July 29th, 2022

It was a typical Friday in my office, and I was trying to wrap things up for the week so I could enjoy a peaceful weekend. For the past couple of weeks, though, I had been constantly refreshing my personal email. I knew an email from Guiding Eyes could arrive during my workday since they are three hours ahead of me.

At about 9:30 that morning, the email I had been waiting for finally arrived: I had been accepted to train with a guide dog through Guiding Eyes for the Blind!

Along with my acceptance, Guiding Eyes explained that 20 approved applicants with matching criteria similar to mine were also waiting for a guide dog. They typically graduated about 17 teams each year from that group, so they estimated that I would receive a training date within 12 to 14 months. I had been accepted, but there was still more waiting ahead before I would meet my guide dog.

After reading the email, I sent a message to my team in the office to share the news. Everyone was excited for this new chapter. I also messaged my director and associate director to let them know that I needed a little time to take it all in.

An email I had been looking for every day was finally sitting in my inbox. Although I did not yet know when I would attend training or which dog I would be matched with, I now knew that I had been approved to take that next step.