| Holly & Cady Kellogg | Becky Bain | |
| Michelle and Dan Marine | Claudia, Sophia and Anastasia | |
| Lynda Thomas and Jim Bruneau | Chantal & Andrew Wilford | |
| Dawn S. | Laura Bain | |
| Julia & Dan Fredrickson | Pam Foster |
Christina and I are originally from Chicago, Illinois. Cady was born in Mainz, Germany. We have lived in Colorado since 1995, and have been active volunteers in various community projects. Jessica and Christina, the older sisters, are away at school but helped to raise the first five puppies.
We have been raising Guide Dog puppies since January 1999. Cammy is our sixth puppy.
We wanted to have a family project. We all love animals, and once we found out about puppy raising we were very eager to try it.
My favorite puppy “tail” is about our third GDB puppy, Wonder. When we first get new puppies they always try to play with the puppy in my closet mirrors. Wonder, however, was very persistant. She ran at the “puppy in the mirror” three times, on three separate occasions before she finally realized that it was too painful to play with that puppy and gave up. Today she still looks at that “puppy in the mirror,” but she has given up trying to entice her to play.
Our advice would be to think of it as an opportunity to give love. We try to stay focused on enjoying the time we have with each puppy. Yes, it will end and it will hurt, but the outcome is worth it. We have one working Guide to date, and her partner is a welcome addition to our family.
The most unusual question I have had was: “How does a guide dog help a person drive a car?” My answer is that they don’t. People who are blind find other means of transportation: bus, train, etc. Then I walked away and smiled.
I am, in no particular order, wife, mother, accountant, church treasurer, and puppyraiser! I like to read books and write stories. I've had horses for most of my life, so I like to ride. I used to train young horses, but haven't done that in a while.
I've been puppyraising for seven years.
My youngest daughter, who was then about twelve, came home one day and announced she wanted to raise a Guide Dog puppy. It seems she had a friend at school who had raised, and she thought it sounded fun. I thought so, too, so we got involved, and have been raising ever since. We raised six puppies together, and then my daughter got one to raise alone. She looked like she was having fun, so I got my own puppy to raise alone. It amuses my daughter no end that she is now on puppy #8, while I am still on #7!
Our fourth puppy, "Truth", was a determined sort. She was about four months old, still young enough to be riding on the floor of the passenger side front seat of my car, when it started to rain. Truth had never seen windshield wipers before. There they were, swishing back and forth above her head, and she was fascinated! And then, she figured she could catch one. Bam! She hit the windshield and fell back. One or two times is enough to discourage most puppies, but not Truth! She tried again. And again. And then, apparently thinking that her timing was off, she watched the wipers intently for a minute or so. Then her rear came up and started to wiggle, and BAM!, she tried and failed again. And again. I finally had to reach over and make her stop before she broke my windshield! I was laughing so hard, it's a wonder I didn't have an accident.
Be prepared to lose your heart, but be ready to swell with pride when your puppy graduates and becomes someone's very special helper. There's no feeling like it.
We moved here from Phoenix in December 2002. We lived in Okinawa, Japan for 2 ½ years before moving to Phoenix and before that we lived in Sacramento, CA. Yes, Dan's in the Air Force and we move a lot! In fact, we've lived in 7 different houses in the 6 years we've been married. Besides raising guide dog puppies, Dan teaches at the Air Force Academy and I teach at Pike's Peak Community College. We have a lab/golden cross pet we rescued in Japan named Montana, a big fat cat we also rescued in Japan named Romeo, and our career change guide dog, Peso, in addition to our current puppy in training, Halogen.
We've been involved with Guide Dogs for the Blind since September 2001. We started raising our first puppy, Peso (male yellow lab), in October, 2001. At the time we were members of the Phoenix Guide Dog Raisers. We started raising our second puppy, Blancett (female golden retreiver), in October 2002, also in Phoenix. In December 2002, we moved with Blancett to Colorado Springs, CO, where we joined Leading with Love. Currently, we're on puppy number three, Halogen (female lab/golden cross).
