Graduate Team: Tracey and Triscuit
About the Team: Triscuit, a female yellow Lab, is Tracey’s 1st guide dog
Hometown: Mechanicville, New York
Guide Dog Mobility Instructor: Kathy Rooney
March Home Training
Tracey lives just north of Albany, NY with her husband and two kids, along with their cat Jack and her guide dog Triscuit. Tracey is retired from a career in Human Resources where she worked as a rewards director and managed compensation for publishing company, John Wiley & Sons. In her free time, she enjoys walking, exercising, and keeping an herb garden during the summer months. She hopes to get back into cooking and reading soon and looks forward to getting back into light running, now that she has Triscuit.
How would you describe your guide dog? “Triscuit loves to work and loves her walks. She loves to play too and can turn off her work mode quickly out of harness. If we’re not doing anything, then she’ll just pass out on her bed. Triscuit is super friendly; she loves to give kisses and isn’t afraid if she meets someone new. She’s easy to travel with because her smaller size fits in crates and in the wheel well of cars. I just love her.”
What made you decide to apply for a guide dog from Guiding Eyes? “I like walking and it is especially one of the reasons I wanted to get a guide dog. I started doing some research and other schools came up first, but I came across an article about a running guide dog and got familiar with Guiding Eyes right off the bat. I’d been told I wouldn’t be a good candidate for a guide dog, but thought I’d still look into it. I had a refresher training with an O&M trainer who had experience with guide dogs and Guiding Eyes, and we spent time together working on my application and talking about what to expect. I did my home visit with Kathy, my trainer, and she told me I could be a good fit for a guide dog. When I travelled, my husband would have to help me navigate around unusual places and I wanted to be more independent. I’ve just been so pleased with Guiding Eyes and the whole process. With COVID it’s been so hard for everyone, and Guiding Eyes kept up with updates and would check in periodically. I just thought that was really great.”
How has having a guide dog impacted your life? “I definitely have more confidence when walking faster on certain routes or just feeling safer. I probably pushed the limits of what I should have been doing alone. I’m super independent so I know my neighborhood, but I also recognize that at times maybe it wasn’t the safest thing. I got to the point I wasn’t feeling safe running anymore. We’ve done a few runs in the good weather and I feel like now I have some running goals. I’m looking forward to picking that up again and doing it more confidently.”
Were there any training highlights? “We were doing a training in Home Depot, working on the basics, and they had a bunch of big orange carts in the aisle. We were doing ‘forward’, and Triscuit hopped onto one. She didn’t pull or anything, but she was so happy to be on that pedestal! Triscuit is such a rule follower and was just so proud of herself. My instructor Kathy really emphasizes safety and the rules, but we couldn’t help but laugh before addressing it and moving on. Another time, in the mall, we were just sitting and Triscuit perked up and we realized there was a water structure. It turns out, her raiser has a pool and Triscuit loved jumping in it. Also, when she spent a few weeks with Kathy she got to splash in a pond on walks. We think she would have liked to swim in the water fountain!”
Triscuit was an amazingly easy puppy, a quick learner and very treat motivated! Triscuit was amazing with the kittens I fostered during starting her she would make sure they weren’t playing too rough with each other and be very gentle with them. I enjoyed taking Triscuit on hikes- she was a loose leash walker since she was a pup. even though I only had Triscuit I knew she was going to succeed. I’m so proud of her! Thank you to the amazing team at Guiding Eyes for the Blind for giving us this opportunity to help change 2 lives- the graduate’s and Triscuit’s! May their teamwork help them conquer the world everyday!
Kelly Ream and Clayton Ream, Puppy Raisers of Triscuit
Guiding Eyes for the Blind is approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (C) (3) tax-exempt organization, and all donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind Federal Identification Number (EIN) is 13-1854606.
© 2023 GUIDING EYES FOR THE BLIND PRIVACY POLICY | ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT
