Original subtitles

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It was a very bright and sunny day.

We were just walking along on the sidewalk.

I was crossin' an intersection.

This flash of something came within three feet of me.

He wouldn't budge.

And I said, "Bryson, let's go."

Satchel pulled me back.

Donovan pulled me back.

I was literally right at the edge

of a very dark stairway.

This car just overshot the intersection.

And the car never stopped

never had any idea that we had been there.

Bryson disobeyed me to protect me.

When the airplane first struck the tower

I felt as much as heard a big explosion.

Roselle helped guide him down

seventy-eight floors to safety.

No way I would have been able to run successfully

if it hadn't been for Roselle.

If they're given a command

that might put their person in harm's way

they have to make the decision not to take that command.

Every other service dog is trained to take commands

no matter what.

After I realized what had happened

I had to collect myself.

And I walked out of the building

went and sat down on the bench and..

And I knelt down in front of him

and I gave him the biggest hug and thanked him.

Because he saved my life.

I truly believe that.

- It's a girl? - Yes.

Nice job.

Good girl.

One more push?

There we go.

Good job.

Okay. Just a minute, we'll go see mama in a second.

Good job.

Look at that.

It's a little boy.

Yeah.

Look at you.

Another boy.

This is number four.

And it's another little boy.

Okay.

Okay. Okay.

You're the little girl.

Let's go see your mama.

Everybody in there's looking good.

Which make it all the way

through to guide, you never know.

It could be one, it could be none.

So, we're gonna name the Ojai litter.

- What's their letter again? - Oh, it's P.

There's three boys and two girls.

Okay.

Pegasus is on two different lists.

And then, let's see, Patriot?

P- A-T-R-I-O-T.

Percy and Perry, those are all working guides

so we can't use those.

We had Phil on the list.

I like Phil. Phil's like, a down-to-earth name.

That's like, "Phil's the guy's guy.

"Phil's your buddy, Phil's the guy who's gonna be okay

with you borrowing his car."

Put Potomac up there. And that's on two lists, too.

I forgot that one.

- P-O-T-O-M-A-C? - P-O-T-O-M-A-C.

I really like Potomac.

Good dog. Good dog.

- Can we pick it? - Yeah, we..

Okay, okay. Patriot we like.

- Patriot. Winner. - Yeah.

- And Phil. Alright. Phil it is. - Okay.

I think you're a little bit of a celebrity already.

So, we have to name the girls.

Primrose?

And then another one is Poppet.

P- O-P-P-E-T?

That's cute. I like that.

So, what do we think? Patriot?

- Potomac? And Poppet. - Potomac, Primrose, and Poppet.

And then we have Phil

which is the sentimental favorite.

- Obviously. - Alright. Yeah, so?

- There you go. - Excellent.

It's hard to tell at this age

but they're all looking very comfortable

with new things in their environment, exploring.

Those are the things we want to look for at this age

is that they're outgoing

that they're not shy of anything.

They're not showing any, any uneasiness

with things in the environment.

Poppet. Look at her!

Come on, little girl.

Yes! Come on, sweetheart.

Potomac.

Come.

Um, not too thrilled.

Patriot.

Oh, so I do all this all by myself.

Oh-ho-ho, what a good boy.

Yes. Come on. There you go.

Good job.

Patriot, you get A plus.

And we're getting tired.

Oh, I got to read my e-mails.

Message. View this message in your browser.

911. Call 911..

The first guide dog I got

I could hear the collar

coming down the hallway.

And I actually started cryin'

um, because..

...he was gonna make a difference in my life

and I knew it.

And he did.

Velour just turned ten.

She's the third guide dog I've had

and she was retired when she was about nine and a half

because she'd been attacked.

So I had to go back to a cane.

I try not to let it limit me, but it -- it has.

I keep hearing that every day

you know, is an adventure with your dog

and I really look forward to that, because I -- I love

I love the whole idea of exploration

and going places I've never been before.

There's only so much that I can do at this point.

I would love to go hiking by myself.

I'm not looking to necessarily navigate

uh, the Pacific Crest Trail in the first few weeks

but it would definitely open up the world for me.

Primrose.

Hi, little puppy.

You gonna go for a ride?

It's a big day.

Here you go! Good job.

- Good job. - Potomac.

Potomac.

Once they leave campus

they actually go out to our puppy raisers.

They're with their puppy raisers

up until 14 to 16 months

and then they come back to campus

for the full guide training, which is about ten weeks.

Linda Owen.

Now, I know the dad is Laughlin.

- Okay. - And the mom is Ojai.

A male black lab, this is Potomac.

- Po-tomac. - Little baby.

Alright, so here's the little black lab..

Rebecca Minelga.

- What's your name? - O -- Oliver.

- Oliver. - Oliver. This is Oliver.

Alright, and how many puppies for you guys?

Number seven.

Number seven! Lucky number seven!

This is Primrose.

Yay! She's a doll.

She's a doll. Thank you.

Alright, folks..

We've been really looking forward to having her

since number six went back in May.

Number one was a breeder.

Number two was career changed

for food allergies.

Number three, Roxanne, is a working guide.

Her handler is the man who developed and built

the Olympic athletes' village.

Number four, Star, is in Santa Barbara.

Number five, Rubina, is partnered in Nevada.

And, then, Joy, number six

we're hoping for end of August

early September graduation from her.

Come on. Come on.

Come see your new home.

In 2008, my husband passed away

and so I was left with seven dogs.

When the final one passed away

I thought I was done, but I really missed it.

So it's nice having dogs back in my life again.

You go into the..

...the training experience with the mindset

that this is not your dog.

So you can love them

and play with them and encourage them

but you also know

that you are not keeping them as a pet.

You're sad to see them go

but you're so pleased and blessed

that they are doing what they were trained to do.

What they were bred and raised to do.

Ow!

Yeah, I don't like it when you nip me.

Hello there.

You are getting a lovely little boy

by the name of Patriot.

- You'll be raising the puppy? - Yeah.

