Southeastern Guide Dogs needs more puppy raisers in Lakewood Ranch

Georgie, a 5-month-old puppy, was eager to interact with anybody who came by the Southeastern Guide Dogs’ booth Aug. 7 at The Mall at University Town Center.

His tail wagged as he caught the attention of people of all ages.

Every time someone came up to Georgie to pet him, it was an opportunity for Southeastern Guide Dogs volunteers to explain the nonprofit’s needs for puppy-raisers in Lakewood Ranch and to see if they would like to volunteer to become puppy-raisers, puppy-sitters or puppy-starters. 

Puppy-raisers care for the puppies when they’re 8 to 12 weeks old for 12-16 months. Sitters are available to take care of the puppies when the puppy-raisers need to go away, and puppy starters care for puppies for a few months before they are matched with a puppy-raiser to begin training.

After being with puppy-raisers, the puppies then head off to canine university at Southeastern Guide Dogs’ campus in Palmetto, where they’ll train for about six months before being placed with someone who is visually impaired or a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Lakewood Ranch area only has seven puppy-raisers and four puppy-sitters.

Alex Jeanroy, the Lakewood Ranch co-area coordinator for Southeastern Guide Dogs, said the nonprofit would like to have at least 15 puppy-raisers in Lakewood Ranch.

Southeastern Guide Dogs will teach puppy-raisers how to properly train puppies before they bring a puppy home. The puppy-raisers then will have the puppy for 12 to 16 months to teach them basics and help socialize them.

Christie Bane, the regional manager in puppy-raising services for Southeastern Guide Dogs, said that if puppies don’t get out of the kennel when they’re young to be with puppy-raisers, they miss out on important socialization windows.

“We want them out by 8 to 9 weeks old, and if we don’t have the people to do that, they’re getting out at 12 or 13 or 14 weeks,” Bane said.

Bane said people who don’t want the long-term commitment of a dog but want to help a worthy cause are great candidates for being a puppy-raiser.

Although puppy-raisers must give up the puppies after 12 to 16 months, Jeanroy said it’s worth the heartache. 

“You see how they can change a life,” Jeanroy said. “One veteran was telling us he had just terrible migraines, and he never knew when they were going to happen. And his service dog was never taught this, but the service dog would go and find his meds and give them to him before he even knew he was going to have an attack.”

In October, Lakewood Ranch’s Teresa Will will have to say goodbye to Grant, a puppy she’s been raising for the past year.

“That’s what you’re signing up for,” Will said. “You’re going to have to give this pup back to the school, and you probably won’t be able to see that pup again. But this organization is bigger than I am. If that dog can help someone else, that’s what it’s all about.”