Operation Puppy Drop

April 26, 2018

Operation Puppy Drop finds a home at Tacoma Subaru.

This sweet pup has been learning his manners

Tacoma Subaru received an email from a local Guide Dog training club asking if it would be possible to use our facility as puppy drop point. We of course said yes!, you had us at puppies. What do you need.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind organization (we will explain more about what they do in a moment), brings a van full of puppies up to Washington almost every month and they stop in Tacoma, as a good central point. Up until now, they usually meet in a random parking lot like Walmart or the Tacoma mall. This can be a little stressful and chaotic, and they were looking for a better alternative, and thought about Tacoma Subaru since Subaru is well known for their love of animals.

No problem, we are happy to help. So since October (2017) we have been offering up our facility for them to make their puppy drop, we affectionately call it Operation Puppy Drop. Since October we have been able to watch over 30 puppies meet their new first year trainers, and have seen an equal number of pups move on to puppy college where they will learn to be good helpers for a seeing impaired owner.

We are honored to be able to help.

Each raiser is given a clue as to the their pups name. Example: Black Male Lab starts with S

During the drop their is a fun naming ceremony where they are given clues as to what the name

might be. Photos are taken, and congratulations are handed out. It is a true bonding time

for the raisers and the new pups.

Who or what is Guide Dogs for the Blind?

This lil guy is ready to explore

Since 1942, guide Dogs for he blind (GDB) has been creating partnerships between people, dogs, and communities. With exceptional client services and robust network of instructors, puppy raisers, donors, and volunteers, they prepare highly qualified guide dogs to serve and empower individuals who are blind of have low vision from throughout the United States and Canada.

all of the services for their clients are provided free of charge, including personalized training and extensive post-graduation support, plus financial assistance for veterinary care, if needed. Their work is made possible by the generous support of their donors and volunteers; they receive no government funding.

Their mission is to empower lives by creating exceptional partnerships between people, dogs, and communities.

A yearling and the new recruit.

Working with the Guide Dogs for the Blind and the various Guide Dog training clubs in Washington state has been a true honor. These are exceptionally caring people and are committed to this process. They are all volunteers, and when they sign on they are committed to doing things a particular way, and raising a puppy for 12-14 months only to give that puppy back to the organization for continued training. That is a special commitment. In our course of working with them, we have seen raisers receive their 1st puppy, and worked with those who are on their 15th puppy. Knowing that the puppy will have to go back is easy, putting them on the truck...a different story. There are many tears, but they are bittersweet tears. Their baby is going on to college. It is what they have been working for, so it is a joyful time, but they have also spend almost every waking moment of the last year with this pup, and now they have to say good bye. Bittersweet.

After a tough day of travel, this pup is knocked out!

It isn't really good bye though, the raiser will get updates about their puppy (they are dogs now, but just like our children, forever puppies in our heart) as they grow through the training process. Once the puppy has completed all of its training, there is a graduation ceremony, and the raiser is invited to attend. At the graduation, the puppy will meet their new owner, and will go on to lead a productive and loved life.

If you would like to learn more about the Guide Dog for the Blind organization please visit their website at : guidedogsfortheblind.com.

Since the schedule of puppy drops is subject to change, we will not be including it in this post, but to recommend you like our Facebook page for Tacoma Subaru where we post upcoming puppy drop dates. The public is encouraged to stop by and meet the new puppies and learn more about the organization.