We met a raiser at an informal gathering in Phoenix, AZ, on September 11 and were hooked! After an otherwise awful day, meeting Ann and her puppy in training, Lulu, was overwhelming. We decided then and there that this would be a great way to give something back to the community. That Thursday we attended our first Phoenix Guide Dog Raisers meeting and started raising Peso about a month later.
GDB has a rule that only one dog in the program can have the same name at the same time. For an organization that has more than 800 new puppies a year, this means the names get pretty bizarre. They also don't let the raisers name their own dogs; instead, they create a game of sorts, by only telling the raisers what letter their puppy's name will start with. A couple of weeks before we got our first puppy we were told that we would get a male yellow lab and that his name would start with the letter "P." We spent the next couple of weeks trying to guess his name. A few days before the puppy truck came they told us that we weren't getting "P" any longer, now we would be getting "N." Well, we weren't as excited about trying to figure out that name; for some reason, all the fun was gone. We went to Fun Day to get "N" and were handed "Pharaoh." Needless to say, we were shocked. This wasn't "N;" it was "P" after all, and of course we had not guessed the name "Pharaoh." We spent the next few days trying to remember his name and then received a call that there was already a working dog named Pharaoh. GDB asked us to submit a list of "P" names and Peso was the only one out of a dozen that wasn't taken. So we actually had a hand in naming our first puppy, a rarity indeed. And Peso is a perfect name for this dog!
Be prepared for an emotional year! Raising puppies for GDB is one of the most rewarding things to do, but it's also really hard. Not bonding to the puppy is impossible and giving her back to go to "college" is heartwrenching. It's all worth it though! The next little puppy will worm its way into your heart just like the first one did, and the first one will never be forgotten!
It's probably not unusual, just heard very frequently. "How can you do it? I would bond too much." We all bond! We just know that this dog will have the best life, regardless of if it becomes a working guide or not. We focus on the good times and know that we are making a huge difference in some person's life.
Jim and I love trains. We have two live steam trains and also a railroad motor car. We enjoy going around the country to different clubs to run our trains or speeder. Our dogs are "Railroad Dogs"! Lynda works with people with disabilities and Jim is the engineer for a Christian radio station.
We have been raising GDB puppies since 2001. Chauncey, a male Chocolate Lab, was our first puppy and Putter, a male Yellow Lab, was our second. Chauncey was career changed in Dec. 2002 and came home to live with Mom and Dad. When I went to the airport to pick Chauncey up, he was so excited to see me, and he looked at me as if to say "Mom, where have you been all these months? I had a great vacation in OR. but I just wanted to come home!" Putter has just started school in CA. We are waiting for a transfer dog and will co-raise him/her with another family in our club.
My sister, Diane Shindler, has been raising GDB puppies for many years and worked on me for a long time to raise a puppy. When the time was right, Jim and I jumped in and got involved with this wonderful organization.
One evening Putter was napping on Chauncey's bed in the living room while we were watching TV. Chauncey wanted to lay down on his bed so he went and found Putter's favorite toy and dropped it not too far from Putter, hoping it would wake Putter up. Putter didn't pay any attention. So, Chauncey, smart, innovative dog that he is, picked up the toy and dropped it closer to Putter. With that, Putter woke up and got up to get his toy. Then Chauncey walked around to his bed and laid down. Putter looked at Chauncey like he had been cheated of something, but just couldn't figure out how.
Do it!!! What a fantastic privilege and honor it is to be able to give this wonderful gift to someone who is blind. The puppies are full of love and life and it's lots of fun raising them. What other dog gets to go with you where ever you go? You always have a "friend" with you. You get to talk to lots of people about these special dogs and it is fun letting the kids pet them and ask questions. These dogs bring joy and laughter to your lives. You belong to a wonderful group of people, other puppy raisers, who become part of your family. It is hard giving up the puppies when they are called to go to school, but you just get another bundle of wiggle and start the process all over again. I love being involved with Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Once while I was shopping, a little boy, around four years old, quietly asked his mommy "is that lady blind?" (meaning me). I turned around and told him no, I was not blind but my puppy was learning to help others who are blind. I asked him if he would like to come over and pet Chauncey. He was a little shy at first but them came over and pet Chauncey's head. I told him that Chauncey was a special dog and one day if he learned all he needed to learn maybe he would be able to help a person who couldn't see. And he was in the store because he had to learn how to be good and not eat all the food on the shelves. Maybe one day that little boy might raise a puppy for GDB.
