Who is Joyce?

Joyce is a Guiding Eyes for the Blind dog my husband and I raised from 9 weeks old until she was about 1.5 years old. We went to classes to learn the training methods and work with others who were raising guide dogs. She was originally intended to be a guide dog, but was chosen to be a brood for the program instead!

Baby Joyce on her first day with us

Joyce was a handful when she was a pup. She was also the first dog I've ever had.

The day she left us

She now lives with a family near the HQ for Guiding Eyes. She was recently bred. If all goes well, she'll have her first litter by the end of September. I'm very excited.

GEB pups learn how to stand on different underfootings in case they get placed in a city

The area we're moving to has a Guiding Eyes region (where training classes are) and we might be able to raise one of her puppies!

Joyce's official brood portrait

 If you're at all interested in volunteering with Guiding Eyes for the Blind, check out their website: https://www.guidingeyes.org/volunteer/. They provide training, dogs, and follow up support services at no cost to the students. It's an amazing organization.

I'm pretty sure someone was holding a treat off camera here

In a lot of ways, Joyce was my baby. I'm very proud of what she has accomplished in life so far. I never thought she'd end up a brood. She loves what she's doing now, and looking back on what she was like as a puppy it's very obvious that this is what she was meant to do. She has always loved children and babies of all types (though they didn't always love her back! haha).

So expressive

We're keeping our fingers and toes crossed that she'll have a "sticky litter"!