The extraordinary dogs of Southeastern Guide Dogs have been transforming the lives of people with vision loss, veterans, and children for decades—at no cost to the recipients. The top-notch pedigrees in the program, perfected over four decades of selective breeding and thousands of hours of training, form unbreakable bonds with people who need it most. While these canine companions are indeed special, they would not be the superheroes they are without the help of volunteer puppy raisers who provide unlimited love, care, socialization and basic training from the very start.

Leslie Shepard, director of puppy raising services, says volunteer puppy raisers are essential to the organization’s mission to serve people with vision loss, veterans, and children who need a best friend. “Most people are familiar with the work that we do and what our mission is. There are many different ways to support our organization, including financial support from generous donors as well as our walkathon–our largest fundraiser of the year in Sarasota taking place on Saturday, March 2 at Benderson Park–but I’m not sure many realize that a big way to help is by contributing their time as puppy raisers,” she says. “We have 250 puppies born on our campus every year and every year and we need 250 puppy raisers to raise those puppies for us and help us provide services for people in need.”

Puppy raisers can “host” a puppy for anywhere from three to 12 months by taking a puppy home, providing love and teaching them basic skills that they're going to need for their future career. “There are a couple of very specific commands that are needed for working dogs that we teach our puppy raisers,” says Shepard. “For example, someone with vision loss can't be worrying about whether their dog is getting food off the counter or picking up shoes and moving them, so our puppy raisers teach the dogs to be trustworthy in the home. When the pups come back to our campus at 14 to 16 months of age, our professional trainers take over, layering in the necessary guide dog skills.”

The organization has two working dog programs for the pups to be trained into: the guide dog program for those who are visually impaired and the service dog program for veterans dealing with effects of post traumatic stress. They also have a skilled companion program where a dog may be matched with a child who has a visual impairment or may be suffering a challenging loss.

For those who want to be part of the program without dedicating months of time, becoming a puppy sitter like Stacey Vianello might be a good option. “When puppy raisers go on vacation or need some time away, I step in and help out for a few hours, days or weeks,” she says. “It’s perfect for me–I get the fun of a puppy without a long-term commitment.”

If you would like to learn more, plan to attend the next Puppy Raiser Informational Session on March 9th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am the Southeastern Guide Dog Palmetto Campus, 4210 77th Street East, Palmetto, 34221.

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