April 10, 2024 • 16 mins
We spoke with client, Laura Judy, about the reassurance, safety, love and joy that her dog, Lyla, has brought to her life through Fidelco Guide Dogs.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Her communities. Thank you so muchfor listening. As we continue our conversations
with our friends with the Fidelco GuideDog Foundation and their incredible clients and guide
dogs. Today we have a veryspecial guest in our hotline. Please welcome
Laura Judy and her incredible guide dogLila on the line. Hello Laura,
Hello, Thank you. Tell mewhere Lila is right now? She is
(00:23):
right beside me. I was justgonna say, I have a feeling that's
that's where she is most of thetime. Absolutely, if I leave the
room, she's on my heels.If I go to the bathroom, she's
right outside the door. Are herfor a part? Even though she's an
incredible guide dog with Fidelko, shedoes have those true German shepherd traits,
meaning that she's got her person andyou happen to be her person. Yes,
(00:46):
which I love. Laura, tellme about your story if you don't
mind. Obviously you do have visionloss. You live in Pennsylvania, so
thank you for talking to us allthe way from PA. But tell me
about you prosoluately dark and then whatled you to Lola. Okay, so
my story is I have what iscalled RP for short, it's threat night
(01:08):
as pigmentosa and when I was veryyoung, at the age of four,
I was diagnosed with it. ButI was very fortunate and the fact that
it's very slow progressing on my side. I do have the type that is
hereditary, so my dad has it. I'm one of three kids and all
three of us have it. Ihave two children and my son has it,
but fortunately it's slow progressing. Sowhen I was four, what led
(01:30):
my mom to take into the doctorsand start asking questions was I would bump
into things at night. I justwould not see them, and so that's
when they realized, yes, shehas RP. I had what they called
night blindness, so if the lightwas low, everything would go completely dark.
I was truly blind at that point, but then I was still able
to function as a kid. Iwas still able to get my driver's license.
(01:52):
Things really started changing when I wasaround thirty, and for me,
the big change was I started havingsevere loss of my peripheral vision. So
most people have about one hundred andeighty degrees that they can see. If
they're looking straight ahead at something,they can still see about one hundred and
eighty degrees around as far as what'son top below, to the side,
and with that that was closing inon me. And it's to the point
(02:14):
now where I have about ten degreesof vision, and then within those ten
degrees, I'm getting little pockets ofvision loss. So certain things, even
though they might be in front ofme, I might miss them. I
just don't see them there. Howhave you been able to handle that?
You know? Mentally? You know, I wonder what kind of toll that
that took on you from being ableto see and then slowly having that being,
(02:36):
you know, taken from you.How was that for you on an
emotional level? You know, it'sinteresting you ask because it has been such
a gradual change that I learned howto adapt without even thinking about it.
And the biggest change was when theyfinally said, okay, it's to the
point now where we need to havethat discussion of is it safe for you
(02:58):
to drive? And at the time, I was pregnant with my son,
and I immediately thought, I ambringing this beautiful child into this world.
I cannot put them in danger.And then I thought, oh my gosh,
what if I would miss somebody else'schild crossing the road or doing something.
