Frankie Slane is rarely seen walking around Arizona State University without her 'partner in crime" and her best friend, Thorpe.

Thorpe, better known as Thor, is no typical pal. He is a Golden Retriever and Labrador mix who is in training to become a guide dog through Guide Dogs for the Blind. With Slane’s training and help he will be sent off to a higher-level training in a few short months.

Raising a guide dog is no easy side task, according to Slane

“People always laugh at me or think I’m saying this with some lack of meaning, but I mean every word when I say raising a guide dog is like raising a child,” she said. “You grow with these dogs. You grow to be a better human, a better mother, a better raiser.”

As a mother is with her newborn child nearly every hour of the day, Slane is with Thor nearly every moment as well, which means Thor often gets to pay a visit to classes and other hotspots around Tempe.

“It’s cool because since Thor is a guide dog, we try to introduce him to so many environments, such as Tempe Marketplace or other areas around campus,” said Cayla Kirschbaum, Slane’s close friend and sorority sister.

Given the fact that it is not common to see animals roaming around campus, Slane said it often sparks questions amongst peers and onlookers.

“I bring Thor to my college classes with me, and I will say it is a fabulous catalyst for conversation with people who I may not have initially sparked up a conversation with if I didn’t have a dog right to my left,” Slane said.

Slane said she feels as though dogs are common ground for many people, making it easy for all different types of people to show interest in Thor.

“People instantly feel more welcomed around you and are more enticed to speak to you when you do have a dog in your presence,” she said.

Since Slane also raised a guide dog previous to Thor, she said it was odd for her to see the shift in how many people were willing to strike up a conversation during the period of time that dog was not around her.

“I remember in that brief period of my life when I wasn’t raising a dog, I actually had an adjustment period to not having people speaking to me in every day interactions,” she said. “I was like, why aren’t people talking to me?

“I was so accustomed to people approaching in a CVS, in a Home Depot, in wherever just to speak to me and ask questions about the dog, so that was kind of strange for me.”

Although most people are kind and accepting toward guide dogs and their raisers, it is not always this way.

“I would say eight times out of 10, people are happy to see me with a dog, and they are accepting of the purpose that Thor is serving as a guide dog, though I have not been short of interactions where people are wildly misinformed about what his role and life was like,” Slane said.

“People often think that these dogs don’t get a chance to be regular dogs, but that could not be further from the truth.”

According to Slane, Thor is a very regular dog who is able to play and relax the moment his work vest comes off.

“If I could describe Thor in one word it would definitely be goofy,” said Olivia Shedd, Slane’s roommate. “I’ve never met a dog with such a strong personality. Before meeting Thor, I had no idea dogs could have such varying personalities from other dogs.”

Slane will continue to work with Thor for the next few months and train him to his best potential for the next step of his journey.

Karina Maccano is an Arizona State University journalism student.  We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.