Graduate Team: Kelsey and Java
About the Team: Java, a female black Lab; Kelsey’s 1st guide dog
Location: Smithfield, Utah
Training: October 2025 On-Campus
Kelsey, a junior in high school, keeps busy with many after-school activities, including regularly traveling for goalball competitions and being an active member of her high school choir. She’s a big movie buff and is always watching a new film or binge-watching the latest TV show. Kelsey has an older brother, two sisters – one older and one younger – and a corgi. She and her sisters are especially close, often joking about how people are surprised that siblings can be so nice to one another. Together, they love going on car rides, blasting music, and sharing an inside joke about running away to Idaho, which borders their state. Kelsey’s extended family, who are scattered around, attend her goalball games when they happen to live near where she’s competing. She also loves spending time with her friends and often joins them for family game nights.
How would you describe your guide dog? “She’s got personality. We share a bed now because she’s such a cuddle bug who always needs a cuddle. Java loves meeting new people and is super friendly, but she’s also mellow, so you can tell when she’s excited. She’ll light up, and her tail is always wagging and flying everywhere. When Java gets excited about food, she’s drooling everywhere. She’s goofy and will fall asleep when we’re in class and have the most vivid dreams. She’ll also make groaning noises if we’re sitting too long and she wants to move.”
What made you decide to apply for a guide dog from Guiding Eyes? “From day one, I said that I’m going to get a guide dog when I turn 16, and on my birthday, I’d apply somewhere. I already knew about Guiding Eyes through a friend who has a guide dog that I thought was such a sweetheart. I heard great things about it and thought that it was the place I wanted to go to. The minute I turned 16, I submitted my application.”
How has having a guide dog impacted your life? “One of the crazy things that I didn’t realize would happen is that I was always looking down at the ground and making sure that I didn’t trip over things. My posture has completely changed now that I have Java, and I noticed that there were things I missed since I was always looking down at the floor. It’s nice that I can experience the world now that I have Java, who will make sure I’m not going to run into a wall or door.”
Were there any training highlights? “The trainers were so nice and easy to work with. I told them that I needed to learn how to use escalators because I encounter them often in my day-to-day. On the first day, we practiced going on the escalators. At one point, I had trouble, and I was like ‘How do we do this again?’ and we practiced going both up and down. I liked that the training was personalized. Now we do escalators all the time, and it’s perfect. The food is amazing, and we had a fun group. The first few days, we were a bit shy, but by the end, we were screaming and playing Uno. It was cool to meet and hear everyone’s stories and talk when driving places. We would have conversations about music and were always joking around, having a good time.”
DOB: 10/2/2023|
Litter ID: 3J323
Color/Breed: Black/Labrador Retriever
Gender: Female
Brood: Irene
Stud: Arnie
Littermates: Joe, Jady, Joan, July, Juliet, Jan, Jetta
Region: Delmarva
Regional Puppy Instructor: Cindy Tait
Puppy Raiser: Kelsey Hauck
Facebook: Delmarva Puppy Raisers
Java is the sweetest most docile dog I have ever had she is always willing to do anything. She loved living the college life with me at the University of Delaware. I knew Java would do amazing things one day because of her willingness to learn. Java started my journey with guiding eyes for the blind and made me want to continue to raising future guide dogs. Java has pushed me to be more confident in myself and I hope she is able to do that for other people. ~ Kelsey Hauck