Awesome, and so, will the puppy

be going to school with you, then?

- Yes. - Fantastic.

So does that make you, like, the most popular guy at school?

- It's a small school, so yeah. - Yeah.

Aw.

- Here we go. - Oh, my God, you are so cute.

You won't break him, I promise.

- Mmm.. - There you go.

Mm-hmm.

It's okay, little guy.

Patriot, sweetie pie, you're okay.

Patriot.

I'm not sure he's gonna make it all the way home

in the kennel.

- Hi, Patriot. - Aw.

What are you crying about?

Hi, Poppet. How are.. Oh, my goodness.

- She's a sweetie. - Of course..

- She looks so big already. - They're always sweeties.

You've got high standards to live up to.

That's right.

We haven't co-raised with Lisa

and her husband Chris before.

We're thinking we'll just do a week on and a week off.

Do I get to see Poppet?

Aw, she's so cute. Hi, Popp..

Does she look like she did in the --

No. She looks much smaller than the picture.

Yeah. Look at that. I brought you a present.

I've never seen 'em this small.

I just don't wanna cry.

- You can't cry. - I know.

Oh, my goodness.

- Here's Phil. - Hi, little..

Hi, little man.

- First car ride? - Yeah.

What do you think of that? Huh?

Alright.

No longer empty nesters.

- Right. - I know.

Not for another year and a...half, maybe?

I would be lying if I said

I wasn't worried about making mistakes.

But when this is all... said and done

I want him to be in the best shape possible

in terms of being ready

for the formal guide dog training..

...so that he makes it

and makes a big difference in somebody's life.

We're here, Phil.

Here we go, little man.

So, I'm just gonna pass the leash

across to you.

And then you can just say his name

and just bring him on over, very gently

we're not forcing him to do anything.

It's willing cooperation.

- So -- - Phil?

Don't click. Don't click your fingers.

Make sure he's on the left-hand side, Patti.

We don't say "Nice" right now.

We're not gonna give him any kibble out of the crate.

So when he whines, we're just gonna move out of the room.

And we're not at the "Come" stage right now.

It's best to actually not have shoes that have laces.

You do have to stay off the floor

sweetheart, I'm sorry about that.

Are you sleeping downstairs or upstairs?

- Upstairs. - Ooh, ooh.

- I would think about the sofa. - Oh, really? Oh, okay.

And then, visitors, keep to the bare minimum.

- Okay. - Put him to bed at 10:00.

And you need to go to bed then as well.

- Alright. - We're good?

You're good. You'll be fine.

There's all these things that I need to do

and remember to do

and it's kind of like a baby

where you come home and it's kind of, okay, now what?

Puppy raisers, uh, do the awesome job

of bringing a puppy into the family

making them part of the family.

It's the puppy's first chance

to build a partnership.

They teach them manners

they teach them foundation exercises

and they take 'em and expose them to the world.

Patriot has been very rowdy lately.

Can you please just be good?

It's not easy.

It's definitely not easy.

His main problem is he's very mouthy

and he likes to, uh, he likes to bite a lot.

Be gentle.

He loves to bi..

Oh, no, that's my clothing. That's my clothing.

Unh-unh.

Shh.

Anybody who, like, will pet him here

he'll, like, bite them, and that's not okay

'cause he can't bite.

And even if it's just, like, playing

it's still not acceptable.

I don't know if... I exactly trained him right

and it may have led to this.

I don't want to lose him.

Even if he does that. I don't care.

Primrose.

You ready to go work?

Yeah, you are. Mwah!

Let's go.

We're at SeaTac.

We're gonna do a really big outing

today with the puppies.

Nice!

They're gonna take us through security.

All the way to boarding an aircraft.

She's been doing really well.

She's probably one of the better pups

we've had at this age.

Tends to be very responsive

to the training and whatnot.

A little bit distracted by people.

Likes getting interaction and seeks out people too much

but we'll work through that.

This is so much.

She's really overwhelmed.

We're gonna go find a quiet corner

and I'm actually gonna sit and cuddle with her.

We're just gonna do a little bit of tactile grounding.

There.

Good girl.

We don't ever want to coddle them

but we do wanna just take the time to recognize

that she is overwhelmed.

And if we can kind of take this moment to recharge

she'll be more successful.

Shh.

Hi.

That might be our airplane.

Oh, we made it! What a good girl!

- That's.. - Come on.

I got my window closed.

- Down. - Okay.

High five. Whoo!

Sit.

A lot of the time

the very first outing

after graduation is they have to fly home.

So when she's partnered with someone

who is visually disabled, she has to be comfortable

moving through airports and going on and off of aircraft.

And many of the puppies go on to fly regularly

throughout their careers.

I'm 32, and I lost my sight completely

when I was 18 months old.

I lost my first eye when I was nine months

and then, uh, the second when I was 18 months

and the cause of it was retinoblastoma

which is a hereditary form of cancer

that I got from my father's side.

Um, it tends to skip generations

but...kind of didn't on this one.

I was diagnosed with a disease

called retinitis pigmentosa

which takes all of your peripheral vision.

From shoulder to shoulder, you should have

a hundred and eighty degrees of vision

so I should be able to see my hands, you know.

I -- I can't see my hands until they get..

Let's see. I think I kind of see..

That's a little better.

Yeah.

I can kind of see the tips of my finger.

I was worried about having grandchildren

and not being able to see their faces.

My daughter-in-law was pregnant

and she had the baby, like, way too early

but I was able to see her face.

And since then I can't see

their faces anymore, the detail.

I can tell they're there, but I can't see detail anymore.

But I did get to see the faces of my grandchildren.

Patriot, let's go.

- Hmm. - Hi, Patriot.

- Oh, don't get so excited. - He doesn't..

I know. He doesn't know what's happening.

Come here.

I'm gonna miss you.

Bye, Patriot.

He just needs to grow up a little bit.

Don't you kind of want him to become a guide dog?

Me too.

He's very sweet. You did a good job.

