My experience raising Rue was enlightening to say the least. From the first day I picked her up here at GDB her instinct has always been to listen and watch. My little Rue was never the most outgoing puppy in our club, but she was quite the firecracker at home. Perpetually instigating trouble between the other dogs in our household. However, I don’t feel like there’s much need to tell you more about her personality. Many of you already know how these dogs are so wonderful and full of life and love, but Rue is my fourth puppy that I’ve raised and I think I’m finally starting to see a glimpse of the bigger picture here.
Spending most of my time isolated with Rue in my apartment I realized that she actually makes me a better person. Still to this day I think of her when I’m angry and scared or when I don’t know what to do and just seeing her face or filling my hands with her fur brings me back to a place of peace inside that I can’t achieve on my own. Reality makes us humans move so fast and most of the time our brains are only half present. Having a guide dog puppy makes you slow down and literally smell the flowers sometimes. Yet there’s something even more special in all this, GDB has given me the tools to give genuine meaning to a dog’s life. The way they look at us raisers...it makes you feel like a hero, but these dogs are the real heroes here. They don’t take love and affection for granted.
There is so much joy in raising these puppies. All my life I’ve just wanted to make a difference and with a puppy like Rue I can be the difference, so I have to thank Guide Dogs, and my club, and my family for everything they’ve done to allow me to continue raising puppies wherever I may be in my life.
