Our mission: to create and nurture a partnership between a visually impaired person and a guide dog, facilitating life's journey with mobility, independence and dignity.

As the blind men and women arrive to start their training with a guide dog, I always notice how they come in. Many walk in with a red tipped cane - some hold onto the arm of a friend or relative. Their arrival is without independence, but I smile because I know how they will be leaving, with independence; the gift of freedom & independence at absolutely no cost.

Each person brings a story to Southeastern. I have seen people come in who have lost their sight for every reason there is: combat, traffic accidents, strokes, gunshot wounds, diabetes, glaucoma and other eye diseases. It never ceases to amaze me the number of things that can happen to the human eyes. I have met a Vietnam veteran who was blinded in the war, a young person who was shot by a relative, a retired admiral suffering from Macular Degeneration, and an 83-year-old retired schoolteacher who, after her spouse passed away, needed a dog to help her get around.

A pair of eyes is given to each of these individuals in the form of a guide dog. As a volunteer my greatest reward is the opportunity to witness this freedom and independence. Thank you for supporting Southeastern Guide Dogs.