Yorktown Heights, NY - With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, the spirit of love is in the air. If you’re looking for more than chocolates and flowers this year, consider a rare opportunity from Guiding Eyes for the Blind to become a volunteer as the international nonprofit is now accepting new puppy raisers in the Westchester region.

Guiding Eyes is one of the foremost guide dog schools in the world and its puppy raisers come from all walks of life and include couples, families with children, young adults, and senior citizens. The volunteers welcome 8 week old puppies into their homes and with full support from the nonprofit, love, nurture, and educate the puppies for a 14 to 16 month period before sending them off to their calling as a guide dog for a blind or visually impaired person.

Armonk residents Nancy and Ken Harbour have experienced firsthand the gifts and rewards that come from bringing a future guide dog into their home. The Harbours share their puppy raising responsibilities with daughter, Jessica, and her husband, Evan Harris, who live in Scarsdale. It was Jessica’s job at PepsiCo that piqued her own interest in Guiding Eyes. A specially designed program at PepsiCo’s global headquarters allows trained company employees to assist in the socialization of service puppies while at work. Yellow Labrador Ollie benefits from this unique partnership; he often accompanies Jessica to the office, where he practices the many skills he’ll need to master on his journey to becoming a guide dog.

“Our favorite part of puppy raising is the dogs,” said Ken Harbour. “Ollie is an amazing animal – smart, eager to please, confident, and a terrific soul. He will hopefully make a great companion and guide for a blind person. I'm also very impressed with Guiding Eyes as an organization. The staff is terrific and provides extensive training classes and support services.”

Cindy Kosacz, a Somers resident, veterinarian, and longtime Guiding Eyes volunteer, is currently raising 9 month old Calli. “Being a puppy raiser requires some work but it’s lots and lots of fun and has taught me the true meaning of living in the present,” says Kosacz. “I’ve learned to savor each day that I have with the pup I’m raising because the experience in itself is one of the greatest privileges I’ve felt in my life.”

Linda Damato, the program’s director, notes that, “without the extraordinary dedication of our puppy raisers, we would simply be unable to provide guide dogs to the blind and visually impaired.” Volunteers are always invited to attend the graduation ceremony of the dog that they helped to raise, which typically commences approximately six months after sending the puppy back to Guiding Eyes for formal training. It’s during this celebration that the raisers have the opportunity to meet the dog’s new partner and truly understand the impact that a guide dog has in the life of a person with vision loss.

The Guiding Eyes Puppy Raising Program is comprised of more than 400 volunteers from Maine to North Carolina. Some already have forever pets of their own while others commit to raising guide dogs as a way to give back. No matter the circumstance, all puppy raisers agree that the program is emotionally rewarding in a multitude of ways. Raisers live in urban, suburban, and rural areas, in apartments, townhomes, and single-family residences.

Puppy raising classes are held on Wednesday evenings at locations alternating between the Bedford Hills Community Center and the Guiding Eyes training school in Yorktown Heights. Orientation classes, designed to prepare you for raising a puppy to become someone’s Guiding Eyes, are on 2/28, 3/6, and 3/20 from 6pm-8pm at the Canine Development Center in Patterson, N.Y. MUST attend all three classes. RSVP required. To learn more prior to attending the class, please contact Nicole Guite at  845-230-6406 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please call 1-866-GEB-LABS or visit www.guidingeyes.org/volunteer/puppy-raising/ for additional information on the Puppy Raising Program.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind's Headquarters and Training Center is located in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. and its Canine Development Center is in Patterson, N.Y.  For more information, visit www.guidingeyes.org.

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