Meet Wasabi: a fun-loving 15-month-old pup who1's on track to becoming a 2working dog under the training of Sherry Baron.
"Guiding Eyes has graduated about 10,000 dogs. They do it totally on donations. He leaves me on April 7th to go back to Yorktown Heights, New York. They'll do a little test to see where he's at, and then he officially starts college, and during that time, he'll learn to be a 3guide dog. So, he will go to someone that is legally blind, that uses a 4walking stick. I've had him just for manners, 5socialization and basic 6obedience."
At Dirigo Pines in Orono, Wasabi got a great lesson in socialization through 7interactions with residents and staying calm during 8stimuli.
"No, he is not sensitive to noise at all."
Like people, going to college is all about finding yourself, and sometimes you realize what you studied doesn't translate to your desired career path.
"The dog makes a decision whether or not they really want to be a guide dog, so no matter how hard I work, or how hard the trainer that he has next works, Wasabi gets to make that choice. If not, he could go on to be a 9drug-sniffing dog, work at the airport."
Pass or fail, Baron says her first-time training has left her with an 10unforgettable experience.
"I have had him since he was 12 weeks old, and 11obviously we are very 12attached. I'm very proud of what I've been able to 13accomplish with him, but I also understand that he has a mission in life, and that mission is bigger than me. When I think about the gift that he can give someone, the freedom to be 14independent, to work, to live their daily lives because they have him, that's why I did it."