So that was The hardest part wasfor me to give up that freedom,
but if I thought about it asfar as the safety perspective, it
was very easy to do. Thehardest part was confiscating for that was it,
(03:22):
okay, now I have to dopublic transportation, or now I need
to aly on friends and family.That was very difficult because I don't like
asking for help. I like tohelp. I don't like being with the
other end of it. So thatwas emotional. And the other part that
was actually plays the hardest was whenmy son was diagnosed. That was an
ugly, ugly day. I crieda lot, and that actually that's one
(03:44):
of the reasons I went with Fidelco, and I decided I needed to start
taking measures to not only help myselfstay independent, but to also show my
son that you got this. Youknow, you will be okay if you
get to the point where your sadis Mommy, it's okay, mommy using
the cane and Mommy has this wonderfuldog. I can still take you to
school events, we can still goto the floor, we can still do
(04:06):
things, and I'm not just goingto be sitting at home and not living
life. And so that's actually whatprompted me to take it further and look
at getting a guide dog. AndI've no regret, best thing ever,
no regrets. You know, Ican't argue with that. Fidillico such a
wonderful partner here and I heard communitiesa part of my life since I've been
twelve years old. I always saythat on the show because I love to
(04:27):
brag about Fidelco. But you knowwhat, right we were talking even before
this started. You and I arethe same page. And these these dogs,
which I feel like we shouldn't evenbe calling them dogs. They are
angels on earth for what they do. Tell me. Tell me about you
and Lilah the day you met andwhat it has meant to you in your
life and the freedom that she hasprovided for you. Oh I had she
(04:49):
She is so much fun. Ijust I remember when we first met.
I had a very hard time nottouching her because the first time we met,
I had my first the Delco guidedog. So she's actually my second
one and my first dog. Becausethey are meeting for the first time,
the trainer had me come outside withhim and then we actually took a walk
(05:11):
around the block where I was holdingmy dog at the time Radar and she
would walk Lila and said, Ijust want to get them used to each
other outside before we go inside,before there's any feelings of this is my
territory. And so we just tooka long walk outside and I was just
looking over at her because she hasthe longer hair, and I just kept
thinking, I just want to scratchher. She looks so soft and cuddly.
(05:33):
Lover her up. I was justso so sweet. Oh my gosh,
she has been such a delight.I mean she she has such a
big, big heart. I meanshe's from the very very beginning, she
was all about me. She wasvery very touched. She is such a
loving, gentle creature. So ifI if I'm sick, she's literally wipe
(05:54):
beside me. If I'm watching amovie and I get upset, she comes
over. She's tried to lick myface. She has such a kind sential
heart is wonderful. So you youlike her, I'm getting maybe a little
bit alike there. Yeah, butyou know what, Laura, let me
go back, because I do wantto bring up Radar, which I didn't
(06:15):
bring up at all, and theinterview did. So this is your second
guide dog, tell me about Radarbecause so was that your first introduction to
to Fidelco is radar and guide dogsand so, so tell me about that
because I think you know, obviouslythere's always a new experience with each new
guide dog, because like you said, they all have these different personalities.
But tell me about going from fromno dog to a dog being this incredible
(06:38):
guide dog Radar. Oh, itwas absolutely amazing. I mean the things
that I just so here's I loveto hear this example with people because when
I when I first got Radar,I thought I was being proactive because talking
to Fidelko, they were very honestand said, it's going to be at
least six months to a year untilyou feel like you and your guide dogs
(07:00):
are a team because you're learning howto read each other, you're learning how
to interpret actions and reactions. Andthey said, so you're really not going
to feel like you're a well oiledmachine until you're into it. And so
I thought, okay, well,if it's going to take that long,
i'm might as well get one nowbecause of my vision continues to decrease,
I'm going to need that help.So I thought I was being proactive,
(07:21):
and I remember it was the firstweek that we were actually on our own.
So the trainer team for three weeksand helped me learn everything I needed
to learn. And I've remember whathe told me was he said, Okay,
Radar is fully trained, he's certified, he's ready to go these three
weeks or for you to you Igot to work with him. I remember
(07:42):
the first week we were on ourown, I was walking to work and
the entrance at where I worked atthe time had a couple parking spots right
by the front door. Never thoughtanything about it, and so he's walking
me to the front door, andall of a sudden, he just stops
and goes right in front of meand just blocks me. So I can't
move, and I'm standing, Iforget okay, let me go back to
the training. What is he tryingto tell me? And I'm trying to
(08:03):
figure out why he's stopping me.I'm here at this car right in front
of us is backing up. Ohmy god, they backed up right in
front of us, and the womanstopped and she was like I couldn't see
that. She was so apologetic,and I just started laughing and I told
her some praise so horrid he wouldhave stop. I love Oh my god,
that's amazing. Yeah, I neededhim to star that I thought.
