Former teacher specializing in Seeing Eye dog training

WALL TOWNSHIP — When Wall Township resident Erin Healy-Kuper looked to broaden her horizons in career opportunities after years of teaching physical education, her husband, Jeremy, recommended she look into dog care, which is how she ended up at The Seeing Eye [TSE] nonprofit in Morristown.

“My husband…he kind of gave me the nudge and support to pursue a career at The Seeing Eye,” she told The Coast Star in an interview.

The Spring Lake Heights native and Manasquan High School graduate takes the trek from Wall Township everyday to Morristown – over an hour-long commute – to start her shifts at 7:45 a.m., five days a week, as an apprentice instructor, helping in the development of student dogs to become Seeing Eye dogs, which are trained canines guiding individuals with visual impairments around obstacles and their environments.

“I was a health and P.E. teacher for about seven years or so after graduating college,” said Ms. Healy-Kuper. “I enjoyed my time as a teacher, but the animal and dog-lover side of me was just too much to ignore…As much as I love my pets, it felt like it needed to be more a part of my life.”

“It is a very rewarding job, and nothing beats the feeling you get when you’re dropping the dog that you trained off at the airport,” Ms. Healy-Kuper said. “You get to watch them board, and then they’re off on their own…There’s a lot of emotion going into it, whether it’s someone’s first dog or their sixth dog, they’re opening their hearts to be guided by dogs that they don’t know.”

“There’s a lot of ups and downs, a lot of emotions, but the finished product, there’s nothing like it,” said Ms. Healy-Kuper. “You get choked up.”

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