Community Corner
Graduate Profile: Josh Kimrey & Rusty
This week another group of nine students graduated and became part of the Southeastern Guide Dogs family. Here is just one of their remarkable stories.
Seven years ago greed changed Josh Kimrey’s life forever. He was the victim of a gunshot wound to his right temple during a robbery turned bad. It took his vision. This event changed the way he viewed the world. He said
“Now I judge people by their actions, instead of the way they look," he said. "You learn a lot about people by listening.”
Tired of hitting people in the ankles with his cane and yearning for a sense of independence, Josh decided it was time for a guide dog. Matched with a handsome black Labrador named Rusty with a workhorse mentality (and the strength to back it up), Josh couldn’t be happier.
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When this pair returns to Jacksonville, FL, they have a lot to look forward to. Josh will begin studies to eventually become a teacher for the visually impaired. A vocation he chose when he learned his nephew would be blind.
“Who better to teach him how to get around in the sighted world than his uncle?”
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“Rusty will be a great help to get around campus” Josh said, “plus I’ll never have to ask to go sighted guide or wait for anyone else.”
It also turns out that not only will Rusty be a great guide dog, but a terrific wingman as was evidenced in the only stop the pair made when training in the mall – Victoria’s Secret.
