An Oceanographer’s Guide
Adventures of a blind oceanographer and her seeing eye dog
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Did I Sign Up For This??

Posted by Britt Raubenheimer 
· Wednesday, August 17th, 2016 
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I think Hugger may be rethinking her job.

We’re in North Carolina working on groundwater wells in the middle of a heat wave. Not what she expected when she started guide dog school!

There are pricker bushes and small cactus around, so everyone, including Hugger, must wear shoes at some of the sites. Hugger collapses like a camel, folding her front legs under her, when she gets to her bed, and grimaces when I make her start working (and walking) again!

Its hot! The heat index was 116 this afternoon. So we’ve been getting up between 4:30 and 5:00am and start work early, while its still somewhat cool.

She’s certainly experiencing a wider range of environments than she expected. But, she always has a nice bed and good friends to hang with.

About Britt Raubenheimer

Britt driving a small boat, with electrical engineer Bill Boyd (SIO) giving instructions (5 deg right, oops now a little left, ….).

Britt driving a small boat, with electrical engineer Bill Boyd (SIO) giving instructions (5 deg right, oops now a little left, ….).

Britt Raubenheimer is a senior scientist at WHOI, studying the processes along our coasts, including the effects of storms on water levels, flooding, and erosion, and the effects of waves, tides, and winds on sediment transport, pollution, and groundwater behavior (see the PVLAB website). She lost her vision suddenly in 2003 owing to optic nerve atrophy, and trained with her first Seeing Eye™ dog in May 2005. As an employer, WHOI actively considers how we can assist employees with disabilities to be successful! In this situation, WHOI has provided Britt [and others in a like situation] with salary support to enable her to take time to train with her guides.

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