Meet Belo and Limo

[MUSIC]

[AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
Meet Guide Dogs for the Blind client Belo Miguel Cipriani. Belo sits on a garden bench, with his black Lab guide dog at his feet.

[BELO]
My name is Belo Miguel Cipriani, and I’m here with my guide dog, Limo. Limo is my third guide dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind, and I think he’s just as wonderful as the previous dogs I’ve had.

I am an entrepreneur. I would say that my main focuses are my accessibility firm, my publishing house, and I’m starting my online school. Those three ventures are very different but they keep me busy.

[AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
Belo and Limo walk along winding paths of a lush campus together with their guide dog instructors and other pedestrians.

[BELO]
And I’m still traveling and moving around the cities and attending conferences and doing the things that I like to do, but it’s so much more fun to do those things when you have someone guiding you and Limo’s now gonna do that for me. I just couldn’t be happier. Having a guide dog ... it’s an experience that’s both, for me, you know physical, and intellectual, and mental, even spiritual at times. You know, to have somebody who points out things for you in your local environment that could hurt you - that is so powerful to me. And to have, you know, this being who is - loves you unconditionally, and who, you know, is there to protect you and in some instances save your life, it’s - there’s no words for it.

Having a guide dog gave me three things. It gave me confidence. It also - I think it made me more approachable. It actually enhanced my social life.

[AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
Belo laughs with his three GDB classmates as they embrace.

[BELO]
It also - it made me really appreciate interdependency. I think that for me, one of the biggest misconceptions I had is when I became blind that I could no longer be independent - that I was supposed to be dependent on others or objects. And it made
me really sad for a long time. But with a guide dog partnership I understood interdependency. And then realized how we’re all interdependent, you know? That’s, I think, one of the biggest surprises and gifts that I got was really the appreciation of
teamwork.

I feel so blessed and I feel so fortunate to have connected with GDB. And I’m super grateful for all of the donors whose names and faces I don’t know, but whose work and support I feel. And I just want to say thank you.

[AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
Photo of Belo as he hugs Limo.

For more information about Guide Dogs for the Blind, please visit our website at guidedogs.com, or call us at 800.295.4050.