Sharon + Reagan

“I’ve always known I wanted a guide dog,” says Oregon resident Sharon. “I have a unique background: I participated in puppy raising since I was nine years old, and I worked at a guide dog school for several summers. My goal was to become a teacher and show my students what a guide dog could do for them.” 

Sharon has achieved her goal with the support of four German Shepherd guide dogs. She now teaches young people who are visually impaired and is an Orientation & Mobility (O&M) instructor—one of the few legally blind people in the nation to achieve that certification.  

Her current guide, Reagan, is her second from Guiding Eyes. Sharon says that one of Reagan’s favorite places to guide is Costco. “She has learned by repetition where items I buy are located and finds them on command. I tell her ‘milk’ and she takes me to the milk. Reagan, a “happy and gorgeous girl,” also helps Sharon at work; “She helps my O&M students by encouraging them and has been known to head-push them to tell them to cross streets.”

When the COVID pandemic interrupted Sharon’s O&M classes, she again turned to Guiding Eyes for support. “The Guiding Eyes staff helped me figure out ways to continue to teach my students, so that they could keep up their skills,” she says. “I also used the Guiding Eyes website to show my students how to use screen reader software, since it is fully accessible. Its student biographies helped my own students who are visually impaired understand that they are not alone—other people like them are succeeding in their careers.”

As a show of her ongoing gratitude, Sharon joined the Pathfinder Society, friends who choose to make a planned gift. “I became a Pathfinder so that a client like me can get a well-trained dog that meets their individual needs,” she says. “Being part of the guide dog community for so long helped me pick Guiding Eyes as the right school to support my work and my life.”