4-1 Research & Inquiry

Hallie Wells: Our mission at the Guide Dog Foundation is to help people live without boundaries.

Kelly Snyder: So when my trainer brought Michael, I I was just overwhelmed with happiness. Just I can't explain, it's just a fantastic thing. I'm not gonna cry, I swear. Yeah.

Hallie Wells: During that time with the bridging program, the volunteers and the staff members are going to be exposing the puppy to a variety of different environments and situations. So today we had a ball pit out and we had a little tiny set of stairs. We also had a tunnel that was made out of flexible plastic. Everything is a fun, engaging exposure.

So we make everything fun and exciting and yeah, it's awesome! And all of a sudden something they might have been overwhelmed or scared at is something cool for them.

Rivi Israel: Our major goal for guide dog training is to get the dogs accustomed to the harness and wearing the harness even at a young age.

So the reason why we use the puppy harness is it really gets the dog acclimated at that puppy stage, so when a dog goes into a harness, it's going to actually make the dog feel that "Oh, I have a job, I'm working".

Hallie Wells: We ask our puppy raisers to socialize the dogs so they're a welcome presence. And it's really, really important because we want the dogs to have fun and we want the dogs to be exposed to everything for the first time with the puppy raiser and not when they're with their client.

Making sure that they get lots of food reward and belly rubs and kisses and petting and playtime is important.

Rivi Israel: Dogs love to learn. They're just little sponges. They want to do things and they want to have a job.

Hallie Wells: At the Guide Dog Foundation, about half of our dogs make it through the final guide dog process. We care about the dog's happiness. We want them to be enjoying the job and we find other jobs for them if that works and we have different career options. So it's our responsibility to try and find a career that this dog will enjoy.

And if they don't want to have a career and they're telling us that they would be more comfortable as a pet, that's absolutely a choice that the dog gets to make and they can be adopted by the puppy raiser or a selected adopter.

Kelly Snyder: I've been a guide dog user for 16 years and can't imagine life without one. The bond is... hmm.

The bond is indescribable. When you first pick up that harness handle, you're thinking "Really? This four-legged friend is going to make sure I go in a straight line to get to where I need to go?" And it's amazing it works.

He just built my confidence level. Um, I'm very shy, truly I am. Holding the harness is is just a fantastic thing. I the confidence level is just through the roof.

Interviewer: What was it like getting your first dog?

Kelly Snyder: Man, you made me cry. Man, come on.

I wasn't sure, I was scared. I had just graduated high school and I flew out to Long Island all by myself and was just young. So when my trainer brought Michael, I I was just overwhelmed with happiness.

I was scared to death with my first dog. And when we got back um to the starting point, I probably ugly cried for five minutes because I knew that that dog would not put me in harm's way.

All my dogs have been great and I truly appreciate what this organization does.