Nonprofit group Guide Dogs for the Blind has been pairing guide dogs with the visually impaired since 1942. Here locally, a group helps get the puppies ready for that job.
"We get puppies from Guide Dogs for the Blind when they're around eight weeks old and we have them a little over a year," said Elizabeth Weyman, who trains the puppies with a group called Reno Puppy Raisers. "Usually they go back to Guide Dogs for the Blind when they're between 14 and 17 months old.
In that time, the trainers are responsible for basic training, obedience and socialization.
"So these little guys, when they have their green jackets on, they go where we go, because when they're guiding a blind person. They have to know how to behave in a doctor's office, in a grocery store, in a restaurant, any place a person would go," Weyman said. "So, a really important part of our job is getting them used to that and to ignoring distractions, and then they go back to Guide Dogs for their formal guidework training."
This week, the pups had the chance to visit Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue Station 33 in South Reno. The group plans monthly excursions to help introduce the dogs to all kinds of new experiences.
"Outings like this are always a lot of fun for us because the puppies get to experience stuff they wouldn't run into in everyday life," Weyman said. "So, we always really appreciate being able to come to a fire station with the engines and the sirens. It's just great training for the puppies to learn, first, to ignore distractions and second, to not be afraid of things because as a guide dog they have to be really confident and be able to lead their person wherever they need to go."
The meet and greet with local firefighters was a perfect fit.
"We're all about helping the community," said Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue Chief Charles Moore. "What a wonderful organization this is to help sight-impaired people with guide dogs, they're just so sweet in their temperament already. And my face looks extra clean, I'm sure, because I got quite a bit of those tongues right up in the face this morning."
The trainers keep the puppies for a little more than a year before they're sent back to Guide Dogs for the Blind for formal training. That part isn't easy for the families who've raised these heroes - Weyman has had to say goodbye six times.
"The goodbyes are awful," she said. "But I'll tell you, when you go to graduation and you see them wearing that harness and you see them with that person, it's worth every single tear you cry saying goodbye, guaranteed."
The group is always looking for volunteers.
"You go to some puppy meetings and learn the basic training methods, and then you usually puppy sit for awhile," Weyman said. "And way before you think you're ready, they say, are you ready to go to San Rafael and pick up a puppy? Guide Dogs for the Blind always needs puppy raisers, and if someone doesn't want to commit to raising the puppy for a year, we always need puppy sitters."
You can learn more about getting involved with the organization at https://www.guidedogs.com/
