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Rex & Ayo

@rex_and_ayo

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Life from a different pawspective.
Guide dog Ayo 🦮 + VIP Rex 👨‍🦯🇨🇭
Walking • running • travelling • science
Yes, he has more fans than I do!
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Guide dogs like Ayo do much more than lead in a straight line. They help visually impaired people navigate a world full of steps, crowds, obstacles, traffic and constant decisions, turning a route through the city into a partnership built on trust, communication and teamwork. I choose the destination, he helps me navigate everything in between. . . . #GuideDog #Blindness #Zùrich #Bahnhofstrasse #DogLife taken in Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich by @rex_and_ayo
6
a month ago
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I’m happy to share my recent interview (in German) for the magazine of the @blindenhundeschule_vbm. A conversation that revolves about my journey with autoimmune retinopathy, the challenges related to sight loss, and the invaluable support from my guide dog Ayo. Swipe to read more about our adventures, my thoughts on guide dog training, and how Ayo has transformed my everyday life. 🐾 English translation is provided as alt text for every slide! Interviewer: Susanne Schlegel Picture credits: Cher Brise #VisuallyImpaired #GuideDog #CaneGuida #Blindenführhund #GoldenRetriever #DisabilityPride #RareDisease #DogWithAJob #AutoimmuneRetinopathy Interview with Fabio Rezzonico I HAVE ALWAYS TRIED TO REMAIN PRAGMATICAL by Susanne Schlegel It's a beautiful spring day when Cher Kao, our photographer, and I visit Fabio Rezzonico at his home. While Elektra, the older family dog, remains in the background, Ayo, his guide dog, greets us enthusiastically. Fabio moves very confidently in his familiar surroundings. As we sit down, a relaxed Elektra lies relaxed at my feet and Ayo presents himself as the first photo model for Cher. Q: Fabio, how did you become visually impaired? A: I noticed the first symptoms in 2019, but the first practical difficulties came a year later. The initial examinations at Zurich University Hospital didn't yield any results. It took a relatively long time for my ophthalmologists to diagnose me with autoimmune retinopathy. This is an extremely rare and little understood disease in which the immune system attacks the retina. My central field of vision is now only around 15 degrees and is rapidly decreasing. by @rex_and_ayo
3
2 years ago
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Enjoy the REXperience! Have you ever wondered how it feels like to walk around with a #VisualImpairment? #Blindness is a spectrum, so everyone’s experience is different. This video displays a good approximation of my visual field and demonstrates why in many situations I need mobility aids such as a white cane or my #GuideDog Ayo. . . . . #AutoimmuneRetinopathy taken in Campus Reidbach by @rex_and_ayo
2
2 years ago
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October 15 🦯 International White Cane Day The white cane is an internationally recognized symbol of blindness and visual impairment. It helps identify people with limited vision and serves as a mobility aid for detecting obstacles and navigating safely. See a white cane? Here are a few things you should know! 1. Give us some space & priority, especially on the road! 2. Don’t assume we’re helpless. 3. Don’t grab the cane! 4. Talk to us, not to the cane. 5. Offer an arm, not a shove. 6. And remember: blindness is a spectrum! The best way to help? Ask first. Listen to the answer. Respect our independence. . . . #WhiteCaneSafetyDay #InternationalWhiteCaneDay #BlindnessAwareness #Accessibility #VisualImpairment A man wearing a flat cap and backpack stands at the edge of a pedestrian crossing with a white cane, accompanied by a golden retriever on the leash. A car approaches the crossing on a town street lined with buildings. taken in Wädenswil, Switzerland by @rex_and_ayo
1
4 days ago
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A very talented family! 🐾🧬 Ayo’s skills are not only the result of an intensive training process, they probably also have a genetic component. Ayo and his siblings share the same parents (a #GoldenRetriever and a #Labrador) and the same breeder, but come from different litters, conveniently named in alphabetical order. Ayo & Bonnie: from the B litter, Bonnie went on to become an autism assistance dog, putting her skills to work in a rather different but equally important way. Ayo & Bono: another B-litter sibling, and another certified guide dog. Apparently, guiding humans is something this family is particularly good at. Ayo & Douro: from the younger D litter. Still a puppy, but already preparing for his own future career as a guide dog. Ayo & Dirt: from a rather different kind of… litter, but definitely the member of the family Ayo manages to bring home most often. . . . #GuideDog #AssistanceDog #DogsWithJobs A square four-panel collage titled “A very nice family,” showing Ayo together with three canine siblings from different litters, plus a humorous final portrait of Ayo paired with “Dirt.” The upper-left panel shows Ayo with Bonnie, the upper-right Ayo with Bono, the lower-left Ayo with the younger Douro, and the lower-right Ayo alone after apparently getting very dirty. Ayo is a large golden retriever with a pale golden coat, broad head, dark eyes, and a friendly, expressive face. Bonnie, beside him in the first panel, has a much lighter cream-colored coat, a slimmer build, shorter fur, and a more Labrador-like appearance. Bono is another golden retriever, similar in size to Ayo but with a richer reddish-golden coat, slightly darker ears, and a broad, smiling face. Douro is much younger and smaller, with a light golden coat, finer features, and a puppy-like build; he wears a red-and-black harness and looks up toward Ayo. In the final panel, a very dirty Ayo looks straight up at the camera with wide dark eyes, a dusty, mottled face and forehead, and his bright pink tongue hanging out — looking extremely pleased with himself despite, or perhaps because of, the mess. taken in Blindenhunde Liestal ⎮ VBM by @rex_and_ayo
