Congratulations, Sister Annie Gelles SHF and Dolphin GDB!!!

Sister Ann Marie and Earhart

 I just finished watching the graduation from the Guide Dogs for the Blind with Sister Ann Marie Gelles, SHF, and Dolphin, Annie's sixth Guide Dog throughout her adult life. (Annie is a big walker, and finding a dog that would be able to match her in speed and distance took some time.) Just two weeks ago, Annie celebrated her 50th jubilee as SHF, and she was able to join a later GDB class in order to attend both Jubilee and a two-week training course with Dolphie plus graduation.

Annie allowed Earhart, her last companion, to retire and return to one of her puppy raisers @26 months ago. Sister Ann Marie now teaches Braille at the California School for the Blind only part-time, and has been waiting for a new companion during this time. The graduation was lovely. There were four graduating students and their four Guide Dogs, plus a GD Buddy given to a younger girl. Each student was moved to tears by their new companion. What I thought Annie expressed more fully than most was how a Guide Dog can be a lifelong dream and need, and how her heart was full to bursting on this day because of Dolphie. (She thought her heart could not be any fuller than it was with Earhart, Honey, and the others, but as we each learn, if we are lucky, such love fills and expands our hearts beyond saying, and certainly beyond prior limits!!)

The puppy raisers also provided a wonderful picture of ongoing love because they are now part of a larger family --- and with Annie and Dolphie, that includes the Sisters of the Holy Family, the Sisters of the Holy Name, and the Carmelite Sisters (especially Reno). Max helped raise Dolphin; She was his first Guide Dog puppy, and Max clearly loves her. He is now also a part of her larger GDB family, and he will, of course, stay in touch over the years. So, congratulations to Sister Ann and Dolphie, and to all the Sisters of the Holy Family who will be meeting their new community member this evening!!! Dolphie, you are one lucky doggo in so many ways and will enrich others' lives in uncountable ways as well!!!