We lived in England and France before moving to northern then southern California and then to Colorado in December 2002. We both work from home (Andrew's a software engineer and Chantal's a translator) and have a toddler girl and baby boy.
We got involved in puppy raising in August 2001 and got our first puppy to raise in October 2001.
When Andrew was hospitalized for 17 days in 2001, we were lucky enough to be visited by 4 "dogtors" at the hospitals where he was being treated. This inspired us to get involved in that type of program once we were back home and healthy. After doing some research on the Internet, we learned about becoming puppy raisers for Guide Dogs for the Blind. This seemed like such a wonderful opportunity for such a wonderful cause that we were interested in learning more. We soon became involved in the VIP3 puppy raising club of Orange County, CA. As it turned out, our first guide dog puppy, Nixie, was career changed so we adopted her and now she works as a pet therapy dog at a hospital here in Colorado Springs. So, we've come full circle!
One of my favorites has to be that our first puppy, Nixie, went into heat on the date our first baby was due. We like to think that this shows how in tune she is with our family! She had to be kenneled during her season but when she returned, she was very welcoming of our new baby!
If you love animals and would like to do volunteer work, then this is certainly a positive and fun experience to consider! We have learned and gained so much from our puppy raising experience. It hurts to give the puppies back, but the love, pride and happiness you feel knowing you've contributed to such an extraordinary cause makes every moment worthwhile!
"Why is your dog wearing a costume?" (see the FAQ page!)
I was born in Colorado and have spent the majority of my life here. I'm currently studying Biology hoping to have a career working with animals. My second love, after my dogs, is cheerleading and dancing. I am a coach and choreographer for two schools in the area.
I have been puppy raising since my mother and I received our first puppy, Seaver, on May 31st, 1996. In all this time I have raised five Labs, one Golden Retriever and one German Shepherd. I have just finished raising my eighth puppy, Pep, aka: "Pepperdoodle".
When I was in 6th grade a friend of mine was raising a puppy, I remember going home to my mom and telling her that I wanted to raise a guide dog puppy. It wasn't until a few months later that we ran into a "puppy in training" in the supermarket. After that it didn't take long until we had a cuddly puppy in our home.
At the time I had a dog named Gianna, she was a female German Shepherd, but she wasn't mine. I had acquired her in a puppy trade. Her raiser had my dog ( I can't remember which one) and I had her. I can't even remember how old I was, but I went to Subway and the man helping me kept looking at me really strange. I would tell him something I wanted and he would peer into my eyes. He did this until we reached the cash register. He took my debit card and handed me the receipt, as I looked down to sign it he threw his arms up in the air and waved them about. "What are you doing"? I asked. "You can see me?" he said peering into my eyes again. "Uh, yeah". He didn't say anything else. It wasn’t until later that I realized all he could see were the tips of Gianna's ears because the counter was so high. The whole time he must have thought I was blind, but was dumbfounded when I looked to sign the reciept.
I would definitely look into it, even if you think you would become too attached. I promise it does get easier. After a couple of dogs it becomes easier to realize their purpose in life. That doesn't mean your heart doesn't ache when they leave, it just means you know they could become an extrodinary life partner someday. Take lots of pictures, the time spent with these animals flies by before you know it. I love it because I never have to go anywhere alone, it's great to have someone to talk to when I'm out shopping.
When my German Shepherd was only four months old someone asked me if he was a Corgi. For those of you who don't know, a Corgi is a small, long dog with pointy ears. The man was so precious, when I said he was a Shepherd he was genuinely shocked.
We have lived here in Colorado Springs for 11 years and we just happen to be animal lovers. In fact my oldest is looking into a career in Zoology. My youngest plans on being a dog raiser. In fact, she says she is going to work for Guide Dogs For the Blind when she gets older. As for myself, I currently teach High School and when I retire my second career will be training dogs. As a family we enjoy hiking and skiing. We have a close bond and love to share this with our pets. We currently share our home with a collie, hamster, gerbil and beta.
