Fun Day at Guide Dogs for the Blind Builds Community

Boring, OR. “Happiness is a warm puppy,” wrote Charles M. Schultz and volunteer puppy raisers at Guide Dogs for the Blind agree. The organization held its annual Oregon Fun Day on July 20th at its Boring campus. The theme for this year’s Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) Fun Day was “Bone Voyage” with dogs and humans dressing up in leis, tropical shirts and captain’s hats. (Photo credit, Morry Angell, Guide Dogs for the Blind)

This puppy raising family wears sailor hats as they work with their new GDB puppy in training.

Pawprint painting made by some furry Fun Day attendees

Fun Day was a day of celebration for dogs and humans alike. In the spirit of the “Bone Voyage” theme, special activities were set up all over campus. Activities ranged from a paw print painting station to a photo booth meant to capture some of the clever costumes from the day. A boat-themed “Dogs on Deck” obedience training session and a “Good Ship Lollipop” socialization and training session gave puppy raisers the opportunity to practice skills with their GDB puppies in training. In addition to festive activities, GDB experts spoke on the subject of “Journey vs. Genes,” which explored what makes a successful guide dog.

To conclude the celebration, a puppy delivery ceremony, matching to local Pacific Northwest volunteer puppy raisers with their new guide dog puppies, took place. Volunteer puppy raisers are typically responsible for socializing and taking care of their GDB puppies in training for about a year. Puppy raisers were given the chance to guess the name of their new puppy before meeting them. From “Jamboree” to “Fleetwood,” these ten new GDB puppies in training ventured off with their new puppy raisers to embark on a journey of learning obedience and socialization skills before their formal Guide Dogs for the Blind training.

From Guide Dogs for the Blind:

Are you curious about becoming a volunteer puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind? Puppy raising is one of the many ways to get involved with the nonprofit organization. Learn more here: https://www.guidedogs.com/support-gdb/volunteer/puppy-raising.

Guide Dogs for the Blind provides all services free of charge to clients and relies completely on the support of donations, as it receives no government funding.

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