You did a good job, he just wasn't quite ready

to go to high school.

- I know. - Yeah.

But you did a good job.

- Hello? - Hi. Is this Patti?

- Yeah. - Hey, Patti.

This is Ally Burnham and Tami Shankle

we've got you on speakerphone.

I said, that is so devastating

it was a blindside.

Let's go, Phil.

I was in it for the long haul.

I was going full bore in the attachment and the whole bit.

I am so angry.

There's always that point of, do I really need

to give him back, whenever that happens in the chain of events.

You know, whether it's when the puppy's, um

five months old or when the puppy is 15 months old

and returning to the school, it's like, can I have

a little bit more time, can I do a little bit more?

So I think that's part of the gift

the raisers give, they want to do the best thing they can do.

Um, so sometimes it's hard to let go.

I wanted to do it perfectly

and I wanted him to be the one

that's gonna make it.

When there were these conflicting instructions

on what to do and what not to do

it would bring up the fear of failing for me

and failing Phil.

Say, "Thank you for everything you did for me, mama."

You behave, okay? Alright. Bye.

Hey, there you go. Good picture.

Good boy.

Sit.

Sit. Good boy.

Today we're picking up

a new guide dog for the blind.

I already saw the size of his jacket.

It's just tiny, so we were just teasing each other about how

little tiny the little jacket is!

You know, it's gonna be a baby!

This is gonna be so much fun.

I love this.

We only get to do this every so often

so, you know, getting a new dog

is just definitely a special day.

We are here to pick up Patriot.

What a great name that is.

Oh, yeah.

I'm a veteran.

Been in the military. You know, I did all my time.

I actually have a service-connected disability

and everything, so this guy is gonna be my best friend.

- He was made for you. - He was.

- Absolutely. - That's so cool.

It just happened to work out like that.

It just happened to, happened to work out.

I said, "Yeah, I -- I'd like, I'd like to take a look at him."

And they said, "His name's Patriot."

I was an infantryman.

I did two tours of duty in Iraq.

Traumatic events unfolded

so I am disabled now, I'm not working.

This is something that I have been battling

for four years now.

It has taken me through depressive stages

it's taken me through hypervigilant stages.

And the one thing that this dog does

is keep me in an even keel.

I wake up in the morning

and I know the dog needs to be taken care of

and that's what motivates me

and gets me going.

Left by myself, um, my mind goes to bad places

and I think about bad things.

- Aw. Ha-ha-ha. - Mr. Wiggle Worm.

The dogs so far have really saved me from myself.

I'm able to channel my love

and give them everything that I have

and I don't have to worry about doing stuff for me.

I -- I take care of the dog, and everything else

kind of falls into place.

Oh, look at him.

He is better than I expected.

I can wake up in the morning and I have a purpose

and I know that I'm doing something

for somebody else, which makes me feel good.

Hi, Phil. Oh, yeah!

- Hi, buddy! - Hi.

- Hi! Hi! - Hey, little guy. Come here. Hi.

We're kind of the fixers

so usually they transfer puppies to us

and they're like, "Hey, can you help out with this habit?"

Or, you know, just kind of see what's going on with the dogs.

Let me say hi. Hi. Oh, yes, oh, yes, oh.

Oh, yes, oh, good boy.

Good boy!

I was looking for something to get involved

with volunteerin' and they always say pick something

you'll be passionate about otherwise you won't stick with it.

And my dad actually is blind

and when I started to learn about guide dogs

I was like, "Perfect, I love dogs"

but then meeting people

who had gotten a guide dog

and how much independence they had gotten..

Good boy!

It's something that obviously I always wanted

for my dad, to be very independent

and to go out and be able to do whatever he wanted to do

and so guide dogs gave that to people

and it's kind of just what started it.

What do you think? This is it.

Oh.

That's a bit rough, bud. Have to work on that.

Actually drew blood.

- Oh, did he? - Yeah.

Off to a stellar start, Phil.

You bite me on the nose the first time we meet.

Ah-ah.

The major challenge with Potomac

has been loose-leash walking.

So guide dogs wants the dogs

to remain at the exact spot, on your left-hand side

with their collar even with your pant seam

with the leash loose.

We'll be walking across a parking lot

and all of a sudden he'll jerk forward

and if I'm not paying attention

he can really jerk me off balance.

Or if he decides that he sees something over here

that he really is interested in

then he'll lunge in that direction.

It could be a deal breaker with him.

Every month, when we fill out the reports online

and those go into his permanent record

I have flagged that, every single month.

Incredibly frustrating.

To the point where I'm thinking

"He's not gonna make it."

I don't know if he's being stubborn

or if it's me

that I'm not doing a good enough job.

But we'll see what she says when she sees him today.

So, let's just go ahead and cover some ground with him real quick.

I know that he's had some challenging areas.

He's very people and other animal

specifically dogs, distracted.

If I am walking him and he sees something on the sidewalk

that is attractive, he will lunge toward it.

Can you give me an example of some of the things

that he might try to pick up?

- Uh, cigarette butt. - Okay.

Food, pine cones.

How often do you think that's happening?

Oh, it happens every day.

There you go. Perfect.

I think you're frustrated with him

but I think he's actually coming along.

So the work that you're putting into him

is actually paying off.

So he's better than I expected.

Yes, he does look like

he's pretty much where he needs to be.

I think just following through with, you know

especially the stuff on the ground

that's gonna be really important.

Because the dog would take advantage of a blind handler.

I really didn't have any red flags

that went up today at all, which was great

'cause I was concerned about his viability.

Right here.

Yeah? Are we gonna have a rough start?

Hey. Excuse me.

Hey.

Primrose, let's go.

So she's really struggling to hold position right now.

Oh, I'm a little nervous about your eval today.

Alright, let's go.

She'll be looking for things

like distractedness, confidence.

Is there any anxiety?

If the dog makes a mistake

do they recover quickly?

All of those things that would show

that they're resilient, that they would be

a good working guide for a partner.

Primrose, let's go.

We're starting to get pretty serious

about this process.

