Guide dogs need to go through a special training process before they can be assigned to a person who needs their help. Recently, puppies from PAWS 4 Sight were brought to a fire station to so they could become familiar with emergency personnel.
There are many reasons why a person needs the help of a guide dog. When most people hear the phrase “guide dog” or “service animal” they immediately think of a Labrador that is assisting a person who is blind.
While it is true that many guide dogs help adults and children who are blind, legally blind, or who have severe visual impairment, the specially trained dogs also help people who have an autism spectrum disorder or who have severe allergies. Each guide dog goes through training that is designed to teach the dog how to best help the person that they are assigned to.
PAWS 4 Sight is a non-profit organization that raises guide dog puppies and trains them to become excellent guide dogs. The group is based in Atascadero, California. Their Facebook page is filled with photos of puppies that are going through the guide dog training.
Recently, PAWS 4 Sight brought some of their “seeing-eye puppies” to the Atascadero Fire Department’s Lewis Avenue station. The purpose of the visit was so that the puppies could become familiar with emergency personnel and the equipment that they use.
The guide dogs in-training walked through the fire station alongside the firefighters. In the future, there is the potential that the graduated guide dogs will be assisting their person during an emergency, such as a fire. These dogs, who have already been exposed to what a firefighter, in full gear, looks and sounds like, will be able to guide their person towards the emergency responder.
Susan King, a member of the PAWS 4 Sight group had this to say:
“Our dogs will be tasked with helping disabled individuals, and the dogs need to be familiar with loud noises and different environments and be comfortable with strange and out-of-the-ordinary situations that may face their handlers.”
This is not the first time that guide puppies from PAWS 4 Sight came to visit a fire station. The group brought a different group of dogs in-training to visit with the firefighters in 2010. I think this is an excellent idea!
Image by Robert Neff on Flickr