Seeing Eye Ambassador Dog Visits Penn Wood Elementary School
Second-grade students at Penn Wood Elementary School got up close and personal with the only current Seeing Eye Ambassador Dog in the state of Pennsylvania, and learned how much of an impact service animals can make on the lives of those who need them.
Westtown Township residents Dick and Bobbie Pomerantz brought 6-year-old American Yellow Labrador "Christi" to the school on February 13 to visit with the students. Christi is a retired seeing-eye dog that now serves as Bobbie's service/therapy dog.
The Seeing Eye is a non-profit organization located in Morristown, New Jersey that breeds, raises, and trains puppies to become Seeing Eye dogs.
As an official Ambassador Dog of The Seeing Eye, Christi visit groups of people in settings such as schools and nursing homes to highlight the unique work of The Seeing Eye School and demonstrate a guide dog's job.
Some students got to experience Christi's unique training. A few student volunteers had a kerchief placed over their eyes and were then guided around the room by Christi. 
Even though they could not see, the students said Christi made them feel secure.
"She was next to me the whole time, and I didn't feel lonely," said Adalyn Four.
To the Pomerantz family, Christi is so much than a dog. She is a beloved member of their household who has brought much hope to Bobbie - a late-stage cancer survivor. Bobbie's battle with the disease presented her with physical challenges.
"The fear of falling is very real. I stopped doing any kind of long walks," said Bobbie. "At the end of last summer, I started thinking that she could help me to walk. She goes into therapy dog mode. She stabilizes me, and she knows that. It's wonderful. She has given me my life back."
"She is an extraordinary animal," said Dick Pomerantz. "She and Bobbie are attached at the hip. From the moment she walked into our house, she knew Bobbie needed her."
Despite being trained to do so, Christi never actually served as a seeing-eye dog. Rather, she was chosen to be a breeding mother.
"Christi was selected as 'the best of the best' during rigorous testing after her initial Puppy Raising year of living with a family for early socialization, said Bobbie. "She possesses near perfect DNA and every attribute that they look for. Christi gave birth to three litters of Seeing Eye puppies before being retired and joining our family."
Bobbie and Dick love to share Christi with young children and talk about the importance of service animals.
"Kids especially are great. If one of these kids grows up and decides that they want to be a puppy raiser, or they might do some fundraising for one of these organizations which literally provide animals that can give people their life back after they feel that they've lost it, then it is all worth it," said Bobbie.
Learn more about The Seeing Eye at www.seeingeye.org.
