Guide puppies-in-training throughout Regina 'a real joy,' says puppy raiser

The first month with Percy wasn't without its challenges, Christopher Adams said. The puppy had a habit of eating the tomatoes from the garden, brushing up against the herbs, 'helping out' with laying new sod, but Adams loves every minute of it. 

"He's been a real joy," Adams said. 

Adams is one of four new "puppy raisers" in Regina. The group are raising the first ever batch of guide dog puppies-in-training in the province. The program was brought here by CNIB Guide Dogs, and four puppies were brought from Australia at the end of August. 

Adams wanted to volunteer for the 24/7 position of "puppy raiser" to give back to the community, but also to have a new puppy in the house. Adams family dog Jude, an older German Shepard, had suddenly passed away not long before he decided to sign up. 

"I thought there would be a real opportunity there for us to give back the joy that we had with our dog Jude to someone else," Adams said. "Many of those that do have guide dogs, it is literally like winning the lottery. It's a very special thing to have a guide dog in your life." 

On the day the puppies arrived, Christall Beaudry was waiting at the airport. The three males and one female were excited to be off the plane. 

"We're just so so proud," Beaudry, executive director of CNIB Saskatchewan said. "We just really hope that the community will keep embracing guide dogs—and we want to make sure that people are welcoming them in their environments."

Having the puppies in the city is an important education tool as well, Beaudry said. 

"Many people have forgotten over the years that a harness on means hands off," Beaudry said. "And so when you see a puppy out there now with a vest on it also means hands off because they are training."

There's a lot that goes into training these pups before they're ready to be guide dogs, Andrea Critch said. Critch is a puppy raising supervisor that meets with the volunteer puppy raisers twice a month to start to help guide them on raising the pups. 

"It's all about socialization, initially, to start really letting them know that the world isn't a big scary place," Critch said. 

They introduce them to simple things like riding a bus, walking around construction, walking in traffic, going into stores, and basic obedience. Most of the training is done through positive reinforcement of food, she said, and the end result is a lifeline. 

"It changes people's lives for the better," Critch said. "It's they're able to have confidence again to go out in public on their own without having someone there."

Adams hopes the guide dog program can continue to grow provincially and nationally so more people can experience what he's doing. He said the CNIB staff have been amazing in helping with the new guide dog puppy-in-training. 

"This is a great opportunity for Canada to shine and develop its own program and hopefully become a model for other jurisdictions," he said. 

It was a juxtaposition to go from a 90-pound senior dog to an 18-pound puppy, Adams said. And when the vest is off, it's just like having a regular little pup. 

"It's a little bit like that second child in a way for us," he said. "It's really easy to forget what it's like to have a little one around again."

"I have a list of Percy's confessions in his first month," Adams said with a laugh. The list included stealing tomatoes from the garden, eating things he shouldn't have, digging up old bones, and more. 

"They teach you pretty quickly what kind of trouble they can get into and what fun they can have too," Adams said."

During the day, Adams is a consultant and can spend time with the dog while he learns how to train him. Percy goes to Adam's son's high school with him, his wife's work, and more to learn about the world. 

"Our job is pretty simple, it's really to love them and socialize them and those are the things that we enjoy the most," Adams said. "Give them an opportunity to feel comfortable and happy and then also just to share their love with others." 

The pups are here for one year before continuing their training in Ontario, Critch said. A year from now, it'll be hard to say goodbye, but worth it knowing where he's going, Adams said. 

"We really just wanted to contribute to the program—give back an animal that we had cared for as a puppy to somebody that would have the opportunity to care for it—and to be able to have more independence and more opportunity to be confident in their own lives."

Anyone wanting to get involved with the program as a future 'puppy raiser,' a 'puppy boarder' for when the 'raisers' go away, a donor, or more, can get in touch with CNIB Guide Dogs.