A Southeastern Guide Dog In Training Visits The Office
This blog post was written by Lissette Deza, our Digital Marketing Intern.
It was regular day at John Bales Attorneys. Phones were being answered, cases were being settled, and shoes were being licked. Wait a second… shoes being licked? That’s because Yogi, the 15-month-old guide puppy in training, was visiting the John Bales Attorney’s office for the day.
As a new potential puppy raiser I am given the opportunity to puppy-sit Southeastern Guide Dogs in training before I make the decision to become a full-time puppy raiser. Yogi was my first puppy to puppy-sit and she got the chance to go to work with me. Before you can puppy-sit there is a process you have to go through. The journey begins by filling out an application on the Southeastern Guide Dog website to volunteer. In order to become a puppy raiser you have to first attend 3 Southeastern Guide Dog meetings that take place in your area. In these meetings you are taught vital information from puppy tricks to doggy diet tips. These meetings teach you the dos and don’ts of puppy raising. This is a great opportunity to socialize with current puppy raisers and a get a feel of how puppy raising will be. You will learn quickly that Guide dog puppies in training are just like any another puppy.
Meetings are scheduled in public places in order to get puppies acclimated to different environments. We want the puppies to be become the best candidates for helping the visually impaired. Not all dogs can be guide dogs. One slip up from the dog could get it cut from the program. However, don’t worry because this means the dog could get placed in another type of service job.
After attending the meetings you are given the opportunity to puppy-sit. When you puppy-sit you have to continue the training the puppy has been taught. Again, it is so important that the puppy gets acclimated to the work place. In the future the puppy might be required to accompany someone to work for 9 hours at a time.
Everyone at John Bales Attorneys was excited to welcome Yogi to the office. Yogi had a great time seeing what a day in the life of a lawyer was like and I was happy to have her. If you do decide to volunteer and raise a guide dog, visit the Southeastern Guide Dog Website. Raising a future guide dog takes patience and time but it’s definitely worth it.
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