Puppy Raisers: Bringing up Seeing Eye Dogs

“The dog chooses its career,” Debra Honick says as she hands Gator a bone. Gator is the second puppy that Debra is raising, in hopes for Gator to become a guide dog. Debra’s official title is “Puppy Raiser,” and the process invokes all of the emotions in the book: excitement, frustration, heartbreak, and ultimately satisfaction. It all comes down to knowing that one puppy can change everyone around you for the better.

Debra Honick was watching TV one day, when an ad popped up on the screen and captured her full attention. The ad was for Guiding Eyes, which is a program that provides dogs to the visually impaired. “I fell in love with the whole concept of what it is, and what it is all for. It’s not just you and the dog, it’s what they’re ultimately gonna do for someone.”

Guiding Eyes breeds their own dogs, and once initial puppy tests are done, raisers will get an email congratulating them on their new addition to the family. The puppy raiser has around 12–16 months before the puppies return to New York for final tests. Guiding Eyes holds classes on Tuesdays at Jemicy School for the puppies, and the raisers, to learn the foundations of becoming a guide dog.

To become a puppy raiser requires a lot of flexibility, and responsibility. You are required to attend all classes, be physically built enough to handle any size dog that you are paired with, and have a good enough team behind you when taking care of the puppy.

Debra Honick is a veteran by now, as she had been a raiser to a dog before Gator. Debra got labrador Benny at two months old, “They fit your lifestyle. They are put with you to adapt.” she says, when asked how Benny and Gator changed her life. The puppies are not the only ones who have had to learn how to adapt, and they seem to have shared a few life-changing moments with Debra.” My grandmother hated dogs, she was disgusted by them. She was 99 years old when Benny came, but when she met this tiny ball of joy, she had fallen in love. On her deathbed my grandmother asked Benny to take her to heaven.” When Debra’s grandmother had passed, at the funeral, the rabbi pointed out the puppy and explained why he was there. As if on cue, Benny let out a long, exasperated sigh. Moments later, Benny had attempted to jump in the grave to be with Honick’s grandmother, causing Debra to grip Benny’s leash with all she had to hold him back from jumping into the grave with the sisters’ grandmother.

Debra says Guiding Eyes has given her the chance to see success stories first-hand. She says that an encounter with a blind woman at a Guiding Eyes event reminded her how important being a puppy raiser really is. Debra met a blind woman who told her that when you use a cane, by act of the cane, you push people away. Everyone had told her to get a dog for months, but she didn’t want one, it was too much responsibility for someone who wasn’t too fond of dogs in the first place. Finally, she gave in and her life changed the second that the harness went on her new puppy. She said that she noticed instead of pushing people away, the dog brought people to her. The lady is now able to walk her daughter to school, with the assistance of a guide dog. Hearing these stories is what keeps Debra motivated and focused on why she started with Guiding Eyes originally.

Halfway through Gator’s process, Debra and Lisa, have begun to think about the inevitable goodbye. Debra gives a sad smile, and with a disappointed undertone she says, “It’s heart wrenching. Absolutely heart wrenching. You have a bond with the dog, fall in love as soon as you get the email. Even though you knew what you were getting yourself into, you ask why put yourself through this? When you drop the dog off in New York after this time together, and see them running to their friends, you become ok with it.” Leaning down to reach Gator, she began to stroke his fur.” Now that we’re at the halfway mark, I think about it every day.”

Guiding Eyes has a mission. “We are passionate about connecting exceptional dogs with individuals for greater independence,’’ their website, www.guidingeyes.org, states. Debra believes the easy comfort level is what sets Guiding Eyes apart from other guide dog programs. “People need to understand not just about Guiding Eyes, but about service dogs.” Debra says passionately. With extra eyes on Guiding Eyes, the future is bright for the regional guiding dogs program.

-Lauren White