Monday, April 30, 2012

Will Guide Dog Carlo Win the Hero Dog Awards?

black Lab in harness
Carlo is a six-year-old Guide Dog that has made an unbelievable difference in my life. I have lost my vision gradually and started using a white cane fifteen years ago. After falling down some stairs on my way home from work and suffering an injury that required surgery to repair, I decided I needed more than a cane. I got Carlo.

My cane has been collecting dust ever since. I commute over 20 miles to work five days a week. Carlo guides me on my twenty-five minute walk to and from the train station and around my rather large office building. He even guides me through the crowded, narrow and uneven sidewalks in San Francisco’s Chinatown to go to lunch with colleagues. Bumps, bruises and more serious injuries are things of the past. When people ask “Has Carlo ever saved your life?” I answer,“Every day!”

Technology, such as screen-reading software, has extended my career in IT, but without Carlo, I doubt that I would have the necessary mobility to continue. We go everywhere together. Besides work, he takes me to the grocery store, to get my hair cut, to visit friends, to medical appointments and more. We have travelled to Hawaii, Las Vegas and all over the State of California. We have even gone off-road – hiking in the Sierra Nevada and other places.

He gives me the confidence to go where I want to go and I do so feeling safe in his paws. --Timothy Godecker in Walnut Creek, California

Will Guide Dog Carlo win the Hero Dog Awards? Only if you vote! Vote every day and be sure to share!

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