By Beth Saulnier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Students on the Hill are training for all manner of careers, and many will have a direct impact on human wellbeing. But a select few of these hardworking learners are not only destined for essential jobs, but are downright adorable: the half dozen or so puppies whom Cornellians are raising to become future Guiding Eyes dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have seen them in their little blue vests, looking irresistibly, fantastically cute as they accompany their humans (known as \u201craisers\u201d) around campus. With the aim of acclimating them to as many environments as possible, the puppies go to class, ride the bus, take outings to restaurants and stores, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA big part of their training is socialization\u2014taking them places, exposing them to different environments,\u201d says Alyssa Roorda \u201923, an agricultural science major who\u2019s been co-raising a black Lab named Oak<\/a> since May 2022. \u201cAnd what better place than a college campus? Our dogs are really fortunate to get all of the experiences here that they do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roorda is president of Guiding Eyes at Cornell<\/a>, a student-run group dedicated to raising dogs\u2014mainly Labrador retrievers\u2014from puppyhood until they enter formal training as guide dogs when they\u2019re about a year and a half old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A big part of their training is socialization\u2014taking them places, exposing them to different environments.<\/p>\nGuiding Eyes at Cornell president Alyssa Roorda<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In addition to living with the dogs and socializing them, members take their furry charges to official training classes\u2014taught by the nonprofit Guiding Eyes for the Blind<\/a>, which provides the puppies and oversees their upbringing, including medical care\u2014as well as conducting daily one-on-one training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour dog is basically your little buddy on campus,\u201d says Zoe Weissbach \u201923, BS \u201922, who\u2019s raising a yellow Lab. \u201cAlec<\/a> comes with me to my classes, he\u2019ll sit in the library.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The group has several dozen active members (with hundreds on its mailing list), a few of whom are serving as raisers at any given time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Others are \u201csitters\u201d\u2014students who take the dogs for short jaunts or who watch them when their raisers go on vacation\u2014a required step before becoming a raiser.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe dogs are kind of always working and getting exposure to different situations,\u201d says Weissbach, a recent civil engineering alum (she graduated a semester early). \u201cYou try to take them everywhere you can, but also teach them that they don\u2019t go everywhere<\/em>; sometimes you have to leave them home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n And Guiding Eyes at Cornell is just one of the student groups on the Hill dedicated to raising future guide dogs; another, smaller one is based at the Vet College<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Members include third-year students Vivian Lee \u201921 and Nardine Nasr, who have been co-raising Siggy<\/a>, a yellow Lab.<\/p>\n<\/div> For Lee, the group\u2019s past president, it\u2019s volunteer work that\u2019s particularly personal: her grandfather\u2014a photographer\u2014lost his sight a decade before he passed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce he became blind, he was very depressed, and it impacted his daily life,\u201d she recalls. \u201cHe would always tell me how sad he was that he couldn\u2019t do the things he\u2019d been able to. For him, it would have been nice to have had a guide dog. So the reason I decided to be a raiser was so I could give back to someone else who was blind and in need of a companion, to help make their lives easier and more enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Alyssa](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/2022_1297_SH_012-B-1024x576.jpg\")
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![\"Zoe](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/2022_1297_SH_001-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Zoe](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/2022_1297_SH_004-A-1024x576.jpg\")