A nonprofit organization raises and donates them to blink people in need of seeing eye dogs. A guide dog is a dog trained to help a blind person get around obstacles like telephone poles, mail boxes, street barricades and by refusing to lead a blind person into oncoming traffic. A guide dog is a working dog, and when wearing a harness, the dog is hard at work guiding it's blind partner.

"My wife and I to do something for charity and we like dogs, so we were looking for something in that vain," said Maj. Mike P. Linehan, MCAS Tustin, MAG-16 aircraft maintenance officer. "We saw a guide dog puppy at a fair and asked it's owner how we could get involved. Since then we've raised two puppies and are on our third."

Most guide dogs are golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, and German shepherds. These dogs are selected because of their excellent temperament, intelligence and health. Guide dogs have an average working life span anywhere from eight to 12 years.

There are different nonprofit organizations throughout the country that provide this service. Two in the area are Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc. and Guide Dogs of America. These organizations place puppies in raiser homes throughout the Western states.

A puppy is placed in the home of a volunteer raiser when it is at least eight weeks old. Puppies usually remain with the puppy raiser until they are between 14 - 18 months old. Guide dog puppies sleep inside the house and are members of the family. House breaking and basic manners are taught at an early age. To prepare them for their future work as guides, they are exposed to grocery stores, restaurants, schools, malls, offices and much more.

"The best thing about raising a guide dog puppy is its training graduation ceremony when you present the dog to its new blind owner," said Maj. Linehan. "it's also the hardest part of the process, because you've grown to love your puppy. It's like sending a kid off to college."

Puppy raisers must attend three bi-monthly meetings before receiving a puppy and are asked to bring their pup to local meetings with other raisers to work on training techniques. Puppy raisers are expected to provide puppies with a save home environment, keep their puppies healthy, keep their puppies under control through the use of approved training techniques and to socialize their puppies to develop the skills and habits they will need to enter formal Guide Dog Training.

The Linehans talk frequently to the new owner of their first Guide Dog puppy, Zebo, to see how things are going. "The new owners other dog retired and they didn't have room for it in Boston, so we adopted it," said Maj. Linehan.

Since the 1940s, these nonprofit, charitable organizations have been in service. They are dedicated to providing skilled guide dogs and training for use by visually impaired men and women in the United States and Canada.

For more information on how to become a guide dog puppy raiser, and to find you nearest puppy raising group, call Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. at 1-800-295-4050, www.comline.com/guidedogs or Guide Dogs of America at (818) 362-5834.