We're looking for any traits

that we really need to get a handle on

that would make the dog unsuccessful in the long run.

She's pretty distractible.

- Um, missed the turn, sweetie. - Excuse me.

That's one of those things

that we need to get a handle on

because it'll be a make-it-or-break-it issue

at 12 months.

Okay, Poppet.

- Sit. Down. - Okay.

Ms. Poppet, now, she's nine months old.

- Yes. - Right?

Her general confidence went out and about.

Do you notice her being fearful or reactive

to any unusual or novel objects?

- No. Nope. - Statues?

When you're home with her, what's her normal routine?

Is she off leash?

- Yes. - Mm-hmm.

- Does she sleep in a crate? - Uh, no.

- Sleep.. - On -- on a bed.

Sleeps loose on a tie-down?

- No. Just loose. - Does she.. No.

That's good.

Poppet showed good confidence around traffic

different surfaces.

Some doggy interest, but..

she can do the work.

For her age, I'm very pleased.

She's doing very well.

Good kid.

Here's my man!

Every single area of this dog

has made progress.

He's going one way, and that's up.

He's got more energy, and if we can channel that

in the right direction, I mean this dog has unlimited potential.

Okay, let's go.

Can you stay with me?

Stay with me.

- He's a energetic little boy. - Yeah.

He's taking advantage of you doing all the work

so we need to get him on board and doing a little

more of the work himself.

Hey. That's enough of that.

And let me just take him, and go ahead and let go.

Go ahead and let go. That's okay, you can let go.

- I got him. - Okay.

Hey, buddy. Hey.

Dude.

Lots of things to work on with him.

He's being a big, goofy puppy.

We still have a pretty long way to go for him

in terms of his understanding of what he needs to do.

He likes to pull.

He wants to be first place in everything.

Blind people don't care about first place.

They need their dog right next to 'em.

It'll be a lot of working on

but it's something that we can fix.

I think he's still a candidate.

We certainly have some catch-up work to do.

You know, he's fairly out of control

and we need to fix that.

Phil's coming along, much calmer dog, not as animated.

He's not as calm and collected as Phil is at this point.

Today we just decided to do some wine tasting in Sonoma.

Phil, do you want to go? Hey, wake up, bud.

Let's go. Oh. Let's go.

Both of us live busy lives

and we're, like, we just need you to know that role

and he has adapted really quickly.

Did he get you?

He got you with a kiss.

- Kennel. - Come on, Phil.

For his age, he's acting really well.

He's really appropriate in all situations

and we're actually really pleased with his progress.

Kennel.

You, you're a spaz, mister.

Why don't you tell me what's been going on.

He still is not where I think he needs to be

as far as the pulling and the lunging.

If he sees something..

We talked the last time we trained about

how maybe throwing some pieces of paper out ahead of us

and kind of getting that as a distraction

and he goes for 'em every time.

He just lunges for them

and it's like, "Oh, my gosh."

I'll tell you what, how about if I, I..

I'd like to kind of just get a -- a visual in terms of

like, what he's doing, so I'm gonna get some paper

and we're just gonna do

what you've been practicing yourself.

Come here.

- Nice! Good job. - Okay.

So, I'm just gonna start throwing things around.

And we'll just kind of see what he does.

And you can just start walking over it.

Potomac, let's go.

Yeah. Okay, I think I've seen enough.

Alright, so if you want to just go ahead and have a seat again.

Come on.

With the amount of effort

that you've put into working with this

you really would hope that you would have more carryover.

I think it's probably fair to say

that being a guide dog is not in Potomac's future.

He's told us himself, right?

- He's choosing. - Yeah, I think so.

He probably just wouldn't thrive in that capacity, I think.

Alright, mister, civilian life for you.

This is Potomac.

It's a mixture of disappointment and relief

because I know that he was struggling and so have I.

- So, which one is this? - This is Phil.

Hi, Phil. How are you?

- Oh, hi, Phil. - Hi, Phil.

You are big, buddy.

Mama, papa, here!

- This one is Primrose? - Primrose.

So this is the only other girl.

- Yes. - Sisters! It's so cute!

Now I notice she's a little more apprehensive to things.

Oh, she's the opposite, she's gotten really confident.

We took her through the airport and onto the airplane today

and she just was rock solid.

How many have you guys had?

- This is our eighth. - This is our eighth. Yeah.

Well, if she makes it, it'll put us back to 50-50.

There you go.

Oh, my gosh, now, look-it.

- That's Patriot? - That's Patriot.

- Look at the long legs. - Yeah, he's -- he's..

- That's Patriot Pumpkin Pie. - Oh.

Good boy.

These are your brothers and sisters.

You've got some brothers and sisters.

I taught him to shake, and now I wish I wouldn't have.

Hey, paws down, buddy.

Alright.

So we got four out of..

- Five. - Five.

We have a little news.

Potomac has been cut.

- Oh.. - Aw.

- Oh. Okay. - Oh.

I'm not terribly surprised

because they make these cuts a lot

but I'm, you know, I like that they do that

that they're really thorough, so..

I feel bad for the raisers, though.

- It's always a.. It's a blow. - Yeah.

I think maybe it just brings home a reality

that we're at that point, where we're starting to look

at some of the behaviors, and really think about

is this a make-it-or-break-it kind of thing?

A lot of dogs don't make it.

It's -- it's part of the process.

This is our third dog, and I -- I really would like

to do my part and contribute

and part of that process, for me

is having a successful dog.

- Mm-hmm. - Yeah. And I've..

I've put a lot into this dog

and I know that, that it is heartbreaking

to have a dog cut.

We very adamantly say

"Nothing is done until it's done."

Your dog is not official

until they walk across the graduation stage

and even then, we've had dogs last two weeks

and be shipped back to campus.

I would love to have seen

all five of them successful guides.

Four out of five still actively moving toward that goal

I think, is absolutely phenomenal.

Mm-hmm.

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.

Good boy.

Yes, you are a handsome devil.

