Meet Gloria Miller and guide dog Dougie
Gloria Miller & guide dog Dougie
Edgewater, Florida
Gloria sits with Dougie, her guide dog, at her feet.
As an ordained minister, Gloria Miller traveled the world on mission trips. But over time, retinitis pigmentosa (RP) meant a lifelong progression of vision loss and decreasing independence. The condition is hereditary and several family members share the disorder. “I’m trying to show them that there is a better way to deal with blindness,” she says. “You can’t sit in a dark room and be depressed. It’s not the end of the world that you are blind—there’s a way to live happy.”
One way that Gloria chooses to “live happy” is by getting her first guide dog, Dougie, a calm, intelligent yellow Labrador. After caring for (and saying goodbye) to her ill husband, her aging mother, and her rescue dog, Susie, Gloria was ready to regain her lost independence. “Dougie is the key to more in my life,” she says. “I’ve known since I was a child that blindness happens with RP, and I’ve been working toward this. After I lost Susie, I knew it was time to get the dog that I needed.”
Previously, Gloria felt anxiety when going out in public. “This is major,” she says. “I can get out and not be afraid!” Gloria can’t wait to show Dougie to her family, and she hopes that one day they might find freedom through guide dogs of their own.
Dougie was sponsored and named by Barbara Miller and her sons, Chip and Michael Shewbridge, in loving memory of her beloved husband, Douglas “Dougie” Miller. Barbara has since passed away, but her memory lives on through this act of generosity.
Do you know someone that could use a guide dog? Encourage them to apply today.
