Must Love Dogs in Nassau County! Seeking volunteers to raise puppies!!

We are looking for special families to open their hearts and homes and join our family of puppy raisers.

Four-month-old Bosley is a puppy with a special mission. One day, he will provide enhanced independence and mobility to a person with disabilities - whether they're blind or visually impaired, or have a disability other than blindness.

But Bosley isn't growing up at the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind. Each year, the Guide Dog Foundation breeds about 300 exceptional puppies, and it's vital that Bosley and other pups like him spend the first year of their lives with surrounded by the love and security of volunteer puppy raiser families. Puppy raisers help Foundation puppies grow up to be confident dogs.

What's involved in raising a Guide Dog Foundation puppy?

Bosley went to live with his puppy raiser family when he was about nine weeks old. He's learning basic obedience and social skills while being exposed to many different situations. People who raise Guide Dog Foundation puppies say it is the most rewarding thing they've ever done.

Puppy raisers come from everywhere - stay-at-home moms or dads, teachers, college students, retirees, people with flexible work environments - and are crucial members of the Guide Dog Foundation family. By opening their hearts and homes to a puppy, a puppy raiser plays a crucial role in helping a person with disabilities live an independent life.

Every puppy raiser family works with a Guide Dog Foundation puppy adviser, who is available to answer questions and offer guidance and support.

When he is about 14 months old, Bosley will return to the Guide Dog Foundation's Smithtown campus to begin his training as a guide or service dog.

Puppy raisers will admit it's tough to say good-bye, but when they see the pup they raised take its place at the side of someone with disabilities, the ache they feel turns pride.

There are puppies waiting now to join your loving home for a chance to start their careers.

For more info, call or e-mail the Guide Dog Foundation's Puppy Department at 866-282-8046 or puppies@guidedog.org. Or visit www.GuideDog.org and click on the Puppy Program link.

For over 60 years, the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind has provided guide and service dogs and training free of charge to people with disabilities who seek the enhanced mobility, independence, and companionship only an assistance dog can provide.