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A decade ago, Sharon Kelley Brown was volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity building site near her home in Statesville, North Carolina. She struck up a conversation with another volunteer and learned she was raising a puppy to be a service animal. Sharon, a dog lover, was intrigued. But with a busy work schedule, Sharon knew the program wasn’t a good fit for her.

Fast forward to 2021, when Sharon, a 1985 graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy, decided to leave the workforce. Late one night, as she browsed the internet for meaningful volunteer opportunities, she remembered the puppy trainer from 10 years earlier. She found a website for Southeastern Guide Dogs and was captivated by its life-changing mission.

Southeastern Guide Dogs (SEGD) breeds, raises and trains guide dogs, service dogs and skilled companion dogs so people with vision loss, veterans with disabilities and children with significant challenges find the freedom, confidence and independence they need. 

In December of 2021, Sharon got her first puppy, a yellow Labrador retriever named Honey. Volunteer puppy raisers welcome a puppy into their home for up to a year, helping create a happy, socialized and well-mannered dog who is prepared for the formal training process which will result in its ultimate placement. 

“The puppies need to learn to settle in public places,” Sharon said. “One of the first public places I take a puppy is church to teach them to be respectful. Initially, I take the puppy to daily mass to get used to the church and being around people. Then, I start bringing the puppy to Sunday mass. When they seem ready, we go to Holy Communion together. It is great practice for the pup to stand in a line of people, then sit and stay while I receive Holy Communion.”  

For dog lovers, there are emotional challenges inherent in bringing a puppy into one’s heart and home, knowing their time together is limited. But Sharon said she keeps her eye on the dog’s greater purpose. “I remind myself that this dog is not meant for me,” she said. “He or she belongs to that person, not me. While difficult, it is easier to do after seeing the impact these trained animals have on the lives of people who need them.”

After their time with the puppy raisers, the dogs go for formal training. During the process, they are assessed for disposition and temperament, which determines their career category. According to SEGD, guide dogs offer freedom and confidence to teens, adults and veterans with vision loss; service dogs offer help, healing and hope to veterans; and skilled companion dogs offer comfort and companionship to their human partners facing isolation, to veterans battling despair, to military families grappling with stress and Gold Star families coping with grief. 

Fundraising events, donations and sponsorships enable SEGD to provide dogs, as well as all associated services and lifetime support, completely free of charge to those in need. Sharon recently reached out to the SJA class of 1985 to help raise $4,000 to sponsor and name a puppy in honor of SJA. Thanks to the generosity of her classmates, family and friends, Sharon brought Stickers home in early October. 

“I would love to travel with Stickers to Baton Rouge in the spring of 2024 so we could visit with alumnae and possibly visit SJA,” Sharon said. 

Mindy Brodhead Averitt
Communications Director

Photos provided by Sharon Kelley Brown