(08:24):
So it was at that point Isaid, you know what, I really
I do need this and I lovethis dog and I love Podoco, and
that did it for me. Thisis the best thing I ever did.
And that was one of many manytimes that put him and Laila have done
things where I either would have beenseverely injured or worse if if they didn't
stop me. I can't sing theirpraises enough. They're amazing, Laura.
(08:46):
Tell me about that bond, becauseyou know, not everybody is as a
dog person, and I think,you know, with the last couple of
interviews that I've done about this,I think that's something to be talked about
because I've had people one client thattold me they never even liked dogs before
they got their Fidelco guide dog.So what were your thoughts on, you
know, having pets, having adog, then having to trust the dog,
(09:09):
right, So tell me about that. Yes, yes, I I'm
very much a dog lover and soever since I was born, basically I've
always had a dog in the familyand then later had dogs of my own,
and I remember, for me,it was very difficult to change my
mindset, and the trainer was fantastic. He made it very clear to me.
He said, there are certain thingsbut you have always done as a
(09:31):
dog owner that you can no longerdo. You have to change your mindset
because this dog is helping you andthey need to stay focused and they need
to be focused on you. Sojust certain hand gestures that I used to
always see with my dogs, orwhistling or cooking my tongue or I need
to you can't do that. Theyneed to know your voice. You need
to focus on them understanding your bodylanguage and your voice. They need to
(09:54):
react to you. And that forme was one of the hardest things was
to change my mindset. But onceI did, and once we started going
out and the one thing I didwith radar again my kids were younger,
my husband's schedule was crazy, andso for me, the time that I
had to work radar around my neighborhoodwas early in the morning, four o'clock
(10:16):
in the morning, so it wascompletely dark. It was the best thing
I ever did because I couldn't seeanything, and I very quickly learned to
trust him and rely on him,and I soon realized that I could trust
him because he'd pick up one thing'sbranches in the road, or if it
was icy, he'd walk me aroundthe ice or around water puddles and things
that I normally would not have pickedup on. And I very quickly learned,
(10:39):
oh my gosh, this dog brulyis keeping me safe. And it's
the best feeling to know that you'reno longer alone, Like you have something
that's going to help you, watchout for you, take care of you,
and in term you just can't helpbut want to do the same for
them, Like, hey, we'rea partner. This is a partnership here,
so I'm going to take care ofyou too. Whatever you need,
you got it. What do youneed? I hear just no. I
(11:01):
hear the love in your voice,and I hear the passion in your voice,
and it's so inspiring to hear youspeak like this. Maybe some words
of advice for someone going through whatyou have because you're married, you have
kids, you had a job,you're losing your vision, I mean,
by all points, if you wantedto have some down days, right,
what keeps this beautiful? Your smileis coming so clear across you know this,
(11:24):
But like I'm sitting here like Ithink I look like a cuckoo bird
here because I'm smiling the whole timeI'm talking to you. I'm just sitting
here with a smile on my facebecause you're making me smile. So where
do you? Where does this comefrom? Tell me? Tell me how
I can have a little piece ofyou that I want to sell. I
like, bottle up whenever you haveand it's amazing. Tell me about where
you got your fut from. Oh, a really good question. I don't
(11:48):
know. I mean, honestly,a lot of it's a lot of praying.
Lord helped me out. And againyou can hear these great dogs.
Oh my gosh, thank you.I know I tell her what your question
was. I'm sorry. I justwant to know where you get your spirit
and your positivity from. Oh,I have to give a lot of credit
because the dog. And this isgoing to sound silly, but you go
(12:09):
from being in a very dark placefor you feel very alone, and especially
with having a family, trying towork and trying to set the example,
that can very quickly become overwhelming andyou feel like there's nowhere to go.
