Guide Dogs: Life Support for Our Brothers and Sisters

If you haven't already, please take this moment to reflect on the incredible bond between human and dog. Particularly service dogs, such as seeing eye dogs.

Our fellow human, whoever may be in need of a service dog such as someone who is blind, puts their lives in the adorable furry paws of these good boys (and girls). These dogs are their eyes, helping them to navigate the world, all the while keeping them safe from harm (e.g., from oncoming traffic).

I've learned a lot about guide dogs, namely thanks to Molly Burke's videos (linked below!) where I get a real insight into how life might be like with a guide dog.

In case you are new to guide dogs, it is most important to note that when a guide dog is "working," you should not pet it or otherwise interact with it (in any way really). While it is adorable and fuzzy, you have to trust that its human gives it all the love in the world. When a guide dog is working, it needs to focus on helping its human, which means keeping its focus 100% on them. If it gets distracted by you petting it on the subway, it might get into the habit and become distracted at a street corner, for example, which would be critical. Humans of guide dogs are trained to care for their furry companions. They also know about giving their dogs time to unwind and play ball.

Here, I've chosen to illustrate the Burmese mountain dog because this breed is known as the best to train to become guide dogs.

I welcome you to check out Molly Burke's YouTube playlist with videos about her guide dog experiences to learn more about this topic from a real expert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-XSbyDllWo&list=PL_Xm8PicNxr2gpqT5PRJoZV5XhKTFkoxU

*Reuploaded in a higher resolution