Suzy Becomes a Guide Dog!!

 

by June Connell

“My family and I raised Suzy for all of 2011.  On Saturday, my husband John, my sons John and Chris, and I all got to meet Suzy’s new person, Dee Wilson, who has been blind since birth.  She was the only surviving triplet, born three months premature, and she lost her vision to retinopathy believed to be from too much oxygen in the incubator that saved her life.  Dee will be taking Suzy back to Pittsburgh this week so Suzy has a few months to acclimate to the cooler weather before Dee takes her to church, restaurants and outings with friends in the cold, snow and ice.

The agenda for Puppy Raiser Day was perfect.  We loved seeing Dee and Suzy walk together as we quietly looked on (we could swear Suzy spotted us in the crowd!).  They are a great team, and even though Suzy is new at this, Dee is a pro – she has had many guide dogs she since the 70s.  After their walk, we waited with great anticipation as Dee and Suzy walked toward us as we stood by the pavilion.  It was so wonderful to meet Dee, but it was hard to do much more than a brief introduction as Suzy started jumping on and licking our sons John (15) and Christopher (11)!  Dee gave us permission to say hello, and boy did we!  It was so heart-warming to hug Suzy again and give and get kisses from her.  The abundant joy she showed us was so pure and deep.  We basked in it for as long as Dee’s arm would withstand.  Suzy then quieted down beautifully, and laid by Dee’s feet, as if that spot had been marked for her a long time ago. 

The weather was perfect for us to sit and chat under the trees.  We had our photo taken with Dee, then feasted on a delicious brunch while having some more time to get to know Dee and one of the trainers.  Overall, it was a beautiful day filled with great blessings and love.  None of us cried until the end when we were saying good-bye.  Then we all hugged and let the tears flow.  I think for all of my family, they were tears of joy for Dee and her new companion, Suzy, who happily said good-bye to us then wagged her tail and followed Dee out of the dining room and into their new life together.  It was a precious moment and I thank God that we were able to raise Suzy for Dee.

June standing next to Dee with Suzy at Dee's side.

But nothing like some puppy love to soothe an aching heart!  Carolyn brought us down to the puppy kennel where we got to pet those soft little balls of fluff and get more kisses.  It was a perfect way to end our morning.

June and Johnny with a yellow lab puppy.

Many, many thanks to Leslie and all of the Southeastern team who made the morning as special as it was.  There were a LOT of details and nothing got overlooked.  A super special thank you to the trainers who fix our mistakes (!) and turn out puppies who become amazing guides for people like Dee.”