You're on your own, and it'sjust a very daunting task, and then
they give you this wonderful, wonderfuldog who wants to take care of you,
(12:30):
and they love you unconditionally. Theydon't care if you pick the wrong
colored shoes, they don't care ifyour outfit is mismatched, they don't care
if you have a bad day atwork. They want to help you no
matter what. And there's something thatbeing said about having this creature care about
you so much. It makes youhappier, You feel better, you feel
protested, you feel safe things thatI would never do. Would be very
(12:52):
hesitant to go into this city bymyself with my keeam because I would worry
about being a victim. People mightsee that, oh here's an easy target.
Now I have this dog with me, and people will either make way
for us because they are dog lovers, may appreciate what they're doing, or
quite honestly, they're scared of them. Okay, that's fine too. The
dog should give your space. Butyou have this thing that's going to help
(13:16):
you, and I love you andtell you that it's okay and you're not
alone. And that's the biggest thing. Because I remember one time I was
waiting for the bus, and bussesare not always reliable, and in the
suburban area, so there's the busstops are not always clearly marked. It's
more you just go to the generalarea and the bus driver will stop for
you and you get on the bus. And I remember one time I had
the dog with me and I waswaiting and waiting, and I was getting
(13:39):
really anxious because it was getting laterand later. I thought, okay,
I guess I'm not coming. Iwas really starting to worry, and so
Lowly just kind of nudges me,and I just start putting her, okay,
what you're right, It's going tobe okay, it's all right.
And then here comes the bus andthey go over all right. I just
I just made that little nudge thatI wasn't alone, you know, I
said, hey, but we're together, it's okay, You're going to be
all right. Okay. I neededthat. Thank you, thank you,
(14:01):
And that's such I think that's sucha beautiful way to wrap this conversation.
Although we have so much more totalk about. Maybe you'll come back and
chat with us, because we didn'teven get to your your life, your
job. We haven't gotten to toall the things that you know. But
I think I think the point thatwe've gotten across is that you have overcome,
you are persevering, you are positive, you are sharing your story,
(14:22):
you are living your life to thefullest. And with the addition of Fidelco,
if I may assume you're you're ableto go forward fearless. Absolutely,
absolutely. My life would be definitelydifferent if it wasn't for them, And
I don't think it'd be a positivedifference. It would definitely be a negative
different gosh, if I wouldn't havehad them. And do you do you
(14:43):
see this for your your son?You know, hopeful when he gets,
you know, to the age wherehe may be eligible to have a guide
dog. And do you do yousee this as a way of creating a
normal the normalcy of having the dogand as a guide dog. Yes,
he has already told me that,because now he's sixteen and he is he
(15:05):
watches how I interacted them, Hewatches the commands and he's picking it all
up. And I remember when hewas little and I was explaining to him
because I always explained bickim and wheneverthe dogs do something awesome, I have
to brag, Oh my gosh,she wouldn't believe what just happened to it.
I remember when I had Radar,he got me around this really tricky
environment with a puddle. There wasa car coming, and Radar was great
(15:26):
about not having me go around thepuddle yet because the car was coming.
And then once the car passed,then he took me around the big puddle.
And I just sort of bragging tomy kids about I just loved how
he thought that through. He knewexactly what to do and when. And
I'm telling my son and he lookedat his mom. When I get my
guide big, I'm going to teachhim to jump in the puddles. Leave
(15:50):
it to a kid, right,I know, I thought what I knew.
You know what, now You're gonnabe fine. You you know exactly
what to do. He will nothesitate whatsoever. If he needs one,
he will go right to Fidelco andhe'll be all absolutely happy with it.
Well, thank you for spending alittle bit of your time here with us,
Laura, Judy and her uh secondyes, her second guide dog is
(16:12):
Elilah, and I have a beautifulphoto to post at mycommunity access dot com.
Thank you for sharing some of yourstory here and I heard communities.
