Health & Fitness
What happens When a Seeing Eye Dog Goes to College?
Who are those people training with the dogs on the streets of Morristown? The Seeing Eye profiles one if its graduates, a 19-year-old college student and his Seeing Eye dog.
Think of a college dorm room and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Roommates, bunk beds? How about a Seeing Eye dog? Hayden Dahmm, 19, was matched with Fathom, a yellow Labrador and golden retriever cross, the summer before his sophomore year when Hayden traveled to Morristown, N.J., and trained with Fathom for 4 weeks on the streets of the historic town. When Hayden returned to Swarthmore College, in southeastern Pennsylvania, as a sophomore his new Seeing Eye dog was with him every step of the way.
When he moved into the college dorm, Hayden placed Fathom’s bed beside his own, just as he was instructed to do when he came to The Seeing Eye to meet and train with Fathom for four weeks during his summer break. But Fathom had another idea. He decided that Hayden’s bed, raised a few feet off the ground to increase storage space, would make the perfect den. Fathom declared himself Hayden’s bunkmate by dragging his bed to the floor underneath Hayden’s bed!
“Fathom is my one roommate, and he’s objectively the best roommate at Swarthmore. He’s so goofy and fun and a great stress reliever when I’m swamped with work. He comes to my chair and nuzzles my leg. It’s so comforting to have him with me all the time.”
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Hayden is studying engineering with a minor in environmental studies. He plans to attend graduate school to study environmental engineering with the goal of a career focused on helping humans and technology interact with the environment in a more friendly way. Hayden’s blindness does present some challenges. Visualizing charts and diagrams is difficult without sight, so he has worked with a professor on campus to develop teaching aids that he hopes will benefit visually impaired students in the future.
The other obstacle Hayden sought to overcome was navigating the winding pathways, numerous buildings, and complex dining hall layout, a challenge he faced as a cane user during his freshman year. With Fathom to confidently guide him in his sophomore year, Hayden said the campus opened up for him in a whole new way. “I can get around campus much more easily. I’m physically liberated.”
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He meets new people easily and feels more social because he’s less stressed about travelling independently. Fathom knows Hayden well enough that he has memorized the dining hall food stations that Hayden visits frequently… and even the ones he wishes he could visit more frequently. “Whenever I go past the ice cream stand he’ll take me there because he knows how much I like ice cream.”
“Fathom is a best friend, a constant companion, a guardian, a brother, and a son all in one. He brings me strength, laughter, devotion, and emotional support. When I walk around my campus or just hang out in my room with Fathom, I wonder how I managed to get by without him. He’s part of me now. He’s part of my soul.”The Seeing Eye creates living partnerships between Seeing Eye® dogs and people who are blind and visually impaired who seek to travel more independently in the world. Seeing Eye dog handlers come from all walks of life, including teachers, homemakers, lawyers, and computer programmers. Each year, The Seeing Eye matches approximately 260 people from across the U.S. and Canada with guide dogs in an intensive 25-day training program at our campus in Morristown, N.J. Since 1929, more than 16,000 partnerships have been made between people and Seeing Eye dogs. Only dogs that come from The Seeing Eye in Morristown, N.J., are Seeing Eye dogs.
Learn more about The Seeing Eye:
www.SeeingEye.org
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@SeeingEyeInc
YouTube.com/Seeing4me
Pinterest.com/TheSeeingEye
LinkedIn.com/company/the-seeing-eye
