I recently dispatched one of my humans to interview Ellen Cox, the Georgia Area Coordinator for the Southeastern Guide Dogs for the blind.
Mom has known Ms. Cox for a few years now and has had the privilege to have a few of the dogs attend her classes.
You may have seen one of these dogs as they visit malls and grocery stores as part of their training. They are the guys with the blue and white vests that read “Puppy in Training”. This means that you should not pet the dog; he or she is learning to work!
And work they do!
Southeastern Guide Dogs began in 1982, is accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation in Reading, England and is also a member of the Council of U.S. Dog Guide Schools. The school has been providing dogs to the visually impaired for over 27 years. Currently, there are more than 800 active guide dog partnerships, with more than 2500 since the inception of the program. The school estimates that 70 new graduates will be added during this fiscal year.
Located on 23 acres in Palmetto, Florida, Southeastern operates their own breeding colony, with more than 100 dogs. Among the breeds used are Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Goldadors (Lab/Golden mix) and Smooth-Coat Collies.
Ms. Cox is training a Vizsla named Cheyenne.
While the dogs are very important, enough cannot be said about the “puppy raisers”. These people are volunteers and they give up many days, hours, vacations and money to prepare these animals for future service.
A quote from Ellen Cox says it all. “To devote 18 months of your life to raising a puppy so that someone you have never met can walk freely about their everyday life is sacrificing for your fellow man.”
The puppy is placed with his foster family at 9 weeks of age. The new family is responsible for socializing the pup, teaching obedience and building confidence. Puppy raisers are often asked to promote their organization by participating in fund raisers, visiting schools and public meetings.
Raising a puppy is a project for the whole family.
Southeastern is attempting to expand its operation in many Florida communities. Contact them if you think that you and your family have all that it takes to sacrifice for your fellow man.
The organization meets bi-weekly in various places conducive to training a future guide dog.v There are currently 11 dogs in the Georgia program. The dogs are taught all the common commands such as, sit, stay, come, down and “take a break”, which means to cease working. Go busy is the potty command for Southeastern dogs.
Speaking of go busy, blind people are taught to feel the dogs back in order to know what is going on. If the back is flat, the dog is urinating. If the back is round, get out the bags.
Ms. Cox estimates that puppy raisers spend around $1000.00 a year raising a puppy. This may or may not include mileage. However, it costs about $60,000.00 for the full raising, training and post-graduation support of the dog. One may assume that it must cost a lot of money to acquire a guide dog from Southeastern. Not so. In fact, it costs nothing to obtain the dog. The dogs are paired with new owners and the new pairs then spend 26 days of on-site training in the Florida facility before they are released to face the world and their new jobs! The average working life of the dog is 8 years.
During this interview, we followed Ms. Cox and Cheyenne through a local mall. At one time, Ms. Cox instructed Cheyenne to find the elevator and shortly we were standing in front of the elevator. Mom can’t locate an elevator that fast and she can see and read!
At around 14 months of age, the pups are returned to Florida to begin their specialized training. A certified trainer is assigned 8 to 10 dogs to work with. The trainers spend 8 hours a day for 6 months with the dogs. Approximately 60% of the dogs will make the final cut.
So, what happens to those that do not make it? These dogs are placed in the Gifted Canine program of Southeastern Guide Dogs. There are four programs.
Therapy dog program is designed to enrich the lives of those in their communities while educating people on the mission of Southeastern Guide Dogs.
The K-9 Law Enforcement program places dogs with law enforcement agencies for further training in narcotic or arson detection.
Companion Dog Program places dogs with people with developmental disabilities such as Down’s Syndrome, Autism, hearing problems and anxiety disorders.
Public Adoption Program places dogs with loving homes.
Southeastern also has a Veterinarian Partner program. This program recognizes vets throughout the southeast who donate time and services to Southeastern dogs. Veterinarians interested in participating in the program should contact Michelle Dumas at 941-729-5665 x 136 for more information.
Southeastern also features a program called “Paws For Patriots”, training service dogs for veterans.
A very busy organization, right?
I am a great dog and have earned my PTD (pretty terrific dog) title, but I’m not sure I was cut out to work that hard!
If you have not figured it out already, there is a special place in my heart for rescue dogs. Whether they are adopted from shelters, rescues, or fosters, they are all special friends to me. For that reason, I decided to use my celebrity to draw attention to the deserving dogs available for adoption. Initially, we are focusing on shelter dogs local to me in the Atlanta metro area, as well as the state of Georgia, but we plan to expand our reach to a national level.