Leading with Love came to visit my daughter’s class. She came home with a glow and a grin. She promptly began working all the angles of how to get to belong to this group. At the time she didn’t recall the name of the group so we began some research. Since I grew up doing community service projects this just seemed to be the next natural step. A few bumps in the road haven’t deterred us from wanting to help out. We are currently waiting for a pup and have been enjoying our puppy sitting experiences.
This really isn’t an anecdote but we have noticed that there is something about a dog that seems to bring out the best in people. It never ceases to amaze us at all the attention, questions and caring a person shows us just because of our puppy's presence in that famous “green coat”.
Be prepared! Never leave home without your clean up bag, portable dish, jacket and comb. You just never know what can happen!
Our favorite question is “How do you train him to know where he is going?” Of course we tell them the handler is the one to lead and our main job is to socialize and teach basic commands. This dog has a big career ahead of him!
I am a retired senior citizen. I live alone. I have been puppy raising since September 2002. My first puppy, Kalina, is currently in training and I'm raising my second black Lab, Fortune.
I had to euthanize a 14-year-old pet and didn't want to do that again. I also wanted a larger dog for protection and security reasons but not necessarily for the next 14 years.
I had recently gotten my first puppy and was walking her on the square in Santa Fe, NM. and we met a couple from San Rafael who serve as volunteers to pet, play with and walk the very young puppies at the GDB campus.
If you think you couldn't raise a guide dog puppy because you would love it too much to give it up, you would probably make a good raiser. We all love our puppies. Just keep in mind as a puppy raiser that you are raising your puppy to help a person with a great need. And this person will love your puppy even more than you do.
My name is Pam Foster. My husband Joe and I live on a small ranch on the Eastern Plains. Our three children are grown. I’m a Registered Nurse and the Administrator of the Simla Good Samaritan Center. We have cattle, horses, chickens, cats and a family dog, Cougar. I’m a first time raiser and I’m raising a black Lab named Rancher.
A good friend of mine called me one day last summer and told me about the show she just watched about Guide Dogs for the Blind and she said “You have got to do this” not that she needs to do this, but I need too. So I looked up the web page and got in contact with the club in Colorado Springs and well here I am. I have always been involved with some sort of service work as a nurse and I think of this as an extension of that. My residents here at the nursing home look forward to Rancher’s arrival each day and the facility cat greats him at the door.
One night two weeks after Rancher arrived, my husband and I were asleep and Rancher was in his crate in our bedroom. We both woke up to a loud metal banging sound and my husband and I both jumped out of bed and shouted “What was that?!” At the same time we both had a vision in our minds that someone was firing a machine gun in our bedroom only to realize Rancher was scratching and hitting his paw on the bottom of the crate. Needless to say it took a while to relax enough to fall back to sleep.
Be prepared to lose your heart and fall in love very quickly. However constantly remind yourself of the great service this is and the opportunity of transportation and companionship you will be providing for another. Since this is my first puppy I can only imagine what it will be like to send him back to the school. My hope is my pet dog will help heal the ache.
It isn’t really an unusual question but I hear it all the time. Someone will say “I know I’m not suppose to pet and bother your puppy because he’s in training but can I pet your puppy any way”? so at that time I’ll take the opportunity to explain to them that as long as they ask first they will probably receive permission to visit the puppy because our job is to teach them to socialize in a proper manner.
I'm a stay-at-home mom of 3 teenagers. We have a cat, a turtle and 2 lizards at home to keep our puppy Joe company. Joe is our first puppy, he's 10 months old.
As a child, the story of Helen Keller had a profound effect on me. Since then, I've had a soft spot for the blind. I'm raising Joe with my son, Dan.
Dan - I'm 14 yrs. old and in eighth grade. This is the first dog I've ever had. I like playing with the dog, playing basketball, computer games and hanging with my friends.
This is a great project for parents and kids to work together on. It's given me an opportunity to spend more time with my teen.