The ?Town Walk? is a Seeing Eye dog?s graduation of sorts. It?s the culminating event where the dogs demonstrate their training before they?re paired with the person they?ll spend their lives guiding.

It is also the last time many trainers will see the dogs they?ve spent months preparing to become service animals.

That was a bittersweet day for Makenzie Bordenabe, an animal sciences major at Rutgers University and president of the student-run Seeing Eye Puppy Raising Club on campus. Bordenabe, a senior, said goodbye to Karl, the first dog she raised. She started with the black lab last year, raising him from a seven-week-old pup to a fully trained 15-month-old dog.

Pride swelled inside her as she observed Karl and the other dogs guide their advanced-skills trainers through a course, preventing them from stepping into traffic, helping them avoid obstacles and showing them how to maneuver along busy sidewalks.

?Part of it is letting go, but no matter how sad that is, you?re equally proud because you helped get the dog to that point,? said Bordenabe, who added that Karl is now guiding a 29-year-old man in Wisconsin. ?It?s really rewarding to see how great they?ve become.?

This powerful program has shaped the lives of hundreds of Rutgers students since it was founded in 2000. Since then, about 15 Seeing Eye dogs have been raised on campus per year by student volunteers for The Seeing Eye Inc., an 85-year-old nonprofit organization that trains and pairs service dogs with visually-impaired people across North America.

?[The] university setting allows the puppy great exposure to experiences that he or she will encounter as a guide,? said Michelle Barlak, a senior public relations associate with The Seeing Eye. ?The socialization that the puppies get on campus is an advantage for us, as well as spreading the word about The Seeing Eye. For the students, the project is advantageous with regards to learning responsibility, accountability, patience, leadership, commitment and giving back.?

Bordenabe, who had a close friend with a Seeing Eye dog growing up, knew of the Puppy Raising Club at Rutgers before she arrived on campus as a student. She got involved during her freshman year, starting as all volunteers for the program do - as a general member who works with the puppies during club meetings alongside student raisers.

General members learn the process of raising the pups, and if they?re interested in advancing, they attend a lecture and take a quiz to become a puppy sitter. Sitters take care of the Seeing Eye puppies in training when the student raisers are unable to do so.

?Even when they?re with a sitter, [puppy raisers] have to make sure they?re OK,? Bordenabe said. ?It?s like having a child.?

After spending at least a year as a sitter and working with a range of breeds, some students are chosen by club members to become puppy raisers. Raisers are with their assigned puppies 24/7, including finals week and breaks, attending all classes and events together. With their raisers, the dogs live in apartments on campus, take the bus and, of course, attend their weekly Puppy Club meetings.

The raisers teach the puppies approved Seeing Eye commands, good etiquette, and take them on exposure trips that introduce the dogs to the sights and sounds of everyday life. Bordenabe even took Karl to a Yankees game.

[btn-post-package]Bordenabe, who is now training her second puppy, Figaro, said those kinds of experiences reinforced her love of animals and her passion for veterinary medicine. Originally planning to work with exotic animals, she now wants to specialize in care for service animals in particular.

?I was given a puppy to teach, but he taught me just as much - how to properly manage myself and my time, and how to take care of him and myself at the same time,? she said. ?It?s a great thing to be part of. Now he?s going on to something greater, and that?s helping someone else.?

By Erica Christoffer

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