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Lessons Learned From a Puppy

By Debbie Sanders.

My 5th grade daughter is raising a puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind.  Zoria has been living with us for about a year and has taken up residence in our hearts.  Since being involved with this organization, I have come to see visually impaired people in a whole new light.

Hoping to see what we could expect from our efforts, we attended a graduation ceremony at the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus before we agreed to raise Zoria.  It opened my eyes not only to the puppy raising program, but to my perception of blind people as well.  I was characterizing the recipient of a guide dog as “blind.”  These graduates were so much more than that.  They were forest service workers, musicians, college students, fathers, grandmothers and many other things.  In addition, they happened to be visually impaired.  This guide dog was going to help them navigate through the world they lived in – not be their lasting impact on the world.

Business is a lot like this.  Sometimes we need a “guide dog” to help us navigate through a narrow area of our business.  We may be experts in business, but that one area of “blindness” or “near-sightedness” is holding us back.  Find yourself a trained guide dog and open up the opportunities around you.  

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4 Comments on “Lessons Learned From a Puppy”

  1. evenanerd says:

    Those are two adorable subjects in your photo. What a wonderful project for your daughter and your family. It’s amazing how much we ourselves learn when we set out to teach or help others.

    Thank you for sharing this!

    Geni

  2. Shannon G says:

    My mother-in-law was googling the name “Zoria” to see what it meant, and she came upon your blog. The reason she was googling the name is that my 18-year-old daughter, Katie, is currently attending training at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California. Yesterday was match day, and Katie was matched with a beautiful little female black lab named, you guessed it, Zoria. I believe that your Zoria is Katie’s new Guide Dog! Katie and Zoria are bonding already, and Katie tells us that yesterday, while they were out doing training on public transportation, Zoria fell asleep with her head on Katie’s shoulder!

    Just wanted to share this with you, and tell you that while you must all miss Zoria so very much, you should know that (if this is your Zoria) she is going to a very good home with a very wonderful young lady. Katie is in her freshman year in college (she just got straight A’s her first semester ;-) , and has hopes of earning a dual Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and PhD in Animal Behavior and Neurosciences, with a minor in Animal Genetics. It’s early days though, as they say, so who knows? That plan could evolve and change as she continues her studies.

    By the way, if you didn’t already know it, the name Zoria means Star, which is perfectly appropriate for Katie as she is a huge fan of the Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis television series. Also, I am sure that Zoria will become the new star in Katie’s life!

    My husband and I are attending the graduation on January 22, and we hope that you will be there as well. I know that Katie is really hoping to meet Zoria’s puppy raisers that day as well. It would be a pleasure and an honor to meet you and your daughter. Also, you should know that we have family in Danville, San Jose, Lincoln Hills and Tracey, CA (I was raised in San Jose), so we are out there on a pretty regular basis. Katie also hopes to go to either UCDavis or Cornell for her graduate degrees. So, in any case, if her Zoria is, indeed, your Zoria, I am sure that there will be future opportunities for your daughter to keep in touch with and see the wonderful dog she spent so much time, love and energy on.

    Hoping that your little Zoria is now Katie’s Zoria, and that we will get to meet you and your daughter soon.

    Best Regards,

    Shannon G

  3. Debbie Sanders says:

    I was thrilled to see your blog posting – you have indeed found the right Zoria! Our family recently found out that the guide dog puppy we raised, the same one pictured on this blog posting, had been matched and was in a class that will be graduating on January 22. I can only assume that we are talking about the same adorable dog.

    Thank you for the introduction to your daughter Katie. We, too, are looking forward to meeting her and the rest of Zoria’s new family. We wouldn’t miss it for the world! We enjoyed raising Zoria from a small puppy, seeing her grow and mature, and cried buckets of tears the day we returned her to the Guide Dogs for the Blind kennels for training. Our consolation was that one day she would be helping someone have a better and brighter future.

    We have since embarked on a new journey – his name is Shep and he is a beautiful male black lab. He is currently 9 months old and a complete joy. Hearing about Katie makes us that much more excited to train Shep every day.

    Thanks for making my day! We look forward to meeting you on January 22!

    Debbie

  4. Marsha L. says:

    My name is Marsha and I am a neighbor living close to Zoria when she was here. She is the most beautiful animal! What personality! She is just amazing. It was sad to know that she would not be able to stay here, but knowing the work she is destined to do makes her all the more wonderful. From her early beginnings with the Sanders family to her advanced training in San Rafael . . . Katie, I know that Zoria will be the most wonderful companion. Congratulations and best wishes to you both!

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