Raising puppies for a purpose

COEUR d'ALENE - Guide dogs are more than canine companions.

They are bred and trained to become skilled service dogs who lead sightless individuals through life's journeys.

But it doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, effort, compassion and an abundance of patience to help these chosen canines rise to their fullest potential.

Cindy and Beth Elliott know what it takes to transform a puppy into a loyal, attentive and well-mannered guide dog. The mother-daughter team, of Hayden, belongs to Puppies of Promise, Spokane (POPS), a puppy raising group that prepares canines for a life of service through Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB).

"That's our precious girl," Cindy said as she pointed to a picture of Becca, a black lab. Cindy and Beth raised Becca from about eight weeks old and parted with her in May when she graduated GDB's program. It included formal guide work and intensive in-residence training where she was matched with blind students on the GDB campus in Boring, Ore. Becca was formally paired with Thomas Chastain, a blind man in Sacramento, during the graduation ceremony.

"Becca was their (GDB's) dog," Cindy said. "I called her our dog, but it only feels like our dog because she lived with us. They bred her, they could have taken her back at any time if they wanted to."

That being said, Cindy and daughter Beth, 17, beamed with pride as they spoke of Becca.

"Becca was incredibly strong-willed, extremely intelligent and truly loving and loyal," Cindy said. "There were more than a few challenging days and many more than a few days in which she and I felt totally in our element together."

Cindy and Beth are waiting until September to receive their next puppy, but in the meantime they work with POPS to socialize other guide-dogs-in-training. They brought 12-week-old yellow lab Theo to Cafe Rio and Fred Meyer on Thursday to sniff and see some new environments. He is staying with first-time raisers, but is already understanding commands.

"It takes a village to raise a guide dog," Cindy said.

Members of puppy raising groups will "puppy swap" so the pups don't get too comfortable in one place. It's beneficial for the potential guide dogs to interact with many people and even other animals, like the Elliotts' 5-year-old boxer, Marlowe.

"He's the laziest dog when there's not another dog around," Beth said. "Marlowe's been an only dog for years."

It also takes a social person to raise a guide dog. Children smile and want to pet the puppies and many times, Cindy said, people randomly come up to them to share their canine compassion.

"They'll say, 'Oh, he looks just like my dog,'" she said. "They all want to tell their dog stories."

The Elliotts became involved in raising guide dogs because Cindy's sister-in-law DeAnn is blind. Cindy said when DeAnn received her first guide dog, Emmy, about four years ago, her life changed.

"It brought her increased independence, confidence, safety and companionship," Cindy said. "Guide dog Emmy also opened the door for continued communication with DeAnn about the more sensitive discussions involving her vision loss through retinitis pigmentosa."

Cindy explained that it doesn't matter how large a puppy raiser's home or yard is, as long as the volunteer can dedicate plenty of time and love to the canine.

"These dogs need to be socialized, and not just in a cage eight hours a day," she said. "As long as you're willing to exercise them, socialize them and train them, if you can do those three things then you're OK."

It's all about getting the pups used to the clamor of the human world. Once the potential guide dogs are used to honking horns, car engines and other startling occurrences, they won't be distracted when they are actually "working" and leading their blind partners.

One distraction is humans themselves. Cindy urges people to "practice proper etiquette when you see a puppy in training or a graduate guide dog," she said. "For instance, do not pet either without first asking the handler if it's OK. Distracting a working guide dog could cause extreme danger."

GDB guide dogs wear green jackets. Something they learn in training is that when the jacket is on, they are working, but when it's off, they're off duty.

"The minute you take the jacket off, they'll run around the house, chew up the carpet and be a regular dog again," Beth said with a laugh.

About 30-40 percent of the puppies raised for GDB go on to become guides, while others become breeders or pets. To get involved, call (800) 295-4050 or visit www.guidedogs.com.