Good boy.

Right now, Patriot is

apparently come as far with me

as they claim that he can make progress.

They just want him to be with somebody else.

Come on. Okay.

Shake it out. I know.

Kennel.

Guide dogs is pretty impersonal

when it comes to decisions like this.

What they see is that we signed on the dotted line

and this is a transfer of another puppy.

Ultimately, I -- I am a stickler for the rules.

I -- I do.. I agree with having that set of rules

and I agree with them evaluating the situation

and saying, this is what we need to do

to get the dog to be successful.

Hate to see him go, though.

He's done a lot for me.

- Nice to meet you, Maureen. - Nice to meet you.

- This is Mr. Patriot. - Oh, hi, handsome boy.

The lady that's taking him

said that she'll meet with me

any time I want to see him and stuff

but I'll just let her do what she needs to do, and..

It's a kind gesture, because she knows how difficult it is

to turn the dogs over.

You are officially Maureen's.

He's gonna make it, yeah.

He's gonna make it.

I'm excited for him.

But..

It doesn't make the empty house any easier.

I always get sad around it.

Just know that he's going to go back and it's gonna be okay

and then keep moving forward.

Come here, bud.

Good boy. Okay.

You hear all the other puppies.

Phil is here for recall. Phil is here.

- Good boy. - Come here, buddy. Come here.

I always have to have those couple days

just to kind of mourn it a little bit

and to know that, like, this is the process

and that's kind of how it goes.

We both gave him a little pep talk

about how he's gonna, like, be great

and just, like, "Go get 'em," so..

Hopefully all that will rub off on him

and he'll take it to heart and he'll do really well.

We have a history, don't we, Patriot?

We know. I'm -- I'm watching you, dude.

Some of the things that he did

in the last home, I want to kind of see if they've resolved.

- Okay. - So, like..

Whining in the crate. How is he in a crate?

- No, he doesn't whine. - Okay.

- And good on tie-down? - Yes.

- No vocalization at all? - He's never barked.

And he doesn't jump on the furniture

he doesn't counter surf, he doesn't

pick up things inappropriately.

- And how about the pulling? - He doesn't pull.

Okay. That is just wonderful news.

Hi, buddy.

It's about time we got to say hi.

Hey, don't.. Don't-don't get my string.

Ch-ch-ch-ch. Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch.

You gonna get mouthy?

You're still a strong fellow, huh?

I think he's ready, as ready as he's gonna be.

You know when they go back

that the people are so experienced

that they've seen everything, and they're gonna see

who he truly is, and hopefully they see what I see.

Hi.

Hi, Primrose.

I always tell people the best way to put it is

we get 'em to high school, and then

after high school graduation, they go off to college.

- Work hard. - Say, "Of course I will."

"I will have new friends to play with."

Yeah.

Yep.

Open kennel run time. Ooh..

She's like..

- "That's my favorite." - Ooh..

Do you think they have a Jolly Ball?

- I bet they do. - I bet they do.

Back, back, back, back, back.

Some of the fun things about Primrose

have been how much she wants to work.

Let's go.

We've had challenges

but we've worked through them.

The unknowns just keep piling at this point.

Is she gonna be a breeder? Is she not?

Is she gonna go to training string? Is she not?

Is she gonna make it through training? Is she not?

You have to really make your peace with that.

I'm really hoping she ends up going into training.

Well, we have a puppy to take to campus.

You would think it would be easier after a while

but no, it's not.

Let's go.

Yeah, you get a lot of mixed emotions.

You're anxious 'cause you want them to pass.

You're happy because you know what they're supposed to go do

and what their purpose is.

You're kind of sad because you've become attached to 'em.

We have to say our goodbyes.

Can I get a sniff?

Is that what's that's for?

What? Yeah.

I love you. You do good things at school, okay?

You make us proud, okay?

You be the best little girl.

Okay? You enjoy getting to be with your siblings.

That's kind of special.

Not everybody gets to do that.

I love you.

Oliver, do you want to give Primrose a hug?

Bye, Primrose. Goodbye.

- Ready. - Ready? We're up.

- Hello. - Who do we have here?

- Primrose. - Primrose?

- Beautiful. - Good girl.

Hi, Poppet. Your turn.

These are the first two in.

We have two boys that are still out

and then we did have one of the males

that was career-changed

for some scavenging behavior and avoiding control.

Hi, Poppet. How are you, beautiful?

The dogs that we're considering

for the breeding colony

are really the best of the best.

We have pretty much all of our information

on Primrose and Poppet, so let's go over those.

I'm looking at Primrose now.

She scored three-four on her hips.

Her patellas are good.

Eyes are clear.

She's a little higher energy and seems pretty excitable.

Oh! Good girl!

- Just another day. - Okay, grab ahold of the dog.

So Poppet, she has three-three hips.

Good patellas.

Passed her eye exams.

Passed her heart exam.

It seems like Poppet's a little bit calmer

not as energetic and as excitable.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- So we're thinking Primrose? - Yeah.

Huh. Hello.

This is Megan calling from

the breeding department at Guide Dogs.

We're excited to find out, uh, if it's a yes or a no.

Well, it's definitely a yes.

Primrose is gonna be a breeder for us for sure.

Okay!

Thank you for raising her.

That's good, it's good.

It is good. Th -- they're happy tears.

Here's our girl.

Hey, Poppet.

I'm Adam Silverman.

I'm gonna be training Phil and Poppet.

Hi, buddy.

My name is Melanie Harris.

Hi!

I will be working with Patriot.

Sounds like he has a lot of energy

a lot of personality, and I'm looking forward to

seeing if we can't channel that for the greater good.

Baby.. Oh! Don't do that.

If there's anybody that can handle

the more difficult types, it's -- it's her.

- So, looks good for Patriot. - Good.

Yes, good girl, Poppet!

She's kind of ferocious.

This is definitely my type of dog.

Very physical. Likes to play kind of rough.

Good boy! Yeah!

Good job, Phil. That's it!

I really liked how he responded to the harness being on.

