Name: Abbie Kellett
Age: 19
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Auburndale, Florida
Major/Minor:Communications/Sociology
Marty at 10 weeks old. Photo courtesy Abbie Kellet
Coming from Auburndale, Florida, this week’s Campus Celebrity is Abbie Kellett. Having an unwavering love for animals of all kinds, she decided to get involved with Southeastern Guide Dogs to help give one vision-impaired person the canine eyes they need.
The First Spark
Abbie became interested in training guide dog puppies at a summer music camp held at Polk State College in Lakeland, Florida. The camp director’s daughter had brought her guide dog puppy to the concert, and it inspired Abbie to try a new experience.
“I just thought it was so neat that there was this tiny little puppy like, he must have been maybe six months old, and he was able to just sit through this concert and just sleep,” Abbie says. “I had seen on his coat, Southeastern, and I had made sure to make a note of it.”
Abbie thanks UWF for giving her the support she needed to train her own puppy, a yellow lab named Marty, this year. Her decision was initiated by the timing and her interest in the deaf and blind.
“The things that animals are able to do for these people is just amazing.” She adds. “To be able to be someone’s eyes is really amazing, and I think we just underestimate these animals.”
A Labor of Love
With nearly two semesters under her belt, Abbie has seen the ups and downs of being a puppy raiser. She loves how supportive her residence hall, Pace, has been throughout the year.
“Everyone’s just been so kind and it’s been like a family.” She says of the people who live within a stone’s throw of her room. “It’s been the main part of her (Marty’s) training thus far.”
While the world outside of Pace has been mostly welcoming to Marty, not everyone understands why she’s on campus.
“We’ve gotten side-eyes, some comments, people who have asked us not to come back somewhere,” Abbie admits. She cites a lack of education about what rights and laws guide dog puppies have as the most plausible reason behind those reactions.
Though Southeastern Guide Dogs will not allow her to fight back using such laws, Abbie told Her Campus, that guide dog puppy raisers have the same rights as those who actually need guide dogs.
Beyond the legalities, Abbie also wants people to understand that Marty is not just a dog who happens to live on campus. “This is her job, we’re not doing this for fun- even though it is fun.” Going up and petting her, calling her name or trying to teach her new tricks can be detrimental to her training process. If the temptation to pet such a cute dog is too much to resist, however, Abbie advises that people ask first.
An Opportunity More People Should Take
“We actually have another possible puppy raiser who has been going to meetings with me and is probably going to do this next year,” Abbie said.
Though she will not be raising a guide dog puppy next year, Abbie could not be more excited at the prospect of people following her lead. She even cites it as one of her favorite parts of this year.
Abbie’s advice to any Her Campus readers who might want to raise guide dogs in the near future is straightforward.
“From the beginning, you just have to sit down and think about it,” she says. “You have to think, ‘Do I really want to do this?’ Because for this, you seriously have to set aside about two years of your life for this and that means you can’t go on extended trips. You have to always be somewhere where there’s puppy meetings.”
Understanding and Admiration
As a Pace Hall resident and friend of Abbie’s, I’ve become very familiar with how much work she and her roommate, Melissa Pisarski, put into training Marty. I didn’t understand how they managed to balance Marty and classes without going insane until I heard these two sentences.
“We’re doing this for someone else. We’re doing this because someone needs this dog.”
Marty at 6 months old. Photo courtesy Abbie Kellet