Carla and Biscotti

Meet Graduate Carla

Graduate Team: Carla and Biscotti
About the Team: Biscotti, a female yellow lab, is Carla’s 13th guide dog (4^th Guiding Eyes)
Location: Olympia, Washington
Training: July 2024 Home Training

Carla is enjoying her retirement after 30 years as a Washington State employee in the Department of Labor and Industries, where she worked in word processing. She attended Olympia Technical College for two years, studying secretarial, business law, and medical courses. Carla loves spending time with her friends, going to Starbucks, and hanging out with her housemate. She also enjoys reading, watching movies, and listening to music. Carla is close with her sisters, who live in Vancouver, and she visits them whenever she is able.

How would you describe your guide dog? “Biscotti is calm, cool, and collected, and she loves to be cuddled. She’s a sweetheart and a perfect match for me.”

What made you decide to apply for a guide dog from Guiding Eyes? “It’ll be my 54th year as a guide dog user this year. Back then, I went to another guide dog school for my first guide. The instructor told us that this would be a new way of life with our dog. They put our canes away and I took that literally and haven’t touched a cane since. I’ve totally relied on my dogs.”

How has having a guide dog impacted your life? “I was without a dog for two and a half years waiting for Biscotti, and that was so hard on me because I was used to having a guide. I want to praise the Specialized Training program because they’re fantastic. If it weren’t for the Specialized Training program, with my balance needs now, I wouldn’t have a guide, because the other schools I applied to told me they couldn’t take me with my balance issues. Hopefully, I’ll have Biscotti for 10 years because I know in my heart that she’s probably my last dog. Fortunately, the wait was worth it because I have Biscotti.”

Were there any training highlights?  “I like that they do the Home Training with the Specialized Training program because I don’t do a lot of outdoor work anymore. Most of my work is getting from point A to B – going to stores like Costco and medical facilities, so the dog gets to walk a lot, but I don’t go outside a lot anymore. That’s where the Specialized program has benefitted me, because I probably wouldn’t have had the stamina for a regular class, and I also couldn’t do the outdoor work that’s needed. That’s why I’m so lucky they have the Home Training because the work was different from the regular class and focused on what I need.”

Meet Guide Dog Biscotti

DOB: 4/1/2020
Litter ID: 7BB20
Color/Breed: Yellow/Labrador Retriever
Gender: Female
Brood: Lace
Stud: Kisco
Littermates: Bishop, Brahms, Ballou, Bedford, Bart, Basil, Bettina, Brava, Luke
Region: NoVa South
Regional Puppy Instructor: Madeline Bruggeman
Puppy Raiser:  Sami and Roger Glaes
Facebook: NoVA South Puppy Raisers

Photos of the Team…