Graduate Team: Terry and Army
About the Team: Army, a male yellow Lab; Terry’s 2nd Guiding Eyes dog
Location: Willoughby, Ohio
Training: August 2025 On-Campus
Terry and his guide dog, Army, live in Willoughby, Ohio, where Terry has retired from a government career. In his free time, Terry enjoys making music, playing the piano, and hiking in local parks. He also loves spending time with his daughter and granddaughters, who live nearby and already adore Army. Terry is looking forward to taking Army on a beach vacation to the North Carolina coast this fall! He enjoys sharing his music with others and plays piano for residents in assisted living facilities, where Army is sure to be a welcome visitor.
How would you describe your guide dog? “When Army is in his comfort zone, he is so fast! He’s a fun and fast dog. Comfortably fast; I think he’s definitely in the range of my match speed. He loves the oversized tennis balls that Kong makes. He’s a big fetch boy! You can also still see the puppy in him. It’s so cute. He sleeps at the foot of my bed, and he does love to snuggle. Army is doing really well.”
What made you decide to apply for a guide dog from Guiding Eyes? “This time it was because of Mac, my first guide dog. He was a wonderful dog, and I got wonderful support from my RGDMI (field rep) while we were working together. The whole team at Guiding Eyes was always willing to help. Whenever I needed support, someone was out to work with us. That’s what sold me on repeating with Guiding Eyes. I knew that when an issue comes up, you’re not left out there hanging. Originally, the school was recommended to me by a local Orientation &Mobility instructor.”
How has having a guide dog impacted your life? “You don’t have enough room for that answer. The independence and freedom to just, on a moment’s notice, say, ‘Let’s go for a walk!’ is unimaginable. Some parks near where I live aren’t very easy to walk with a cane. There is so much more independence and freedom that comes with a guide dog, like ease of traveling! Mac became a pro at air travel during his career; we traveled a lot together!
Were there any training highlights? “My walk in Katonah was a highlight. That walk sticks out to me because of the number of times the instructor said, ‘perfect.’ That was probably the best city we went to, as far as him nailing every up curb, down curb, and crooked curb. All the instructors were amazing! I mainly worked with Dan, and he was fantastic. Michelle worked with me, and she was fantastic as well. Dan was my primary, and he was wonderful. He even rerouted a route for me because I was complaining that Guiding Eyes had moved to a new White Plains training center, and we couldn’t get to the Iron Tomato anymore! He changed the route for us so we could!”
DOB: 8/16/2023
Litter ID: 4A323
Color/Breed: Yellow/Labrador Retriever
Gender: Male
Brood: Vanna
Stud: Gusto
Littermates: Annie, Alban, Almond, Arabelle, Anderson, Aztec, Atlas
Region: Maine
Regional Puppy Instructor: Lisa Bumbalo
Puppy Raiser: Lee Dillon
Facebook: Maine Puppy Raisers
Army was always willing to try things, even when it was challenging for him. He grew very quickly and would often trip over his own feet, while this may have slowed him down, it never stopped him. He loved to hike the woods of Maine so he could scramble over rocks, roots, and boulders, always leading the way. s was a sweet, goofy puppy who grew into a mature dog ready for a mission. ~ Lee Dillon
