Puppy raisers

story by Molly Giles, photos by Adrian Kraus
reprinted with permission from Pet Tales, Local News

Puppy raisers

Bruce Rodgers, left; daughter Jaimee, 6; and wife Teresa of Henrietta pose with 15 month-old yellow lab Avalon, the fourth puppy they have raised for Guiding Eyes For the Blind.

In 1997, Teresa Rodgers of Henrietta hardly envisioned her life in 2007.

"I thought we would raise one dog to become a companion for a visually impaired person, and that's it."

Today, with husband Bruce, and children Aaron, 19, and Jaimee, 6, she's raising her fourth guide dog puppy, and serves as a Monroe County Regional Coordinator for the NY-based Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

"Why have we continued? It's such a great experience," she said. "You see all the positive outcomes for the visually impaired, and you get to know this wonderful, diverse group of dedicated people. They become your larger family."

The reasons for becoming puppy raisers are as varied as people, noted Donna Rice, another Monroe GEB coordinator. "Some people have a friend or relative who is visually impaired, and some just want to contribute," said Rice.

For the Rodgers family, it began with Aaron. "At age 10," said his mom, "he got very interested in a school project about how proper animal training can prevent animal abuse. He had never experienced the puppy phase of a dog's life, so when we read about the need for puppy raisers, we saw benefits for him, the family, and the community."

Providing happy puppyhoods
At any given time, about 450 GEB families (and families working with 12 other guide dog organizations around the country), are actively committing their homes, hearts, time and attention to raising a future guide dog for the blind. Each family takes the puppy from age 8-9 weeks to age 14-18 months, and provides the care, affection, socialization, and discipline preparatory to the formal training the dog will undergo to do its life work.

"We place 384 new pups a year, of which approximately 160 become guide dogs and 35 become breeders," said Linda Damato of GEB, based in Yorktown Heights, NY, where the puppies are bred and nurtured until home placement, and where, at 14-18 months, they receive the formal training they need to team up with a blind person.

"Puppy raisers [singles and family groups] are the heart and soul of the Guiding Eyes program," said Damato. GEB raisers attend two pre-placement classes and then semi-monthly puppy classes focusing on obedience and dog socialization. Raisers usually pay for dog food and toys (often tax deductible), while the guide dog organization covers crate, tags, and all medical expenses.

"But how can you give your puppy up?"
"It's the first question people ask," said Rodgers. "But, you're not really giving it up; you're giving it back. The puppy belongs to GEB and you're more like a foster family."

Nonetheless, she added, "It's never easy. One raiser said, 'If you don't cry when your dog leaves, you didn't do your job right.' After all, one of your main goals is to have the dog bond with you, and that means you get emotionally involved."

The reward to puppy raisers is the life-enhancing gift their dog will be to a visually impaired person, especially one who has been struggling alone with a cane. "Most visually impaired people will tell you they hate the cane," said Rodgers. "It's never 100% accurate - and it's isolating. A guide dog attracts people to the person and promotes social interaction, which counteracts the sense of disability." A recent GEB visually impaired graduate said of his new guide dog: "With him at my side, I can now walk at a faster pace. I feel exhilarated and confident!"

Are the pups raised differently?
"Guide dog puppies are not raised as pets; they're raised as working dogs, " said Rice, "but that doesn't mean we don't love them." As Rodgers emphasized, "A loving connection is part of the job, so that the pups grow up thoroughly enjoying people."

Their obedience training is a little different. Guide dogs stay on the left hand side and are taught not to heel, but to walk a little ahead. They must learn that when in harness, they are on the job and cannot play with other dogs. When out of the harness, they can play and romp like other dogs.

Raisers must do regular dog walking and obedience drills, and expose the pup to more environments than most dogs see: office, library, post office, church, grocery store, restaurant. With the dog wearing its coat that identifies "guide dog puppy in training," said Rodgers, "most people are friendly and positive."

Puppy raisers

Teresa Rodgers and daughter Jaimee walk "Puppy in Pre-Training" Avalon around the Veterans Memorial in Highland Park during a training session for Guiding Eyes For the Blind.

A place for every puppy
Guide dogs must pass stringent tests of confidence and health to qualify for the work. At GEB, only about 50 percent of puppies go the whole distance, but those who are released from training can become detection dogs, search and rescue dogs, therapy dogs, or cherished family pets (their raisers usually get first choice). The Rodgers' lab, Nordica, now 10, was returned to them due to his sensitivity to noise. "He is an absolutely fabulous family pet," said Rodgers. "The reasons dogs are released are often the same reasons they make wonderful pets." By the same token, when pups go on to become GEB guide dogs, their raisers take joy and pride, and usually go to the graduation ceremony of the new canine-and-human team. Contact information is often exchanged between the raisers and the dog's new blind partner (if the partner wishes), leading to some special friendships. Said Rodgers, "No doubt about it, you give a little bit of your heart with every dog you raise, but the end result makes it totally worthwhile."

[GEB National site] [GEB Volunteer Site] [GEB directory of regions] [GEB puppy raiser application]
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