Congrats, grads! Class 252
Pictured from left to right: Trainer Kayla Cook, Vicki Smith with guide dog Gibson, Trainer Caitlin O’Brien, Terry Hemsworth with guide dog John, Michael Ritzie with guide dog Flo, Sherry George with guide dog Huntly, Trainer Jessica Stollger, Sandra Matthews with guide dog BJ, Trainer Carl Magers, Helen Arnold with guide dog Nell, Robert “Whitey” Adams with guide dog Hap, Trainer Marisa Gerlach
Class #252 was a diverse group of strangers who left last week as friends. Here’s a tidbit about each one:
- Whitey has attended the Masters for 61 straight years, and this year he’ll make his way through the crowds with the help of Hap, his first guide dog.
- Mike can’t wait to get fit again by being able to take more walks, and his first guide dog, Flo, is ready for the adventure.
- Sherry can head out the door to her community fitness center without waiting for her husband, all because of her first guide dog, Huntley. Her eyes get misty and she says, “It’s a miracle!”
- Vicki requested a “dream dog” with five specific traits, and now she has Gibson, her seventh guide. “Gibson is everything I asked for!” she says.
- Terry, a Florida/Canadian snowbird, just got a boost of confidence when he got his first guide dog, John.
- Sandy was terrified the first time she tried a “blindfold walk” during a campus event. Now with her first guide, B.J., by her side, she smiles, “I’m going to get out of the house more!”
- Helen is full of emotion after retiring her beloved dog Troy, her eighth guide dog. But sweet and smart Nell, guide number nine, cheers her up every day.
