Gallery • 1 Photos

photo courtesy of Annie Poy

Annie the dog and her friends pose at a birthday party.

CHS freshman Annie Poy and senior Eamon Miller have both been raising canine companions for the visually impaired since they were young. Referred to as “Puppy Raisers”, these individuals and their families take in and train potential guide dogs to adapt to a variety of situations they will inevitably face as the eyes of the blind.

Poy has been raising her dog Annie since seventh grade. Annie the dog recently entered official guide dog training as of this past November. Miller’s family has taken in a variety of dogs since he was two years old. Both Puppy Raisers have found a sense of accomplishment and pride through their dogs’ important futures.

“It gives you a sense of pride to know that a puppy you raised will be the eyes for a person who can’t see for themselves,” Poy said.

Poy was first exposed to the Puppy Raising world when she attended a guide dog graduation ceremony with her family. Motivated by the sight of newly certified dogs going off with their hearing and visually impaired companions, she promptly sent in an application for puppy raising to Guide Dogs of the Desert (GDD). GDD is a Southern California based organization dedicated to helping special needs people through the use of guide dogs. Within a month of completing an application, Poy met her new Golden Retriever, Annie. Before taking Annie in, Poy had raised several other of her own dogs, enabling her to establish a quick bond with Annie.

Much like a normal puppy, Annie was lively, restless, and untrained until the Poys coached her to the now loving, well-behaved, calm state she lives in now. While raising Annie, Poy would take her to numerous events, parks, restaurants, shops, and schools to familiarize her with different people and situations. Every Friday at the beginning of 5th period, Poy’s mom would bring Annie to school to follow Poy until the end of lunch. Annie would accompany Poy in her class by sitting patiently next to her and at lunch where she would sit with Poy’s friends. While with the guide dog, Poy would face various challenges from strangers feeding Annie unacceptable food to petting her without asking.

“Bringing Annie to school presents her with new environments, new barriers to overcome, and new things to learn,” Poy said.

Since his move from Washington State to California, Miller has been raising puppies with his family. Introduced to Puppy Raising by a family friend, his family was inspired to start caring for such dogs. Now a veteran of the craft, he still remembers when his mom would bring his puppy to his kindergarten class.

“All the kids would be happy and it’d make me happy. It’s a great way to continuously give back and help out people who are obviously struggling,” Miller said.

Raisers care for their dogs from infancy to adulthood before leaving them on their journey to being a guide dog for the visually impaired. Poy and Miller see to it that their dogs lives happy days as they prepare them for their future responsibilities.