He was just like, "I was born for this."

Stay.

There's always that understanding

that you need to do a good job

training the behaviors, because someone's

putting their trust and faith in this animal.

If you talk to very many cane users

they'll tell you that sometimes it gets stuck in a crack

it'll come back out of your hand and hit you in the gut.

You..

You learn to not have your cane so stiff

and down on the ground where it will do that.

Oh, yeah.

It's not a pleasant experience, either.

Um...'cause I..

I've had it go lower, too.

'Cause it, like, it.. It hurts.

Yeah, and back home.

Safe and sou..

Oh! It happened.

It hit the, the thing and came right back at me.

That's why I don't like canes.

You've got five guide work commands.

Forward.

That is just what it sounds like

go forward, in a straight line.

Halt.

Which means stop.

Hop up.

Which is basically keep going

when the dogs have slowed or stopped.

And then you've got your turn commands.

Poppet, left.

Patriot, right.

And also, maintaining a line

down the sidewalk, not fading into driveways or openings.

Because when you're blind, you need the dog

to just bring you to the down curb

and you're not gonna know when the dog's

veering dramatically off line.

Good job. Yeah!

Usually, I start seeing

curb awareness, starting to stop on their own.

Patriot, forward.

There's definitely some general impulse control

self-control immaturity that needs to continue to develop.

I'm overseeing his progression, and I want to make sure

each dog progresses with each exercise.

Good.

I'm on the fence with Patriot.

I'm not like, "Oh, he's a guide dog."

He's intense, so not all the time we want that in our dogs.

But there are some blind people that love that type.

- I'm gonna go under. - Okay.

It is week three, so we've got

testing on Friday.

Hop up.

It sets the groundwork for

if they're ready to move on

to everything yet to come.

Just got to come back to the right..

Poppet, hop up.

A little bit nervous, but, um

I've been doing this for enough time where, hopefully

I have a pretty accurate read on the dog.

I think they're gonna, both gonna do fine, but..

Knock on wood, right? Where's the wood?

Knock on wood.

Alright. Let's see.

Poppet, forward.

Good girl.

Usually, when there's nothing written means

it's either really bad or really good

and in her case, it's really good.

Okay.

- She's ready for the next step for sure. - Yeah.

Phil, forward.

Good boy.

- Phil, hop up. - You have to go to the left.

- Right there. - Phil, hop up.

Phil, hop up.

Phil, curb.

He did not meet our expectations

for preliminary guide work to move on to the next step.

Perhaps we need to build up his mental stamina.

Phil, hop up.

It's a bummer, you know? I really had..

He was on track and, you know

I was training him correctly, but..

It -- it sucks, he's not, so..

Patriot, forward.

Good job, buddy.

Patriot, halt.

Patriot met expectations.

He showed a nice, basic understanding

of the fundamentals of guide work.

Good.

I'm very happy with any dog with how that route went

but especially with him.

Patriot, forward.

Poppet, heel.

Good girl.

- Good girl. Good. Good job. - Very good.

- Good! Good girl. Very good. - Good! Look how still she is.

Alright, beautiful.

You did it! Good job. I'm so proud of you.

Good. Good girl.

Guide work and obedience? Rock star.

Alright, buddy, looks like you're up.

Patriot, sit.

Good.

Good boy.

Patriot, down.

Mm, that's good.

Patriot, heel.

Very good!

Nice job, buddy.

Good boy, Patriot.

- He passed! - Good job, buddy, you did it!

Yeah!

He's all warmed up.

Ready to start the test.

Phil, heel.

That wasn't very good.

Phil, heel.

Okay.

Heel. No.

- Doesn't have it. - Yeah.

That's two f.. Two fails for Phil today.

Okay.

It is frustrating.

You know, you put in a lot of time and effort

to try to get the dog to pass

and if they don't, then it sucks.

Phil, hop up.

Phil's gonna stay in phase three

until he's ready for his preliminary guide work retest.

Good boy, Patriot.

Yeah. Good.

Good girl.

We're gonna do a platform intro

to try to teach them that when you say "Forward"

in the direction of a platform edge

which would be dangerous if a dog went in that direction

when you give them that command

they should not only refuse it

but, ideally, pull you away.

Forward.

Left. Left.

Patriot, forward.

Good.

Ready, ready, ready? Patriot, forward.

He did really, really well

for any dog, but especially for him

where standing still has been something we're working on.

Thank you very much. Thank -- thank you.

Thank you. Yeah.

It's a little bit like Groundhog's Day with this dog.

He's definitely made improvement

but we'll see how it goes.

Phil, hop up.

Phil, sit.

There we go.

Phil, heel.

Good. Good boy.

He passed. That's the important part.

You got this, Philly.

Phil, forward.

Good boy, Phil.

Alright! Whoo!

Today we're doing traffic training.

It's exposing the dogs to different types

of traffic encounters that are potentially dangerous

that they should be wary of.

Oh!

Good, good, good, good, good, good!

In a lot of ways, this traffic route

is a demarcation for the dog

to learn the responsibilities

involved in being a guide dog.

Good.

Traffic training is teaching the dog

to either back up..

Good, good, good, good, good! Forward.

Hold their position or speed up

based on what the car's presenting.

This next check, I'm gonna be

pulling into a driveway and cutting off the team.

The dog should stop and then, of course, hold.

Good.

And look at that buffer. Wow.

He says, "No way."

He's like, "I recognize that car anywhere."

We'll also do intelligent disobedience.

Patriot, hop up.

We're teaching to disobey when the situation's unsafe

meaning the car's still present.

Good girl.

Good! Hop up.

Good girl, Poppet! That's it! Good girl!

I was, like, insistent she go, and she's just looking at me

like, "No, there's a car there."

Patriot, forward.

Something I've seen off and on

since the beginning of training

it's him being a little uncomfortable

around other dogs.

He has started hackling, which is not great.

You can see just the beginnings of it right here

along his back.

The hackles going up, that's a visual cue to me

that he's feeling something.