Oh my pleasure. Thank you fordoing this. Thanks Laura
Her communities. Thank you so muchfor listening. As we continue our conversations
with our friends with the Fidelco GuideDog Foundation and their incredible clients and guide
dogs. Today we have a veryspecial guest in our hotline. Please welcome
Laura Judy and her incredible guide dogLila on the line. Hello Laura,
Hello, Thank you. Tell mewhere Lila is right now? She is
(00:23):
right beside me. I was justgonna say, I have a feeling that's
that's where she is most of thetime. Absolutely, if I leave the
room, she's on my heels.If I go to the bathroom, she's
right outside the door. Are herfor a part? Even though she's an
incredible guide dog with Fidelko, shedoes have those true German shepherd traits,
meaning that she's got her person andyou happen to be her person. Yes,
(00:46):
which I love. Laura, tellme about your story if you don't
mind. Obviously you do have visionloss. You live in Pennsylvania, so
thank you for talking to us allthe way from PA. But tell me
about you prosoluately dark and then whatled you to Lola. Okay, so
my story is I have what iscalled RP for short, it's threat night
(01:08):
as pigmentosa and when I was veryyoung, at the age of four,
I was diagnosed with it. ButI was very fortunate and the fact that
it's very slow progressing on my side. I do have the type that is
hereditary, so my dad has it. I'm one of three kids and all
three of us have it. Ihave two children and my son has it,
but fortunately it's slow progressing. Sowhen I was four, what led
(01:30):
my mom to take into the doctorsand start asking questions was I would bump
into things at night. I justwould not see them, and so that's
when they realized, yes, shehas RP. I had what they called
night blindness, so if the lightwas low, everything would go completely dark.
I was truly blind at that point, but then I was still able
to function as a kid. Iwas still able to get my driver's license.
(01:52):
Things really started changing when I wasaround thirty, and for me,
the big change was I started havingsevere loss of my peripheral vision. So
most people have about one hundred andeighty degrees that they can see. If
they're looking straight ahead at something,they can still see about one hundred and
eighty degrees around as far as what'son top below, to the side,
and with that that was closing inon me. And it's to the point
(02:14):
now where I have about ten degreesof vision, and then within those ten
degrees, I'm getting little pockets ofvision loss. So certain things, even
though they might be in front ofme, I might miss them. I
just don't see them there. Howhave you been able to handle that?
You know? Mentally? You know, I wonder what kind of toll that
that took on you from being ableto see and then slowly having that being,
(02:36):
you know, taken from you.How was that for you on an
emotional level? You know, it'sinteresting you ask because it has been such
a gradual change that I learned howto adapt without even thinking about it.
And the biggest change was when theyfinally said, okay, it's to the
point now where we need to havethat discussion of is it safe for you
(02:58):
to drive? And at the time, I was pregnant with my son,
and I immediately thought, I ambringing this beautiful child into this world.
I cannot put them in danger.And then I thought, oh my gosh,
what if I would miss somebody else'schild crossing the road or doing something.
So that was The hardest part wasfor me to give up that freedom,
but if I thought about it asfar as the safety perspective, it
was very easy to do. Thehardest part was confiscating for that was it,
(03:22):
okay, now I have to dopublic transportation, or now I need
to aly on friends and family.That was very difficult because I don't like
asking for help. I like tohelp. I don't like being with the
other end of it. So thatwas emotional. And the other part that
was actually plays the hardest was whenmy son was diagnosed. That was an
ugly, ugly day. I crieda lot, and that actually that's one
(03:44):
of the reasons I went with Fidelco, and I decided I needed to start
taking measures to not only help myselfstay independent, but to also show my
son that you got this. Youknow, you will be okay if you
get to the point where your sadis Mommy, it's okay, mommy using
the cane and Mommy has this wonderfuldog. I can still take you to
school events, we can still goto the floor, we can still do
(04:06):
things, and I'm not just goingto be sitting at home and not living
life. And so that's actually whatprompted me to take it further and look
at getting a guide dog. AndI've no regret, best thing ever,
no regrets. You know, Ican't argue with that. Fidillico such a
wonderful partner here and I heard communitiesa part of my life since I've been
twelve years old. I always saythat on the show because I love to
(04:27):
brag about Fidelco. But you knowwhat, right we were talking even before
this started. You and I arethe same page. And these these dogs,
which I feel like we shouldn't evenbe calling them dogs. They are
angels on earth for what they do. Tell me. Tell me about you
and Lilah the day you met andwhat it has meant to you in your
life and the freedom that she hasprovided for you. Oh I had she
(04:49):
She is so much fun. Ijust I remember when we first met.
