RSS 2.0 FeedThursday, January 26, 2012, Wantagh Seaford Citizen
Wantaghite in guide dog program
Memory of guide dog lives on through new companion.
When it comes to “girl power,” two are better than one. Even if one of the girls is a human, and the other is a canine.
Linda Palminteri, a Wantagh native and 60-year old resident at Atlantic Shore retirement community in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is on a mission with her new best girlfriend, Joanie – a spunky black lab puppy from Guiding Eyes for The Blind.
The two are key players in the The Atlantic Shores/Guiding Eyes For The Blind “Puppy Love” program – one of the first in the nation to link the generations together in a partnership that will ultimately provide visually impaired individuals with guide dogs that will dramatically change their lives.
Joanie is one of two puppies from Yorktown Heights, New York-based Guiding Eyes For The Blind, which will be raised at Atlantic Shores. In October, Linda became Joanie’s official raiser, welcoming her into her home and her life. For several months, the two will be inseparable, with Linda will be guiding Joanie through special training classes and outings.
The two and their mission have been embraced by the entire community, including two local elementary schools will have opened their doors and their hearts to the puppies with special curriculum, and puppy field trips to the school as part of their socialization training.
Growing up on Long Island, Ms. Palminteri was touched earlier in her life with a personal experience with guide dogs. In support of her fraternal twin sister Lois, who has a form of Muscular Dystrophy, she helped train with her and her assistance dog named Carmichael – a black lab that served her for more than 16 years.
Because Linda personally experienced the training, and saw the dramatic effect a service dog had in the life of her sister, she is dedicated to raising Joanie in Carmichael’s memory.