Founded in 1942, Guide Dogs for the Blind is the largest Guide Dog training school in North America with nearly 11,000 graduates and, currently, over 2,100 active teams. Guide Puppies of Seattle is a local puppy raising group for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Guide Dogs has a training facility near Portland, Oregon and one in San Rafael, California. Guide Dogs' "BEST" training program is the industry standard for dog training and its system of in-home, post-graduate support is unique among guide dog schools. Guide Dogs maintains a lifelong commitment to each of its dogs to ensure appropriate, safe and loving placements. Our dogs and services are provided free-of-charge to those we serve. Guide Dogs charges no tuition or fees of any kind and receives no government funds.

 

Guide Puppies of Seattle Club Profile

Meeting Schedule: The best source of up-to-date information on our schedule is this website. GPS meets 3-4 times per month. We usually plan one outing per month and several regular meetings.

Regular meetings are on Sundays from 6:00-7:30 PM and are held in the Community Hall in the lower brick building of the Phinney Neighborhood Center ( 6532 Phinney Ave. N Seattle WA 98103).

Attendance requirements: Each raiser must attend 80% of planned meetings and outings. Outings are not optional and are important training opportunities. Puppy sitters must attend at least one meeting/outing each quarter, after becoming approved. Family members that are involved in any way with the puppy need to attend at least one meeting/outing per quarter and stay up-to-date on training techniques.

Financial Expectations: Raising a puppy is more of a time commitment than a financial one, but you are expected to provide a few basics. Raisers will be expected to buy dog food, a few grooming supplies, and dog toys—we will let you know what kind are approved--and a large or extra large crate. GPS will loan you a small crate for when you first get your baby puppy, but we have a limited number of other sizes of crates for loan. www.CraigsList.com can be a good source for used crates. Guide Dogs for the Blind will cover Veterinary care as long as the problem does not stem from neglect and the bill is pre-authorized by GDB.

Other Volunteer Obligations: Successfully raising a Guide Dog puppy constitutes 95% of a volunteer’s commitment. The other 5% consists of tasks necessary to keep our group a thriving, fun organization. Each group member is encouraged and be involved in fundraising and helping out with other tasks. Following are some things that come up that require group involvement: