dogblessusa:

Greg McLaughlin has lost a lot over the past year or so, first his wife of 26 years died and just two weeks later, Greg’s sight was gone just as fast. He decided to take charge of his life, so he took a year off from his work as a pastor and learned the skills needed to deal with his blindness.

But Greg wasn’t having much luck with mobility, it was vanity that kept him from using a cane and in his words, “I was tired of relying on elbows to get around.” So he made the decision to get a guide from Southeastern Guide Dogs.

Greg came to Southeastern in May and was matched with a handsome yellow Labrador named Bob. Greg sees similarities in their personalities, both are independent and great fun to be around, and during the training they learned a great deal about one another and really cemented a bond.

Now that Greg is back home in Hickory, North Carolina we have no doubt he and Bob are getting back to nature. Living in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, there are several hiking trails around beautiful lakes that Greg was looking forward to using again, and now with Bob to guide him, he can safely do so. He says, “It is so easy to sit down and say ‘woe is me’ when something like this happens, but I want to get out and get motivated.”

Founded in 1982, Southeastern Guide Dogs is a nonprofit organization that raises, trains, and matches guide dogs with the visually impaired. Through their programs Paws for Independence™, Paws for Patriots™, and Gifted Canines™ they have more than 600 active guide dog teams across the nation and continue to add more than 70 teams annually, all at no charge to the recipient and with no government funding, thanks to the generous support of donors such as explore.org and volunteers.

Southeastern has created more than 2,500 guide dog teams since inception, providing mobility and independence to people in need. They are one of only twelve guide dog schools in the United States and the only one in the southeast.