I had a very hard time nottouching her because the first time we met,
I had my first the Delco guidedog. So she's actually my second
one and my first dog. Becausethey are meeting for the first time,
the trainer had me come outside withhim and then we actually took a walk
(05:11):
around the block where I was holdingmy dog at the time Radar and she
would walk Lila and said, Ijust want to get them used to each
other outside before we go inside,before there's any feelings of this is my
territory. And so we just tooka long walk outside and I was just
looking over at her because she hasthe longer hair, and I just kept
thinking, I just want to scratchher. She looks so soft and cuddly.
(05:33):
Lover her up. I was justso so sweet. Oh my gosh,
she has been such a delight.I mean she she has such a
big, big heart. I meanshe's from the very very beginning, she
was all about me. She wasvery very touched. She is such a
loving, gentle creature. So ifI if I'm sick, she's literally wipe
(05:54):
beside me. If I'm watching amovie and I get upset, she comes
over. She's tried to lick myface. She has such a kind sential
heart is wonderful. So you youlike her, I'm getting maybe a little
bit alike there. Yeah, butyou know what, Laura, let me
go back, because I do wantto bring up Radar, which I didn't
(06:15):
bring up at all, and theinterview did. So this is your second
guide dog, tell me about Radarbecause so was that your first introduction to
to Fidelco is radar and guide dogsand so, so tell me about that
because I think you know, obviouslythere's always a new experience with each new
guide dog, because like you said, they all have these different personalities.
But tell me about going from fromno dog to a dog being this incredible
(06:38):
guide dog Radar. Oh, itwas absolutely amazing. I mean the things
that I just so here's I loveto hear this example with people because when
I when I first got Radar,I thought I was being proactive because talking
to Fidelko, they were very honestand said, it's going to be at
least six months to a year untilyou feel like you and your guide dogs
(07:00):
are a team because you're learning howto read each other, you're learning how
to interpret actions and reactions. Andthey said, so you're really not going
to feel like you're a well oiledmachine until you're into it. And so
I thought, okay, well,if it's going to take that long,
i'm might as well get one nowbecause of my vision continues to decrease,
I'm going to need that help.So I thought I was being proactive,
(07:21):
and I remember it was the firstweek that we were actually on our own.
So the trainer team for three weeksand helped me learn everything I needed
to learn. And I've remember whathe told me was he said, Okay,
Radar is fully trained, he's certified, he's ready to go these three
weeks or for you to you Igot to work with him. I remember
(07:42):
the first week we were on ourown, I was walking to work and
the entrance at where I worked atthe time had a couple parking spots right
by the front door. Never thoughtanything about it, and so he's walking
me to the front door, andall of a sudden, he just stops
and goes right in front of meand just blocks me. So I can't
move, and I'm standing, Iforget okay, let me go back to
the training. What is he tryingto tell me? And I'm trying to
(08:03):
figure out why he's stopping me.I'm here at this car right in front
of us is backing up. Ohmy god, they backed up right in
front of us, and the womanstopped and she was like I couldn't see
that. She was so apologetic,and I just started laughing and I told
her some praise so horrid he wouldhave stop. I love Oh my god,
that's amazing. Yeah, I neededhim to star that I thought.
