I often joke you know how old you are as a blind person by how many guide dogs you’ve had. Well, I’m at number 5, and to celebrate International Guide Dog Day I want to share some memories of each of them.
All 5 dogs of my guide dogs have been German Shepherds from the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation. Fidelco is a Latin derivative of ‘faith’ — and each of my dogs has lived up to their namesake, serving me faithfully since I was a teenager.
At 16, when Wizard came to me, I was Fidelco’s youngest ever recipient of a guide dog. Wizard was my loyal sidekick throughout high school and college. He nailed all the necessary routes to the dining hall, my dorm, classes, and somehow always managed to navigate me safely home from a few college parties.
Seigo was the linebacker of guide dogs. He was nearly 100lbs and had this Goliath-sized head. I had Seigo during the years I trained for Everest and I like to believe that a touch of his incredible strength rubbed off on me at just the right time.
Willa was sweet and kind of quirky. She always made me laugh. She loved to steal laundry from the hamper and pile it in the living room! Unfortunately, Willa died too young from cancer.
Then there was Uri. Actually named after the University of Rhode Island, I preferred to call him (Y)uri — like Yuri Gagarin — the Soviet cosmonaut and first human to journey into space. Uri was intelligent and sensitive. One of my favorite memories of Uri was learning to run together over North Table Mountain, just the two of us freely exploring the world as one. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggtJydten9I.
Zena keeps me company now and is one of the most affectionate and cuddly dogs I’ve ever had. When I got her 18 months ago, we worked with DoggyU and (who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?) I really learned how much my guide dog’s success depends on breaking behavior into linear, positive reinforcement-based pieces. Zena excelled with her training and has been critical to my independence during this pandemic.
Happy International Guide Dog Day! Here’s to all the good boys and girls out there!
