P.P.A.W.S. – People & Puppies at Work for Sight

People & Puppies at Work for Sight (P.P.A.W.S.) 4-H Club is devoted to raising and training puppies for the Seeing Eye Puppy Raising Project. The organization, located in Morristown, N.J., is the oldest and largest guide dog school in the world. Puppies arrive to their Puppy Raising Family at about seven weeks of age and will stay with them until the pup is 14 to 16 months old. During this time, the member families attend monthly P.P.A.W.S. Club meetings. These meetings are essential for the training of the puppies as well as the puppy raisers. These club meetings can be thought of as Puppy Boot Camp where the pups are taught basic commands, leash work and socialization in preparation for their return to The Seeing Eye.
As part of socialization training, P.P.A.W.S. members take their puppies with them just about everywhere. The puppies will experience travel in cars, trains and even boats. They will go in stores and to the mall in order to experience slippery and shiny floors, elevators, crowds, shopping carts, parking lots and more. Every outing is an opportunity for exposure and training.
This past year, P.P.A.W.S. participated in various outings as part of the training of their Seeing Eye Puppies. For example, P.P.A.W.S. went on a trip to a Camden Riversharks baseball game where the puppies went on the field and met the team. They went on a trip to Lewes, Del. on board the Cape May-Lewes Ferry and on a group outing to the Hamilton Mall to meet Santa.
To raise awareness for the program, P.P.A.W.S. participated in outreach programs at local schools, libraries and scout meetings. The Mullica Township School is sponsoring one of the puppies as part of the Seeing Eye’s Pennies for Puppies program. P.P.A.W.S. also attends several public events like The Somers Point BayFest, Galloway Township’s National Night Out and CritterFest at the Cape May Point State Park. The purpose of this socializing and outreach is to expose the puppies to all different sights, sounds and situations in preparation for the day the puppies will return to The Seeing Eye, where they will continue their education and training in hopes of one day becoming a Seeing Eye Dog.
P.P.A.W.S. has grown by leaps and bounds over this past year. Puppies being raised by club members include Ralston, a male German Shepherd, and Labrador Retriever sisters Pride & Pepper; all are 14 months old. 12-month-old Oscar is a male Golden Retriever and 11-month-old Kato and 10-month-old Yukon are both German Shepherds. Auburn, the youngster of the group at 8 months old, is a male Golden/Labrador cross. New additions to the group are Wembly, a Golden/Labrador cross and Yoshi, a German Shepherd, both 4 months old. The club is also excitedly expecting another new pup very soon. Several pups have returned to The Seeing Eye including German Shepherds Ike, Pax and Paris, as well as Golden/Lab Aztec. All have graduated and are currently working as Seeing Eye Dogs with their guide partners across the country. Although it is difficult to say goodbye to the pups when they go back to The Seeing Eye, it is very rewarding to know that they will be helping a very deserving person and will be well taken care of for the rest of their lives.
To learn more about the 4-H Club, People & Puppies at Work for Sight (P.P.A.W.S.), please contact Peter Avagliano, club leader, at (609) 804-8774 or by email at PPAWS-NJ@comcast.net. You can also meet and greet the puppies and speak to club members at the P.P.A.W.S. booth at the Cape May County 4-H Fair, July 21 to the 23.
For additional information about The Seeing Eye, you can visit their website at www.seeingeye.org.