Rebekah Hange

Brody checks in with Cindy while visiting Santa during a Guiding Eyes outing to Eastview Mall in Victor, NY Nov 26, 2018. The eye contact maintained between Cindy and Brody called "checking in" is an exercise of keeping focused in situations full of distractions.

Cindy (left) and Laura (right) restrain Brody as he attempts to play with another Guiding Eyes puppy. Cindy and Laura co-raise Brody, Cindy getting Brody during the week while Laura works, and Laura getting Brody on weekends. Brody’s biggest struggle going into his IFT is distraction by other dogs and energy control.

Cindy tells Brody to stay while he's wearing elf ears and a hat in Cindy's home in Northern Chili, NY, Nov 30, 2018. Although not formally trainers, Guiding Eyes raisers teach basic hand gesture commands standard to the Guiding Eyes training regime.

Cindy Chait holds Brody in her living room. Brody is the eighteenth, and final, dog Cindy has raised for Guiding Eyes.

Brody (right) and Wilder (left) run past Cindy in her backyard. While not wearing the Guiding Eyes vest, Brody is free to play like a normal house pet with Wilder, a dog who was also raised by Cindy to be a guide dog but failed medical health standards because of chronic ear infections.

Cindy (right) and her sister (left) after saying goodbye to Brody in a Tim Horton's parking lot outside Rochester, NY, Dec 1, 2018. Cindy won't raise another dog for Guiding Eyes as her cancer, which had been in remission, has returned. Cindy had felt enough energy to raise one last dog for Guiding Eyes: Brody.

Dogs wait in crates inside the Guiding Eyes van to be transported to the Guiding Eyes training facility in Yorktown Heights, NY. Volunteers collect the puppies with official Guiding Eyes vans when they are ready to take the IFT test. The dogs are transported a few days before their scheduled testing to acclimate to the new setting, and raisers reviewing their puppy’s test will drive to the facility separately the day of the test.

Brody checks in with a trainer during the IFT at the Guiding Eyes facility in Yorktown Heights, NY, Dec 4, 2018. The IFT, a ten-minute test of the dog's temperament, house manners, and understanding of basic commands, determines whether the dog is fit to go on to be a guide dog for a blind person or if they need to be re-homed.

Laura Hamilton watches Brody during his IFT test. Cindy was unable to attending the testing.

Laura embraces Brody after learning that he passed the IFT and will continue training at Guiding Eyes to become a guide dog. Laura and Cindy will be given periodical updates on Brody's progress for the six-month duration of his training.