FOUNDED IN 1942 by Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson, Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) was established to address the need for service dogs as wounded servicemen returned from WWII with visual impairments. The program continued over the decades to come and is now the largest guide dog school in North America.

A yellow Labrador puppy eats kibble out of a slow feeder bowl in the foreground while a mix of six Labrador puppies play with toys and forage for kibble in a separate slow feeder bowl in the background. Their tails wag as they chow down.
Puppies work to reach kibble placed in various snuffle mats and slow feeder bowls. These enrichment tools are used to prevent ingestion issues and promote mental stimulation by encouraging the dogs to use their natural foraging instincts. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

Instructors, volunteers and donors shape guide dogs journey to graduation

Over 16,000 guide dog teams have graduated from the organization with an alumni base spread across the United States and Canada. All of GDBs services are offered free of charge, including transportation to and from campus, ongoing support and veterinary care in addition to the personalized training that each handler receives during the guide dog team building process.

A trainer sits in a row of airplane seats as a guide dog in training sits at her feet. The seats are located in a room to simulate a flight experience. The guide dog looks up at the trainer.
Palmer Dooley, a senior guide dog mobility instructor at Guide Dogs for the Blind, trains a yellow Labrador to sit under an airplane seat. Guide dog handlers often travel by air with their guide dogs, and so this training is crucial to ensure the safety and comfort of both the dog and handler. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

At GDB, service dog training begins very early on in development at just 5 days old. As the puppies grow, they slowly advance in their training until they feel comfortable with human touch and wearing a service dog harness. 

Prior to being paired with their handlers, the service dogs live with puppy raisers where they are socialized and learn basic obedience training. After this initial phase, the dogs return to the GDB San Rafael campus to begin rigorous training, focusing on specific commands and real-world obstacle navigation, including intelligent disobedience where they learn to override a handler’s command in order to ensure their partner’s safety.

Four trainers in forest green medical scrubs bring Labrador puppies into a training space that is corralled off from the rest of the room. The trainers pass the puppies to each other while four of them forage for kibble on snuffle mats below
Trainers place a group of puppies in a corral to socialize with one another and freely explore the space. The dogs are allowed to roam within the space to nurture their natural curiosity and get them accustomed to various environmental stimuli. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

Graduation day

Once or twice a month, the California GDB hosts a ceremony for handlers who are paired with a guide dog as they graduate from the two-week program. Each ceremony features a graduating class, the puppy raisers and donors. 

A woman stands in front of a banner with a microphone in hand to deliver a speech. Her guide dog, a yellow Labrador retriever, stands next to her. The banner in the background features a yellow Labrador and a black Labrador.
Sara Patnode Soper stands next to her guide dog Valley, a female yellow Labrador retriever, while delivering an acceptance speech at the graduation. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)
A woman stands in front of a banner with a microphone in hand to deliver a speech. Her guide dog, wearing a sparkly pink tiara, sits next to her.
Stacy Patnode Bassett stands next to her guide dog Wrenley, a female black Labrador retriever, while delivering an acceptance speech at the graduation. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

Sara Patnode Soper and Stacy Patnode Bassett are twin sisters from Ohio who began working with GDB when they were just 16 years old in 1995. They each received a guide dog and were on their way to explore the world with independence. 

And now for the first time in 30 years, they both coincidentally found themselves in need of new service dogs, which brought them back to San Rafael to begin training side-by-side. Sara was paired with Valley, an 18-month-old yellow Labrador retriever, while Stacy was paired with Wrenley, a 2-year-old black Labrador retriever. 

A black Labrador wears a sparkly pink tiara with a gold number 2 on the center. The dog is looking up at her handler who is seated to her right
Wrenley, a female black Labrador retriever, sits next to her handler Stacy Patnode Bassett during a graduation. Wrenley’s graduation coincides with her second birthday, hence the sparkled tiara. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

“These dogs are gorgeous. Their coats are clean, and they are well trained,” Patnode Bassett said. “Even people who are scared of dogs comment about how well behaved they are.” 

A guide dog handler seated in a row holds onto a leash attached to her new guide dog. She is joined by others in a room at the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus.
Sara Patnode Soper and her guide dog Valley, a female yellow Labrador retriever, at a graduation. Guide Dogs for the Blind hosts graduations to celebrate the newly formed partnership between a handler and a guide dog. (George Alfaro/Bay City News)

The graduations are open to the public on the GDB San Rafael campus and are live streamed on the GDB YouTube channel.