Approval Is Good

We had a good day Saturday. It was the day we were approved to be puppy raisers for Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. (SEGDI). They even have a blog for puppy raisers at The Blue Coat Journal. Each area has an area coordinator and we are part of the Suncoast Puppy Raiser group. Now that we have had our house visit and have been approved, gone over the checklist and have a copy of the puppy manual (165 pages!), we will wait 3-6 months for a puppy. We could get a Vizsla, Australian Shepherd, Smooth Coated Collie, Goldadore or Labrador. We said we would take whatever was available.

Even better news was that my headmaster is in favor of the idea and will let me bring my dog to work! Woot! We'll bring the puppy over the summer to introduce him/her to the school and meet her many soon to be fans. Then we will have a convocation for each division explaining the rules of interacting with a guide dog and what a guide dog's job is and how they are raised/trained. There is a really great short video for the kids to watch and then I'll bring out the puppy. That will be totally cool.

I'm hoping that our puppy will be that community building element that helps our three separate divisions come together. I'm also hoping that when the dog is on campus that it serves as a persistent reminder about disabilities so that the disabled are not forgotten. Our kids are great and I expect them to rise to the challenge: not being able to pet the puppy when he's working! 8-)

I've spoken with two of my directors and they are on board. I meet with the third tomorrow. We will be puppy sitting a 1.5 year old Vizsla guide dog in training this weekend. So the experience starts tomorrow!

If you are interested in SEGDI, they are having an open house this Saturday from 9 am to noon. If you come, you will see us and possibly meet Jean, the Vizsla we are puppy sitting. I was really touched that her name is Jean. It seemed a good sign that our first puppy had Fred's mom's name, sort of a Jean seal of approval!