Here are the 2 guide dog puppies named after the 2017 Boston Marathon winners
Meet Edna and Geoffrey.
They might not be destined to break their namesakes’ blazing times. But Edna and Geoffrey, two guide dog puppies-in-training named after the 2017 Boston Marathon winners, might come in first in some hearts.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a New York-based nonprofit that breeds and trains guide dogs for the visually impaired, pledged in April to name two puppies from upcoming litters after the men’s and women’s winners of this year’s race. Fast-forward a few weeks past Edna Kiplagat and Geoffrey Kirui breaking through the finish-line tape on Bolyston Street, and here they are.
Edna and Geoffrey
According to Maria Lazzaro, Guiding Eyes’ breeding kennel manager, Edna was born the Sunday night before Marathon Monday and Geoffrey was born a week later on April 25. They are both black Labrador retrievers with “outgoing personalities.”
“They are exploring new things every day,” Lazzaro said in an email. “They enjoy running, playing and getting lots of attention from our staff and volunteers.”
And their guide-dog training is already underway.
“At this early stage Edna and Geoffrey are provided lots of enrichment and socialization to expose them to a variety of stimuli to build their confidence,” Lazzaro said. “From birth to 16 weeks, puppies go through a period of rapid brain development (just like human babies!), so this is the time when we get them accustomed to sights, sounds, social interactions and early training to maximize their potential to become a guide dog.”
Earlier this year, Guiding Eyes CEO Thomas Panek told Boston.com that about 10 percent of Guiding Eye’s dogs are trained to help visually impaired runners. A four-time Boston Marathon runner himself, Panek says he trained with his guide dog, a yellow Labrador named Gus, on distances of up to six miles.
That said, despite their namesakes, Lazzaro says there are no immediate runs in Edna or Geoffrey’s immediate futures.
“Right now the only marathons in their schedules are napping marathons!” she wrote.
Edna and Geoffrey