(08:24):
So it was at that point Isaid, you know what, I really
I do need this and I lovethis dog and I love Podoco, and
that did it for me. Thisis the best thing I ever did.
And that was one of many manytimes that put him and Laila have done
things where I either would have beenseverely injured or worse if if they didn't
stop me. I can't sing theirpraises enough. They're amazing, Laura.
(08:46):
Tell me about that bond, becauseyou know, not everybody is as a
dog person, and I think,you know, with the last couple of
interviews that I've done about this,I think that's something to be talked about
because I've had people one client thattold me they never even liked dogs before
they got their Fidelco guide dog.So what were your thoughts on, you
know, having pets, having adog, then having to trust the dog,
(09:09):
right, So tell me about that. Yes, yes, I I'm
very much a dog lover and soever since I was born, basically I've
always had a dog in the familyand then later had dogs of my own,
and I remember, for me,it was very difficult to change my
mindset, and the trainer was fantastic. He made it very clear to me.
He said, there are certain thingsbut you have always done as a
(09:31):
dog owner that you can no longerdo. You have to change your mindset
because this dog is helping you andthey need to stay focused and they need
to be focused on you. Sojust certain hand gestures that I used to
always see with my dogs, orwhistling or cooking my tongue or I need
to you can't do that. Theyneed to know your voice. You need
to focus on them understanding your bodylanguage and your voice. They need to
(09:54):
react to you. And that forme was one of the hardest things was
to change my mindset. But onceI did, and once we started going
out and the one thing I didwith radar again my kids were younger,
my husband's schedule was crazy, andso for me, the time that I
had to work radar around my neighborhoodwas early in the morning, four o'clock
(10:16):
in the morning, so it wascompletely dark. It was the best thing
I ever did because I couldn't seeanything, and I very quickly learned to
trust him and rely on him,and I soon realized that I could trust
him because he'd pick up one thing'sbranches in the road, or if it
was icy, he'd walk me aroundthe ice or around water puddles and things
that I normally would not have pickedup on. And I very quickly learned,
(10:39):
oh my gosh, this dog brulyis keeping me safe. And it's
the best feeling to know that you'reno longer alone, Like you have something
that's going to help you, watchout for you, take care of you,
and in term you just can't helpbut want to do the same for
them, Like, hey, we'rea partner. This is a partnership here,
so I'm going to take care ofyou too. Whatever you need,
you got it. What do youneed? I hear just no. I
(11:01):
hear the love in your voice,and I hear the passion in your voice,
and it's so inspiring to hear youspeak like this. Maybe some words
of advice for someone going through whatyou have because you're married, you have
kids, you had a job,you're losing your vision, I mean,
by all points, if you wantedto have some down days, right,
what keeps this beautiful? Your smileis coming so clear across you know this,
(11:24):
But like I'm sitting here like Ithink I look like a cuckoo bird
here because I'm smiling the whole timeI'm talking to you. I'm just sitting
here with a smile on my facebecause you're making me smile. So where
do you? Where does this comefrom? Tell me? Tell me how
I can have a little piece ofyou that I want to sell. I
like, bottle up whenever you haveand it's amazing. Tell me about where
you got your fut from. Oh, a really good question. I don't
(11:48):
know. I mean, honestly,a lot of it's a lot of praying.
Lord helped me out. And againyou can hear these great dogs.
Oh my gosh, thank you.I know I tell her what your question
was. I'm sorry. I justwant to know where you get your spirit
and your positivity from. Oh,I have to give a lot of credit
because the dog. And this isgoing to sound silly, but you go
(12:09):
from being in a very dark placefor you feel very alone, and especially
with having a family, trying towork and trying to set the example,
that can very quickly become overwhelming andyou feel like there's nowhere to go.
