Georgia Magazine - September 2022 - 17

A
nneliese Sannes' family always has taken in stray
animals. By the time she was in high school, she'd
helped care for more than 300 dogs and cats,
pitching in with duties such as dosing medicine and delivering
puppies. So when she arrived at the University of Georgia (UGA)
in Athens, she really missed being around them.
" I heard about the Guide Dog Foundation when I was going
through sorority rush and found out more at a campus fair, " says
Sannes, now a senior in the animal science program, who plans
to attend veterinary school. " I applied and started right away. "
The New York-based Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind
(GDF) was founded in 1946 to train guide dogs and provide
them to the blind and visually impaired. While it costs about
$50,000 to breed, train and place each dog, recipients never pay
for any GDF services.
At UGA, students who volunteer with the GDF are known
as Dawgs Raising Dogs. With nearly 200 volunteers and 75 dogs
in training this year, they are the organization's second-largest
group of student raisers.
Donna Bryan, Athens area puppy adviser for the GDF, says
no experience is needed to be a puppy raiser. Volunteers learn
about what's expected during the application process and are
guided by group leaders and advisers who assist in tracking a
dog's developmental and training milestones. Raisers are
responsible only for buying a puppy's food, with the GDF
covering all other necessities, including veterinary care.
Volunteers are matched with 8-week-old puppies from the
GDF breeding program. Most GDF dogs are Labrador or golden
retrievers, standard poodles or lab-retriever mixes-breeds
known for intelligence and gentleness that also are large enough
to safely guide adults.
GDF raisers teach their puppies house manners, how to
walk on a leash without pulling and how to respond
to basic commands such as sit, down and stay. The
human-dog pairs go to classes twice a month, where
the dogs learn obedience and safe interaction with
other puppies while their raisers can ask questions
and share ideas.
After 16 to 18 months, the dogs " graduate " and
are sent to the GDF headquarters in Long Island,
N.Y., where they spend four months with certified
trainers to learn how to guide a visually impaired
person. Finally, the GDF brings in the dog's recipient
so the pair can learn how to work together.
" They learn how to rely on and trust a dog to
lead them, " Bryan says. " It's a truly life-changing
experience. "
It is for the puppy raisers, too. Bryan joined the
GDF as a puppy raiser her freshman year at UGA.
During her time at school, she raised three dogs
and became an area coordinator. Upon graduation
in 2020, Bryan joined the GDF full time, as it let her
combine a passion for helping people and animals.
" You have such a sense of community. I've
made lifelong friends, " she says. " Other puppy
raisers know just what you're going through. They're
a support system, a shoulder to cry on and your
biggest cheerleaders. "
Students can volunteer as full-time raisers or
work with co-raisers. Those who can't commit to
full-time raising can serve as " campers, " relieving
raisers who need time off for things such as school
or work and maintaining a puppy's training regimen.
Keona Staff ord and Mario, an apricot poodle, celebrate Staff ord's graduation
from the University of Georgia last year. Mario attended classes and study
sessions with Staff ord and helped her relieve her stress.
'A great stress reliever'
Keona Stafford, who graduated from UGA last
year with a degree in biological science, joined the
GDF with plans to co-raise a puppy in 2018. When
www.georgiamagazine.org 17
MORE
GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION
http://www.georgiamagazine.org
Georgia Magazine - September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - September 2022