4
2 months ago
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Chasing the solar eclipse in #Mallorca (and then some)! Ayo and I took to the skies, swam in the Mediterranean, watched day briefly turn into twilight, explored the underground world of the Cuevas del Drach, and followed the cliffs around Punta de El Toro… sometimes side by side, sometimes with Ayo showing me the way. From the skies to the caves, from the cliffs to the sea, I couldn’t ask for a better travel companion! Partial video credits: @zellermoira . . . #GuideDog #CuevasDelDrach #ElToro #Travel taken in Mallorca, Spain by @rex_and_ayo
7
2 months ago
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Last Wednesday, the Sun disappeared over Mallorca… and I’m still not quite over it. I had promised myself not to spend #totality fighting with the camera. I failed spectacularly. But coming home and finally seeing these pictures made me forgive myself a little. And what came afterwards was just as unforgettable: the eclipsed Sun sinking into the Mediterranean, increasingly distorted and stretched by the atmosphere as it approached the horizon. Probably the most unique sunset I have ever witnessed. Only the elusive green flash was missing. Everyone warns you about protecting your eyes during an eclipse. No one warns you that they can be addictive. 2027 is already calling. . . . #SolarEclipse #Mallorca #Astrophotography #Sunset Composite sequence of the 2026 total solar eclipse over Mallorca, showing the Sun narrowing to a crescent, totality with the glowing corona and prominences, and the eclipsed Sun setting over the Mediterranean, increasingly distorted by atmospheric refraction near the horizon. taken in El Toro by @rex_and_ayo
2
2 months ago
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A rare sighting of the rock-nesting Golden Retriever (Canis familiaris ayoi). After an extensive search for the perfect resting ground, the specimen carefully selects a shallow depression between sun-warmed rocks. Once settled, it may remain motionless for long periods, conserving energy and observing its surroundings. Scientists believe this unusual nesting behaviour is strongly associated with swimming, #holidays, and relaxing from his guiding duties. . . . #GuideDog #GoldenRetriever #Mallorca #NationalGeographic Ayo, a wet golden retriever, curled up in a shallow hollow between sun-warmed coastal rocks. Overlaid text reads “Ayo in his natural habitat,” followed by a mock wildlife caption describing him as an elusive rock-nesting retriever camouflaged among the ancient stone. taken in S'Illot des Toro by @rex_and_ayo
4
2 months ago
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There are many ways for light to disappear… Yesterday, for just over a minute, it was the Moon that took it away. For people affected by a degenerative retinal disorder, it’s a slower process, less spectacular, and definitely more permanent. But the #eclipse reminded me of something: when the light changes, the world doesn’t disappear. The colors change, the contrasts shift, familiar points of reference fade. So, little by little, the way you learn to see and appreciate the world changes as well. . . . #Blindness #SolarEclipse #Mallorca taken in El Toro by @rex_and_ayo
14
2 months ago
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A guide dog’s holiday! While Ayo is always ready to guide me when I need him, he also gets to enjoy what he loves most: mountain paths, fresh alpine waters, and running free whenever it’s safe. That’s what our Swiss adventures are all about, working together, relaxing together, and discovering beautiful places together. . . . #guidedog #switzerland #wallis #hiking #blind Video credits: @zellermoira, @fabiorezzonico taken in Zinal, Valais, Switzerland by @rex_and_ayo
5
2 months ago
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For a guide dog, courage isn’t about being fearless, it’s about trusting their training and their partner. Crossing a suspension bridge with a steel grating floor may seem like a small challenge, but experiences like these build the confidence that allows guide dogs to safely lead their handlers wherever life takes them. taken in Zinal, Valais, Switzerland by @rex_and_ayo
5
3 months ago
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Who needs #FIFAWorldCup2026 when you can watch @fcrichterswil Daughters vs. Parents? Final score: 5:5 some say… others insist it was 4:5 or 5:4, depending on who you ask. As the only #blind goalkeeper on the pitch, I can officially confirm… I have no clue. 🤷🏻‍♂️ . . . . #Soccer #FootballIsFamily #LevYashin taken in Chalchbüehl Richterswil by @rex_and_ayo
6
4 months ago
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