Fall 2020

It really started in fall of 2020 when I met over zoom @shelbi_nichole for a college of education meeting. During this meeting, I casually said “oh yeah, I have low vision also.” Her proceeding question was “how do you navigate campus?” I naïvely said, “just with my cane.” I was not expecting her response, which was “why, how, no. Have you thought of getting a guide dog?” I was more expecting the answer of “oh, ok” when answering her question of have I ever thought about getting a guide dog, I responded “it’s not for me.” You see, I applied for a dog early in my vision loss journey, but it didn’t go well, as a result of my additional mobility needs, so I never thought it would be possible. During this meeting, she explained that there was a guide dog school in New York that offered this thing I had never heard of called specialized training for people like me, who have additional disabilities. When this was first mentioned, I thought it could be possible, but I was still extremely on the fence.

What I did not realize during that initial call was that @shelbi_nichole had just graduated with her first guide dog in February 2020, so she understood firsthand how life changing having a guide dog is and how this particular school adapts to each individual student’s needs.