Help raise guide dogs
BRYANSTON – The South African Guide-Dogs Association needs you to raise their puppies.
The South African Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind based in Bryanston is desperately looking for new puppy raisers.
The ideal candidate should be a dog lover who cares about the challenges faced by people who are disabled, has time to socialise a puppy and attend puppy classes on a weekly basis, is happy for the puppy to live inside their home and travel inside their car, and has a safe home environment.
“Each working dog spends the first year of its life in the care of a puppy raising family,” said Leigh de Beaufort, head of kennels and puppy raising for the association.
“The eight-week-old pup will live with the puppy raisers who will socialise the puppy so that it has the best chance of becoming a working dog. When the young dog is a year old it will be returned to SA Guide-Dogs for its formal training [this takes about six months].”
De Beaufort added that successful dogs would graduate as either guide dogs, service dogs, autism support dogs or future breeding stock. “Dogs that are not suitable as working dogs will be re-homed as family pets, and the puppy raiser will be given the first option of adoption.”
The association pays for the food and veterinary costs of the puppy.
Details: LeighD@guidedog.org.za
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