Linda and Asante

Meet Graduate Linda

Graduate Team: Linda and Asante
About the Team: Asante, a female yellow Lab; Linda’s 2^nd Guiding Eyes dog
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Training: April 2025 On-Campus

Linda, a lifelong resident of Minnesota, resides in St. Paul with her husband of 47 years, Jim. They have two adult sons. A Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate from Minneapolis College of Art and Design, her diagnosis of Retinitis Pigmentosa ended a 40+ year career as a costumer for the stage, specializing in costumes for licensed character productions like ‘Sesame Street Live’, which toured throughout the world. Her training had included working directly with designers for Children’s Theater Company of Minneapolis. Despite her vision loss, Linda continues to achieve amazing success in the arts. She is a tactile artist, creating art designed to be enjoyed and appreciated through the sense of touch. Linda attended classes offered by Vision Loss Resources (VLR) to learn how to manage her vision loss, gaining specific mobility and adaptive skills while also receiving support from vision loss groups. Her mission is to help those with blindness experience art through touch and storytelling. Working with Minnesota’s State Service for the Blind, she has developed a business plan for sharing her art, leading workshops, support groups, and offering educational classes. Her early efforts focused on creating tactile art and explaining vision loss to children, and she has since expanded to people of all ages. Linda continues to love and enjoy live theater. Linda suggests visiting TactileArtworks.com to learn more about this art form.

How would you describe your guide dog? “Asante is my second guide dog from Guiding Eyes. She is very quiet, fun, loving, well-behaved, happy, well-trained, and loyal. Her transition to her work is going smoothly. I had requested a smaller dog so that she could be easily accommodated near accessible seating in theaters, which has worked out well. Asante has also adjusted well to her Mutt Muffs headphones, worn during shows we’ve attended.”

What made you decide to apply for a guide dog from Guiding Eyes? “I received a list of twelve accredited programs from Minneapolis’s Adjustment to Blindness Training Program. I got the list down to my top three choices, and my final selection was Guiding Eyes, based largely on the fact that I live in cold, snowy Minnesota, and it seemed better to consider the climate where the guide dog was trained. Secondly, as per the inspirational lyrics of Frank Sinatra’s song, ‘New York, New York’, if I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere. Guiding Eyes became the clear choice to pursue. My first experience with Guiding Eyes trainers was exceptional, so I returned for my successor guide dog.”

How has having a guide dog impacted your life? “My guide dogs have been phenomenal in multiple ways. When Asante guides me, I feel like I float magically and gracefully around objects versus using a tapping cane. She gives me the confidence to take on each day. I also feel a guide dog makes people more socially comfortable.”

Were there any training highlights?  “I referred to training with my first guide dog as guide dog boot camp. I noticed many changes this time around, from 2017 to 2025, including a more relaxed wake-up call and start of each training day. There was a beautiful gentleness in the air.  I loved how they talked about the psychology of the dog. My trainer, Dan, kept me laughing, and it felt good when he would say, ‘Perfect, don’t change a thing.’ I enjoyed evening activities, including trivia and music nights, but missed yoga class because I was too tired.”

Meet Guide Dog Asante

DOB:  1/1/2023
Litter ID: 5A23
Color/Breed:  Yellow/Labrador
Gender: Female
Brood: Dana
Stud: Midnight
Littermates: Abraham, Ashley, Argyle, Abu, Ambrie, Andre, Amiga, Amie
Region:  Remote
Regional Puppy Instructor: Leslie Stephens
Puppy Raiser:  Madeline Guerrier & Rebecca Fitzmaurice

Special Recognition:  Asante was special named by a donor who prefers to remain anonymous. ‘Asante’ is ’thank you’ in Swahili, the language throughout East Africa where the donor has happily established many HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

From the Puppy Raiser…

Asante is the prettiest, goofiest, silliest girl in the world. She lights up every room she enters, with her big eyes and bright white fur. Raising her was challenging at times; she was a very stubborn puppy that loved to make her opinions known. Despite that, she matured into a level headed, consistent girl that is going to make a wonderful guide for her handler. Congrats to the new team!  ~ Maddie Guerrier and Rebecca Fitzmaurice 

Photos of the Team…