See that hair going up again right there.

I look at Patriot

and I just see this really intense dog

and we're trying to get that out of him

and calm him down so he can be an appropriate guide dog.

And is that gonna happen?

Is he gonna be a dog that can be a guide

or is he gonna just be too much for the program?

What the next steps would be

is to bring this to the rest of the sup group

and just talk about it.

We got together as a supervisor group today

and we all collaborated on, uh, Patriot.

We've come to the conclusion we're going

to career-change him.

I think some other organization

will snap him up.

He has come so far in the last six weeks --

- I totally agree. - But with more education..

- Somebody's gonna really benefit from him. - Yeah.

- Hi, Tami. It's Adam. - Hi, Tami.

I am, you know, sorry to pass along some disappointing news.

- I'm just gonna jump right in there. - Okay.

Patriot has been career-changed

and it's due to his impulsive nature.

That just didn't work with our program.

- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. - So that's the bummer.

There is a little bit of a silver lining.

Um, we would like to offer him back to you, if you'd like

but if that, um, isn't gonna work with your situation

um, there is some interest in him

from Dogs for Diabetics.

So that is, you know

something they'd like to assess

um, if you decide you're not

in a situation to take him back.

- So, um.. - Okay..

Do you want to have some time to think about that

'cause I know that's a lot.

- Mm-hmm. - Um, but, um..

Well, I've -- I've thought about it.

Um, I needed about five seconds.

I really want Patriot back.

I would really love to have him back.

He -- he just is my, my handsome, sweet boy.

What did they say? He's just an immature..

- Immature boy. - Little jerk-wad.

He's a little jerk-wad.

Oh, but he's just.. Yeah, he's my little jerk-wad.

I've never bonded or connected

with a dog like Patriot before.

I'm not just one person anymore, I'm gonna be two.

It's gonna be me and him from now on.

Oh, my gosh, like, my heart's pounding.

Patriot!

That's my boy!

That's my boy!

Hi! That's my boy!

Hi, young man, hi.

Hi. Hi.

I know. Good boy.

That's my boy.

Good boy.

Yes, I love you.

I know, I know, happy boy.

Good boy. Good boy.

Poppet, forward.

I'm ready. Whenever you are, you can move in the forward direction.

Poppet, heel.

- Left about turn. - Poppet, heel.

- Oh, gorgeous. - Good girl. Show-off.

- Call your dog. - Poppet! Come!

Oh, good job. Good girl.

That's it. Good job.

Good girl. Yay!

Whoo!

Follow your dog.

- She likes to work. - She does.

Great job, Adam.

Woof!

Right. Right.

Good job, P. Good girl.

Find the escalator.

Targeted it beautiful.

Wow! Look at you.

Okay, forward. Good job.

Halt.

What we're looking for is the dog

to have finished responses around cars.

Careful.

She went right up to the traffic checks

and didn't show a buffer between the team and the car.

Left. Left. Left.

Sidewalkless training is training the dogs

to work in a neighborhood that doesn't have sidewalks.

Good girl. Poppet, right.

The dogs are taught to stay close to the left curb edge.

Stop. Reorient.

Poppet, right. Left.

Left.

Left. Left.

Left.

Poppet, hop up.

Left.

Stop. Tell her hop up.

So, Adam, I -- I'd like to see her again in sidewalkless

since she didn't pick it up.

Don't beat yourself up.

Alright, Mr. Phil.

Good job, Phil.

That's it.

Good boy.

He's got it.

That was textbook.

Alright. Nice.

So, I'm gonna throw this, and you can play with it

but when I call you, you've got to come back to me.

Okay.

Phil! Come!

- Good boy. Good job. - Whoo! Good boy!

Good boy, buddy.

- Okay, we're clear. - Phil, forward.

Good boy.

- Good boy. Good. - He wants to come back.

- Good boy. - Good Phil.

Good.

Phil, forward.

Good boy. Halt.

And really nice buffer.

Very good.

Good boy.

Good Philly. Good boy.

Phil, forward.

Good boy, buddy!

That's a good boy! Good!

Coming in today

I think Adam and I both

were holding our breath a little bit.

He's a little bit of a wild card.

Halt.

Alright, Phil!

- Whoo-hoo! - High five.

- Great! He did it! - How's that!

- Yeah, he did it, right? - He's awesome!

- He pulled it together! - Yay! He, uh --

He was just messing with us the whole time.

He was totally messing with us the whole time.

He was a straight-arrow worker today.

He presented me with some challenges

and I wasn't always sure

if he was gonna be able to do the job.

I am proud that we got there.

I have been waiting eight months

and then I get a call from Guide Dogs For The Blind saying

"Hey, we have an opening in our class coming up"

and I jumped at the chance.

Being chosen for this is in my mind, like winning the lottery.

Because you don't know if you're gonna make it.

You don't know if you're gonna be considered good enough

to work with the dogs.

I've got major butterflies.

Okay, bud, forward.

Good boy.

Today he's going up to Oregon

to be matched with a client.

This is the end for me, but for him

it's just the beginning.

He's still got plenty to learn, working with a blind person.

And you also just hope that they do everything

you taught them to do, you know, and they

become a good guide dog.

Poppy.

- She's got to finish up her testing. - Oh, wow.

She's got a difficult combination.

The first test is sidewalkless, which is going up to cars.

Then the second test is traffic

which is not going up to cars.

So it's gonna be, uh, interesting

uh, morning for her.

You can do it!

I'm ready.

Okay, let's do this, Poppet.

Poppet, right.

Left. Left.

Left.

Left. Left.

Hop up.

Left. Left.

Left.

Left. Good.

- There she goes. - Good girl.

- She nailed it. - Good job, Poppet! Good girl!

Just needed one more, huh? One more.

- Good girl. - Good girl.

Good job.

Okay, Poppet, you only need one more "Meets expectations"

and then we're done.

Alright, remember, don't go up to the cars.

Good girl. Good job, Poppet.

Good. Good girl. Nice!