You're on your own, and it'sjust a very daunting task, and then
they give you this wonderful, wonderfuldog who wants to take care of you,
(12:30):
and they love you unconditionally. Theydon't care if you pick the wrong
colored shoes, they don't care ifyour outfit is mismatched, they don't care
if you have a bad day atwork. They want to help you no
matter what. And there's something thatbeing said about having this creature care about
you so much. It makes youhappier, You feel better, you feel
protested, you feel safe things thatI would never do. Would be very
(12:52):
hesitant to go into this city bymyself with my keeam because I would worry
about being a victim. People mightsee that, oh here's an easy target.
Now I have this dog with me, and people will either make way
for us because they are dog lovers, may appreciate what they're doing, or
quite honestly, they're scared of them. Okay, that's fine too. The
dog should give your space. Butyou have this thing that's going to help
(13:16):
you, and I love you andtell you that it's okay and you're not
alone. And that's the biggest thing. Because I remember one time I was
waiting for the bus, and bussesare not always reliable, and in the
suburban area, so there's the busstops are not always clearly marked. It's
more you just go to the generalarea and the bus driver will stop for
you and you get on the bus. And I remember one time I had
the dog with me and I waswaiting and waiting, and I was getting
(13:39):
really anxious because it was getting laterand later. I thought, okay,
I guess I'm not coming. Iwas really starting to worry, and so
Lowly just kind of nudges me,and I just start putting her, okay,
what you're right, It's going tobe okay, it's all right.
And then here comes the bus andthey go over all right. I just
I just made that little nudge thatI wasn't alone, you know, I
said, hey, but we're together, it's okay, You're going to be
all right. Okay. I neededthat. Thank you, thank you,
(14:01):
And that's such I think that's sucha beautiful way to wrap this conversation.
Although we have so much more totalk about. Maybe you'll come back and
chat with us, because we didn'teven get to your your life, your
job. We haven't gotten to toall the things that you know. But
I think I think the point thatwe've gotten across is that you have overcome,
you are persevering, you are positive, you are sharing your story,
(14:22):
you are living your life to thefullest. And with the addition of Fidelco,
if I may assume you're you're ableto go forward fearless. Absolutely,
absolutely. My life would be definitelydifferent if it wasn't for them, And
I don't think it'd be a positivedifference. It would definitely be a negative
different gosh, if I wouldn't havehad them. And do you do you
(14:43):
see this for your your son?You know, hopeful when he gets,
you know, to the age wherehe may be eligible to have a guide
dog. And do you do yousee this as a way of creating a
normal the normalcy of having the dogand as a guide dog. Yes,
he has already told me that,because now he's sixteen and he is he
(15:05):
watches how I interacted them, Hewatches the commands and he's picking it all
up. And I remember when hewas little and I was explaining to him
because I always explained bickim and wheneverthe dogs do something awesome, I have
to brag, Oh my gosh,she wouldn't believe what just happened to it.
I remember when I had Radar,he got me around this really tricky
environment with a puddle. There wasa car coming, and Radar was great
(15:26):
about not having me go around thepuddle yet because the car was coming.
And then once the car passed,then he took me around the big puddle.
And I just sort of bragging tomy kids about I just loved how
he thought that through. He knewexactly what to do and when. And
I'm telling my son and he lookedat his mom. When I get my
guide big, I'm going to teachhim to jump in the puddles. Leave
(15:50):
it to a kid, right,I know, I thought what I knew.
You know what, now You're gonnabe fine. You you know exactly
what to do. He will nothesitate whatsoever. If he needs one,
he will go right to Fidelco andhe'll be all absolutely happy with it.
Well, thank you for spending alittle bit of your time here with us,
Laura, Judy and her uh secondyes, her second guide dog is
(16:12):
Elilah, and I have a beautifulphoto to post at mycommunity access dot com.
Thank you for sharing some of yourstory here and I heard communities.
Oh my pleasure. Thank you fordoing this. Thanks Laura
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