My husband and I have lived in our house for about four years now. This past weekend was one of the wildest, craziest weekends we’ve ever had there. I’m pretty much exhausted. I would maybe even say I’m “dog tired” because really it’s hard to resist a cheesy pun and it’s totally true! This was our first weekend volunteering as Home Socializers for two 8-week-old Lab puppies for an amazing organization in our area – Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
I had heard of Guiding Eyes several years before I started working for PepsiCo. It’s an internationally accredited, non-profit guide dog school that’s dedicated to enriching the lives of blind and visually impaired men and women by providing them with the freedom to travel safely and live more independently. I adore dogs and nothing warms my heart more than the amazing relationship that exists between people and dogs. I had always wanted to get involved and somehow contribute to Guiding Eyes, but never really knew what to do and honestly – I never got around to doing it either.
A few months ago, I started hearing about the Puppy Partnership Program at PepsiCo. I was so excited to hear that we, as a company, are developing a very close relationship with Guiding Eyes! I did some asking around and the next thing I knew, I was signed up for Home Socialization training. It’s seriously a very cool thing when your job can connect you with a cause you really care about!
A few weeks later, once we were officially trained Home Socializers, it was time to pick up our weekend visitors. Denver and Drake (all the pups in a litter have names that start with the same letter) seemed very excited to go on a little vacation away from the school and, despite some very shrill crying in the car on the way home, were very well-behaved. Both of them were off-the-charts adorable, super cuddly, and very willing to give out little puppy kisses.
We spent the weekend playing and exploring our house and yard with the two of them. The whole point of home socialization is to get the puppies used to being in new places with new people and smells and sounds. If the dogs spent their entire puppyhood just at the school, a sudden transition to the real world would be quite a challenge. It was tons of fun playing with them for us and our 2-year-old miniature schnauzer, Shelby. But the boys required constant attention and supervision. The word “rambunctious” doesn’t even begin to cover how bouncy and lively these little guys were. Feeding time three times a day was absolutely insane. I have never witnessed any living being that was so wildly excited to eat. At one point, I’m pretty sure Drake tried to eat his stainless steel bowl once the food was gone. Both pups gained about 2 pounds in about three days…and they were only about 11 pounds when we picked them up!
So despite being worn out after our puppy weekend, it was a great experience. I really hope we did some good and helped Denver and Drake become more confident dogs. It was sad to drop them off, but really nice at the same time to think about the important lives they’re both going to live.
Check out more about Guiding Eyes and how you can contribute to their good work at www.guidingeyes.org. There are tons of different ways to get involved even if you’re not located in the New York area. I’m definitely going to enter Shelby in the 2011 calendar contest and we’re looking forward to more weekends of puppy fun this winter!
