Career Changed Ollie

I am a big supporter of Leader Dog for the Blind, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. My first husband lost his vision due to his time in the military as a paratrooper. Leader Dog provided him with the most amazing dog I’ve ever met-a big black lab named Sully.

Sully traveled with him, steered him around cars, around obstacles, brought him to stairs on command, located doors and even learned the command “Find Alice” the thought of which still makes me melt. He passed away at age 12, leaving a huge hole in our hearts. Not all the puppies trained as Leader Dogs become guide dogs. They can be career changed, or retire early due to distractions, (squirrel!), chronic medical issues, or may lose the ability to guide after being attacked by another dog. 

Some become service dogs for other conditions, work in schools, or just become couch potatoes. I joined the waiting list for a career changed leader dog in 2023, and a few months later received a call that a dog named Ollie needed a home and had some “bad manners” that needed attention. I love problem children and needed some new life in the house while my beloved pug was winding down her life due to heart disease. I jumped in the car, drove up to Michigan from Virginia and met Ollie, the half black lab, half golden retriever who was to come home with me. 

She silently drove with me in the car, not once making a sound. (She is still a completely quiet passenger). We arrived home at around 2:00am. She tore through the yard like a joyous demon, jumping in every mud puddle she could find, and eventually we went to bed. I should clarify that I sleep very soundly.

While I had been warned that she had trouble with her manners, nothing could have prepared me for the untamed beast that is Ollie.

I awoke to find her gently pulling the pillow out from under my sleeping head, my bedroom awash in shreds of white paper. Ollie had found her way into my bathroom and tore the entire toilet paper holder off the wall leaving a big hole, then shredding an entire roll of toilet paper. Once that was done, her intentions were clearly directed at my pillow. 

In the 16+ months that I’ve had her, she has shredded pillows, bedspreads, dog beds, eaten entire delivery boxes with the contents inside, eaten bottle tops, more remote controls than I can count, 6 pairs of shoes to date, counter-surfed and eaten an entire bottle of my other dog’s Prozac, sunglasses, pens, plants, stolen my hammer as I was working on the house, stolen boxes of nails, destroyed toilet plungers, steel wool, sandpaper, the list goes on.

My house has tighter gating than TSA at an international airport. I resorted to metal because she ate the gates made out of wood. She’s a genius driven to total distraction. She learned how to pull open my desk drawer, which I discovered after I found my large folder of mortgage paperwork in the back yard. As much as she drives me crazy, she is totally endearing. She attempted to drag a large dog bed up the stairs, tired herself out and fell asleep on the stairs, underneath the dog bed. 

In between her bouts of insanity, I write, I work and we play in the yard to work out that excessive energy. She’s nothing like her predecessor, Sully the saint, but she brings me joy each and every day. If you have the time and devotion, consider becoming a puppy raiser. The dogs are absolutely life changing, whether they become Leader Dogs or not.

Leader Dog for the Blind is 100% philanthropically funded.

Please consider donating, volunteering your time or raising a puppy. www.Leaderdog.org