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1. Finding Gabrielle
Amie’swordsfromourgraduationstill echoinmyheadoccasionallyaswe are walkingoncampus,
because theyare so true.In justfourshort months,GabrielleandIhave formedanincredible
relationship.Ourbondonlygetsstrongeras the days go by,and we conquermore milestogether.
What we have is noteasyto explain.All Icansay is,I feel honoredtohave Gabrielle.Icherishevery
day because Iknowinmy heartthat what we have isthe kindof relationshipbetweendogsand
humansthat onlycomesaroundonce or twice ina lifetime.She haschangedmylife.Andtothink,
onlysix monthsago,I didn’tevenknowher.AftermylastblogforGrowingUp Guide Pup,I decidedI
shouldintroduce myself alittle bit,andtalkabouthow exactlyGabrielle came intomylife,ormore
relevantly,howIcame intoher’s.
My name isKatie.Iam a 21 year-oldcollege studentfromArizona,studyingSpecial Educationand
ElementaryEducation.Mygoal isto become a Teacherof the VisuallyImpaired,because Iwantto
helpkidslike me.Iwasborn11 weekspremature,weighingonlytwopounds,andasa result,my
opticnerveswere underdeveloped.Iwasalsoborn witha rare geneticconditioncalledAlbinism,
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meaningIhave no pigmentinmy hair,skin,andeyes,alsoaffectingmyvision.Ihave some usable
vision,whichvariesdependingonlightingconditions.Inbestpossible conditions,Icansee colors,
shapes,anda tinyamountof detail if Ilookverycloselyatsomething.However,myfieldof visionis
verylimited,andcanbe comparedto lookingthroughastraw.Other times,Ican onlysee white,and
if I’m lucky,some shadowsandmovement.EventhoughIhave a small amountof usable vision,I

2. generallyprefertorelyonmy othersenses,asmyeyesfatigue quickly,myextreme lightsensitivity
causesheadaches,andmyvisionisusuallyprettyunreliable tobeginwith.
I had beenusinga cane since I was14 yearsold,andI lovedit!But,in highschool,Ibeganreally
consideringthe ideaof applyingforaguide dog.I had horrible anxietyincrowds,mainlydue tothe
fearof runningintopeople,gettinghurt,ornotbeingable tofindmyway out.With college
approaching,Imade the decisionthataguide dogwouldbe beneficial tome whenIwasa seniorin
highschool.However,due tovariouscircumstances,Iwasunable toapply.Butthe thoughtand
hope neverescapedmymind.Idreamedof the daywhere I wouldbe able towalkconfidentlywitha
guide dog,givingcommands,andfeeling the pull of the harness.Myfreshmanyearincollege was
bittersweet.Ienjoyedthe independence Ihadwithgoodmobilityskillsandmycane,andmanaged
to getwhere I neededtogo.But I still feltlike somethingwasmissing.NavigatingUniversitycrowds
was exhausting,andmyanxietymade walkingoncampusa constantstruggle.
In the beginningof mysophomore year,withsupportandencouragementfromfriends,Idecidedto
applyfora guide dog.Fromthat momenton,all of my spare thoughtscenteredaroundmyfuture
guide dog.I became ratherobsessed,actually.Because Ihadnopreference onbreedorsex,
everythingwasupinthe air.I daydreamedaboutwhatmy dog’sname wouldbe,whatcolorit would
be,howbig itwouldbe,or if itwouldbe a boy or a girl.I imaginedthousandsof names,and
scenarios.Ithoughtaboutwhat myfuture guide dogwas doingat anyparticularmoment.
September—‘Ibetthe puppyisalmostfull grown.’November—‘Puppycouldbe ayearoldtoday.’
January—‘Puppyisstill withthe puppyraisers…’Iwasconsumedbymyexcitement.The simple
thoughtthat there wasa dog out there,whowasborn,and training,andjustwaitingtobe matched
withme was magical.Thatdog was alreadymyeverything,andIhadn’tevenmetheryet!
In January,I receivedaphone call thatwouldchange mylife forever.Itwasthe admissions
departmentfromGuide Dogsforthe Blind,tellingme thattheyhadacceptedmyapplication,and
had assignedme aclass date!I wasoverthe moon!Theyoriginallygave me a date inJune,butI
couldn’tgothenbecause I hadmy summerjob,so,we rescheduledforAugust.Ifinallyhadadate!It
was real,thiswashappening!The monthsfromthenondraggedbyevenmore slowly.Some days,
waitingseemedalmostunbearable.February—‘Iwonderhow oldthe puppyistoday.’April—‘Maybe
todayis the firstday of the puppy’sformal training.’June—‘Thisisit,the final stretch,puppy’s
definitelyinformal trainingbynow.’July—‘Time tostartcountingdownthe days…’August.A
beautiful blackLabcame to my doorat GDB, excitedandfull of energy.Gabrielle.There she was.All
I coulddo wascry andsay, “You have no ideahow longI have beenwaitingtomeetyou.”
EverythingIhad beendreamingof forthe pastfour yearswasfinally here:58poundsof pure
enthusiasm,intelligence,love,andloyalty.Itseemedtoogoodtobe true for a while,andtobe
honest,sometimesitstill does.Everydaywithher,everywalk,isanadventure.And,evenonthe
fewharddays, whenIthinkI coulddo somethingbetter,orwhenGabrielle doesn’tcooperate
(whichisVERY rare),I knowI made the rightdecision.Since meetingGabrielle,Ihave neveronce
doubtedmydecisiontogeta guide dog,because mylife issomuchricherwithher init.I am also
thankful thatI appliedtoGDB whenIdid.Eventhoughwaitingwasso difficult,if Ihadapplied
sooneror later,I wouldn’thave myGabbygirl,andnow,that’sall that mattersto me!
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