LAURA ARCHAZKI-PACTER / Staff

John Browning, left, with his black lab, Kylie, and Charles Keller with his chocolate lab, Cocoa.

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Not every dog has a “Seeing Eye Human,” but 14-year-old Kylie is not like every dog.

The black lab, who suffers from retinal degeneration, has been completely blind for the past seven years, relying on her owner, 63-year-old John Browning, to be her eyes.

“She’s my high maintenance wife,” says Browning, whose real wife died of a stroke two years ago. “She’ll bump into things, but she follows voice commands. Her hearing is starting to go, too.”

But Kylie’s condition doesn’t prevent the two from doing the things they have always enjoyed, including walks and a weekly dip in the pool at the home of neighbor and close friend Charles Keller, who also owns an equally beloved lab, named Cocoa.

Browning uses voice commands to guide Kylie in the pool.

“You’re okay, watch out, and go to the side,” he says softy, as he orients Kylie into the pool for a game of Frisbee with Browning and Keller.

Although Kylie may not be at her peak performance from her puppy days, she still manages to play and swim in the pool with Cocoa, a shelter adoptee. It’s a weekly tradition for the owners and their pets.

Keller and Browning love their dogs and say female labs are more loyal to their owners than males, a trait the two men hold in high regard.

“My daughter-in-law is wife no. 1, my dog is wife no. 2, and my wife is wife number no. 3,” jokes Keller. “She really gets mad when I say that.”

Browning is grateful for Keller’s willingness to share his pool. He says Kylie loves the water, but going to the Dog Beach in Bonita is overwhelming for her, as she cannot see the many dogs barking at her.

Like a proud father, Browning shares photos of Kylie in her younger days, opening Christmas presents in the family’s living room.

Browning uses voice commands to guide Kylie to retrieve a Frisbee.

“We’d wrap up presents of milk bones and treats, and they would open them,” he recalls, as he looks at the picture. “My wife and I always had labs. When Tessie died, we had Bo and Kylie. Then Bo passed away. I’d go to bed at night and Kylie would lick my face. ‘Where’s my kisses?’ I would say and she’d lick my face all over...”

The love these men have for their dogs is unique, according to Dr. Arthur Newman, of Crossroads Veterinary Clinic. He says women are usually more attached to their dogs than men.

But for Browning, his commitment to Kylie includes serving up eggs and toast for breakfast every Sunday morning and faithfully administering her eye and arthritis medications.

He admits she is slowing down a bit in her old age,

“I can’t let her out by herself anymore,” he says, as Kylie splashes in the pool with Cocoa, seeking commands from her owner to find the elusive Frisbee. “I still have to watch her.”