Irish Guide Dogs are recruiting Cork Puppy Raisers and this could be your calling
Looking for a new challenge this autumn?
If you’re a dog-lover with some spare time on your hands, the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind need your help.
The charity is currently recruiting for Puppy Raising Volunteers in the Munster area.
Puppy Raisers foster one of the organisation’s puppies from the age of eight weeks until they are approximately 12-14 months. It’s not always easy, but puppy raising is a great opportunity to make a real difference to someone’s life and to learn new dog training skills while you’re at it.
“At eight weeks old our puppies begin their journey to becoming a Guide Dog for a person who is vision impaired or an Assistance Dog for a family of a child with autism.” said an IGDB spokesperson.
“This journey starts in the homes of our Puppy Raising Volunteers. The puppy will live with your family in your home.
“Under the direction of our Puppy Raising Supervisors, puppies learn basic rules and obedience. At approximately 14 months they move into our Training Centre with our highly skilled trainers and the hard work towards graduating as a Guide or Assistance Dog begins.”
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Interested? Here are the criteria to become a Puppy Raiser:
- No more than two other dogs in the home. They must be sociable, well behaved and neutered/spayed
- The puppy must not be left alone for prolonged periods of time (max four hours but this is age-dependent)
- You must have access to a secured outdoor area
- Children in the home must be over five years of age
- You must be 18 years or older, but the whole family can get involved
- Must have internet access and be able to use Zoom platform
To apply or to find out more, visit guidedogs.ie or email Erin at erin@guidedogs.ie.
