Now You Can Raise Puppies for a Very Good Cause

If you love dogs and have some skills in training pups to sit, stay, or do the merengue, you can put that talent to use for a very good cause. Southeastern Guide Dogs, a non-profit that trains dogs to assist people living with disabilities, is looking for a few good volunteer puppy raisers. Sounds like a dream job, right?

Brave volunteers will be loaned a ten-week old puppy to love and feed and raise like it was their very own pooch. Puppy foster parents will also be instructed on the best way to instill obedience in the pup so they can eventually become gold-star service dogs. That includes teaching them basic commands, as well as helping them socialize and showing them the ways of the world by introducing them to as many experiences as possible. The little support-dogs-to-be will stay with their foster parents until around 12 to 16 months old when they go off to help those in need. To help defray the costs of puppy-raising, Southeastern will cover the little furball’s medical expenses, but foster parents are on the hook for food, toys, and Lilly Pulitzer leashes.

The good news is that the puppy program is available to residents across the South, including cities in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee, and soon Ohio are encouraged to apply to bring home one of the pups, all of which are around 10 weeks old. To apply for the volunteer job of a lifetime, apply here.

As Apartment Therapy notes, would-be puppy parents don’t need formal training, but prior dog-raising experience is encouraged. To support the brave volunteers, a team of experts will offer tips and training and you and your foster puppy will take part in a six-week Puppy Kindergarten program, either in person or virtual due to COVID-19 safety regulations.

If you have been looking for the perfect activity to help you wile away the quarantine hours, helping puppies grow up to become service dogs may be just the thing.

Find more information here.

This sounds like a very good deed with the benefit of puppy snuggles. Sign us up!