Oberlin Blogs

Dogs and Their People

January 29, 2025

Kate Magnacca ’26

I write to you with a smile on my face and a puppy at my side. This is the coolest winter term ever. 

When I try to explain winter term (WT) to non-Obies, they often miss the allure. Luckily, I’m here to wax poetic about, and declare my love for, January in Oberlin. This is my third winter term, and this year I’m back on campus, enjoying the snowy quiet. I’m in a class called Dogs and Their People, all about the relationships between people and service dogs, therapy dogs, seeing eye dogs, pets, and more.

Week 1: Prep

The first week of the course was all prep work. We all read a book on dogs and a book on puppies. My favorite was Puppy Kindergarten--they totally got me with all the puppy pictures interspersed. Then, we went through Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB)’s training course, which all of their volunteers do. It qualifies puppy raisers and puppy sitters, who go on to train future guide dogs.

Week 2: In-Person Meetings

We spent this week learning more in depth about what we read during week one. We got to spend a lot of time with Oswald, the Guiding Eyes puppy our professor is currently raising, as well as her therapy dog Loki. This was one of my favorite parts. It’s so much easier to get up for class in the morning knowing there will be a friendly dog there. It brought all of us so much joy to come in and see them each day, and gave us an opportunity to actually see what we were learning about in action. We had three guest speakers over the course of this week, who gave incredible lectures on their research and work with service dogs. 

Week 3: PUPPIES! 

The part you’ve all been waiting for. Part of the GEB dogs’ training is to do two ‘puppy swaps’ with other puppy raisers. This way, the dogs are able to practice adapting to new routines, people, and environments. Those of us who chose to puppy-sit got matched with our puppies and their raisers a few days prior. I got a yellow lab named Makena. The raisers dropped their puppies off with us on Saturday. From there ensued a week of puppy shenanigans. During our usual class time, we worked with the puppies on rally tricks and guiding skills. In addition to our professor, we were also instructed by trainers Diane and Andrea--which was so helpful. Ten excitable puppies in a small classroom led to frequent chaos, but we made a lot of progress with the dogs. At the end of the week, we all presented with our puppies. The only parameters were demonstrating connection, communication and teamwork with our puppy. My favorite presentation was the sitter who taught her dog the Snoopy dance. 

The weekend came, and with it, the time for the puppies to return home. We were all very sad to say goodbye, but were quickly cheered up from our puppy-withdrawal by the kindness of their raisers--they left us with gifts of sweet treats and a lovely note. I miss Makena very much, but I also know that she will go on to be a wonderful companion and (if she passes her tests) service dog. 

This is my favorite winter term I’ve had so far. It was so full of joy. I learned so much, not just about the topic, but also about myself. I was introduced to the GEB organization, whom I hope to continue working with. I acquired resources and information to help with the long-term goal of having my own therapy dog to practice with. Best of all, I got to spend a week with the most wonderful puppy--I leave you with a picture of sweet Makena. 

Makena

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