etiquette, even standing up when everyone else stands up during services. They also enjoy visiting their friend, Lois, where Forbes gets to play with her dog and two of her four cats.
How would you describe your guide dog? “Forbes is food-oriented and very friendly. He sleeps in a crate next to my bed. All I have to do is say ‘crate’ and he walks right in. He’s such a good boy! He likes anything and everything when it comes to toys. I got a couple of indestructible toys from Chewy, like Kongs and such. They usually last for about a day and a half! He also loves to cuddle with me. My friend Lois was in the recliner portion of the sofa and encouraged him to snuggle up. She couldn’t get him off! He’s maybe 70-75 lbs and all muscle.”
What made you decide to apply for a guide dog from Guiding Eyes? “I had been speaking somewhat with another guide dog organization, that’s closer to me. I mentioned this to one of my ophthalmologists and that I was looking into getting a guide dog. He said the only guide dog school he would recommend is Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown!”
How has having a guide dog impacted your life? “I live in a condo apartment building with 40 units and before Forbes, I knew maybe 2 or 3 of the people in the building. Now everyone addresses Forbes by name. I’m meeting all these people because of Forbes! There is even a limit on pets in the building here. You’re only able to have one pet with a maximum of 20 lbs. These little dogs are straining to get to him and he just looks at them like, ‘Seriously?’ Some of them do not understand the difference in size.”
Were there any training highlights? “The dining was ungodly good, and I had to convince myself not to eat everything in sight! It was better than I could have possibly imagined! Institutional food is usually bland at best, but this was really good! Also, the training was intensive but very rewarding and very satisfying. We went to White Plains for training, but even just our training at the school was pretty intense!”
DOB: 6/1/2022
Litter ID: 9FF22
Color/Breed: Black/Labrador Retriever
Gender: Male
Brood: Capri
Stud: Kisco
Littermates: Fargo, Frazier, Frito, Frisco, Frank, Fiesta, Freedom, Finney, Figi
Region: Cleveland East
Regional Puppy Instructor: Macy Nauman
Puppy Raiser: Dr. Betty Haberkamp
Facebook: Ohio Puppy Raisers
Two years ago Forbes was my first puppy as a raiser so I was filled with some anxiety, but mostly excitement to meet him. He arrived in Cleveland East along with his sister and brother! All I asked of our regional puppy instructor was for a good dog: Macy over delivered, I could not have asked for a better puppy! From day one he was a loving, mellow puppy who was eager to learn, anxious to please, happy to play and to snuggle. We had 3 sibs at Cleveland East from the FF troop (as I called them) so class was always fun and we ALL learned so much. Forbes was a quick learner, and remained a mellow soul as he grew. There seemed nothing he couldn’t or would not do for us: who would have thought I could get a 3 month old puppy to enthusiastically run over and sit in my lap for some eye drops when needed! With his ever expanding world of hosting sits, trips to the library, grocery store, farms and restaurants Forbes treated every opportunity as a learning experience: he was a fearless learner. I am so proud that both Forbes and his brother Frank have both made it as guide dogs. Anyone who has raised guide dogs knows it is a bit heartbreaking when time comes for IFT, however his graduation and meeting his forever match is the reward! I know he has endless love and care to give, and hope you experience all the joy he has already provided us in even the short time we were lucky enough to have him! You are both bound for great things. ~Tom and Betty Haberkamp