Hometown Hero: Carolyn & Tom Jewell

  1. Tom Jewell with his first Seeing Eye puppy, Kato.

     

Carolyn Jewell, is raising seeing eye puppy Lakota.

 

Hometown Heroes: Carolyn and Tom Jewell

By Lindsay Kirkland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lakota is well known in the Ventnor

community. He is always out and about frequenting beach concerts, festivals, restaurants and more. He is adorable, friendly, and has the sweetest eyes. Lakota is a 13-week-old seeing eye puppy.

When Carolyn and Tom Jewell retired four years ago, they decided to move from their home in Indiana to Ventnor to be near their son, daughter-in- law and two grandsons. They also decided to take on a new job raising seeing eye puppies.

It is the Jewells’ job and responsibility to socialize Lakota and give him as many experiences out in public as possible. Lakota is their second seeing eye puppy and in just a few weeks he will return to The Seeing Eye headquarters on 60 acres in Morristown.

Once there, Lakota will be given a rigorous physical exam and upon passing, he will be matched up with a handler. The handler will teach the young dog everything he needs to know to assist a visually impaired person. The puppy will work with the handler for about four months and then will be ready to be matched with a visually impaired person. The Seeing Eye organization will fly the visually impaired person to the training facility to work together with the dog and the handler for approximately two weeks and if all goes well, and they are a good match for each other, the dog will fly back with a new owner and begin a mission.

The Seeing Eye’s mission has remained the same for 75 years: To enhance the independence, dignity and self-confidence of people who are blind, through the use of specially trained seeing eye dogs. They breed and raise puppies to become seeing eye dogs, train seeing eye dogs to guide blind people, instructs blind people in the proper use, handling, and care of the seeing eye dogs. They rely on seeing eye puppy raisers just like Tom and Carolyn Jewell, not to train, but rather to raise, love, socialize and teach the pups basic obedience. They are a critical part of the process.

“The question everyone asks is ‘Isn’t it too hard to give the puppy back?’” Carolyn Jewell explained. “It is hard and we miss the pup, but we want the pup to succeed and assist the blind. It is a very important job. And we get to look forward to our next pup.”

The Jewells also shared that it has helped them to meet and get acquainted with many in their community. Their grandsons, Jackson and Cooper Jewell, love to help with the puppies and it also teaches them responsibility.

The Seeing Eye has matched more than 13,000 dogs with nearly 6,000 people. They most often use German Shepherds, black and yellow Labrador and golden retrievers. Carolyn and Tom’s first seeing eye puppy was a German shepherd named Kato. Kato, although a wonderful pup, did not pass the rigorous health exam due to an underlying eye condition.

Since 1942, Seeing Eye has been working with New Jersey 4H clubs on a family puppy-raising program. PPAWS which stands for People and Puppies at Work for Sight is Cape May County’s 4H puppy raising club. PPAWS meets once a month in Marmora and is a favorite attraction at the 4H Fair. If you would like more information about raising a seeing eye puppy visit seeingeye.org or email ppaws-nj@comcast.net

Carolyn and Tom Jewell’s grandsons, Jackson and Cooper Jewell of Ocean City, shown with Lakota.
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One Response

  1. This is adorable and so sweet. Thank you for your beautiful service to those who need the loving support of the dogs. You are a blessing and a gift to many!!!

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