Good. Good girl.

Hop up.

- Good. Good girl! - Oh!

- Nice job. - Excellent.

- Super proud of her. - Meets expectations.

Good job.

- You go, girl. - Excellent.

- Good girl. - Okay..

Okay, you're going to class.

- Yes, you are. - You're done.

- Yes, you are. Good girl. - Good girl.

The last couple of nights

there's been a couple of times where I can't sleep

'cause I'm so excited about meeting her.

I was laying in bed, thinking, "I wonder

what my dog is doing right now."

Is she out there playing with someone?

She doesn't even know she's going to meet me.

You know, "Will she like me?"

It's like going out on a date with someone, you know.

You haven't met 'em before, it's a blind date.

Will they like me? What are they like?

Okay.

You be a good girl while I'm gone?

Oh, yes.

I know you will.

Alright.

I am Ron's instructor.

I'm gonna be working with him

and helping him into his transition with Phil

which he doesn't know the name yet.

It's your big day, Phil.

Hello.

Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

I have butterflies the size of foxes.

Um, like, ridiculous butterflies.

I'm so nervous.

Alright.

You're so excited. I know.

Alright, Phil.

It's like having a kid, you know?

It's that nervous expectation and..

He's so excited.

Oh, boy.

- Ron? - Yes.

I have a present for you.

Oh, my gosh.

Alright. This is Phil.

Hey, buddy.

Aw, geez, Phil.

Oh, my goodness.

Sit.

Phil, sit.

Come here. Good boy.

Good b.. Ha-ha-ha!

Good boy.

Good boy. You want a tummy rub?

Good boy.

I'm getting a bath.

Hi, girl.

Oh, you look so nice.

Your coat's so shiny. Yes.

They're always so soft when they get groomed.

They come back from the groomers

and they smell so good and they're so soft.

It's your last day in the kennel.

This is it. You made it.

You are the pick of the litter.

Oh, the anticipation.

Think the dogs feel the excitement, the energy.

They know something big is happening.

Sit.

Good girl.

Sit.

This is it. This is it.

This is it.

- Hello. Do you mind if I come in? - Hello.

- No. Come on in. - Alright.

It's not just me this time.

I've got your new friend for you.

Do you wanna grab your leash? I'll bring her over..

- I've got my leash right here. - Alright.

Alright, here she comes.

Oh, my gosh. Down. Oh, my gosh.

She's happy to see you for sure.

Oh, oh, you love me.

If you want to put your leash on -- on her

and I'll take mine off, and then she'll be your dog.

- Poppet, forward. - Good.

Good girl.

That's a good girl. Oh, yeah.

Feeling good? Pace is good?

Yeah, it's great.

Looks like you've been working together for a while.

I know. She's so perfect.

What a good girl.

And now back to the left.

And she's like, "Route's over." Alright, so you can say "Halt."

- We're back where we started. - Halt. Good girl.

- Good job. How'd that feel? - It felt terrific.

I haven't had..

I -- I, I haven't had a walk like that in a long, long time.

- Poppet, how'd I do? - "You did good!"

- Am I almost trained? - She said, "That was fun."

- "I like you." - Yeah.

Okay.

Arr, ruff!

Big smiles, everybody. Poppet, over here.

Poppet, arr! Poppet.

It took so much restraint

to not just run away with her in training.

I'll be a fugitive, but at least I'll be happy.

We have Mrs. Janet Gearheart. Whoo!

Sometimes it's not easy

to be blind or visually impaired.

It, it can shake one's confidence.

And it sometimes makes our world rather small.

Navigatin' our environment can be difficult

and, yes, a cane can help

but it's not as great

as a fuzzy face and a wet nose.

Poppet is here because many people

touched her in some way

whether it was the veterinary staff that whelped her

volunteers in the kennel

the puppy raisers

who gave her the foundation she needed

the basic skills to be socialized

and behave herself in public.

And then they had to return her to the school

and she went to Adam, and now I have her here.

So I wanna thank you all for everything you've done.

And I am so thankful to be graduating with Poppet.

Everybody's got a..

...sense of anticipation going on.

You know, after today it's gonna be me and him

and the big, wide world.

Well, well, well.

Hi, Philly!

- Hi, buddy. - Hi, Ron. I'm Kristin.

- It's a pleasure to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

- Hi, Philly! - I'm Kenny.

- It's a pleasure to meet you. - Nice to meet you, Ron.

I'm Patti.

Hi. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Can I give you a hug?

It's so good to meet you.

So how has it been, Ron?

It has been intense and amazing.

Yeah?

And working with Phil was just...freakin' awesome.

- Oh, good. - I love this guy.

Yeah, he's great.

What was it like for you

when you first met him?

Not to be cliche about it

but it was kind of love at first sight.

He came bounding over and just licked me in the face.

- Aw. - And it was like, "Yes!"

Is there anything that you're looking forward

to the most when you get home?

Honestly, being able to..

...to walk without restrictions on where I go.

So do you guys have any, uh..

...stories about Phil growing up?

The very first time I met Phil

he came to our house and he immediately jumped in my face

and bit me on the nose and I started..

And I started bleeding. Remember that, buddy?

I hope you don't relive that.

It makes the heartache worth it.

Alright. Next is Mr. Ronald Strother.

He lives in Kansas City, Missouri.

Today Ron is receiving his first guide dog, Phil

raised by Al and Patti White of San Ramon, California

and Kristin and Kenneth Sheppard

of San Francisco, California.

This is the most amazing gift that I've been given.

To say that I'm grateful is an understatement.

You've given me..

...a new life.

Phil is amazing.

He's like my little crazy brother..

Um..

...who is gonna be with me..

...always.

He has allowed me to move faster

to move more confidently.

My life is never gonna be the same, and I'm glad.

I'm grateful for that.

Wait. Okay. Inside.

Find a seat.

You did good, girl.

Get your tug toy!

Get your tug toy!

Oh, you won. You won.

Get 'em, Patriot! Get 'em!

Go get 'em!