Double Diplomas

A great article in the Inquirer recently highlighted the work of two Rowan University seniors who are helping to train a guide dog. Not so unusual you might think. But here's the catch: these two trainers are blind.

Jordan Ortiz already has a guide dog named Viola, who has helped lead her through four years at Rowan and will be at her side when she accepts her diploma. Ortiz's roommate and classmate, Danielle Larsen, is also legally blind. It is Larsen who is raising a guide dog in training, Zara. "We really have a unique situation for a puppy to grow up in," Larsen laughs.

Usually puppy raisers are sighted, but this pair is bringing a new dimension to the volunteer effort. Certainly these two girls know exactly what a guide dog will need to do to make their respective lives easier. Right now, they go everywhere and do everything with their dogs in tow. "Parts of our backpacks are ours and parts are the dogs," says Larsen.

Zara has been with Ortiz and Larsen for five months. Soon she will return to the headquarters of The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey for more training, including how to walk in a harness with a handle, follow directional commands and stop for traffic. The training to date has been all about manners, socialization and love.

Will it be hard to give her up? Of course but "Zara has a destiny and a future," comments Larsen. So, it seems, do these generous and accomplished girls.