OCEAN VIEW – The Seeing Eye, whose mission is to enhance the independence, dignity and self-confidence of the visually impaired through the use of Seeing Eye dogs, is seeking volunteers to raise puppies for about a year before they head to “puppy college” to learn to be a guide dog.

Peter Avagliano, who has been involved with The Seeing Eye for 20 years and is now raising his 16th puppy, says it’s a great opportunity for people interested in giving back to their community and who have the time available.

The adopting person or family will teach a puppy “how to start on the right foot” to ultimately help visually impaired people living in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and parts of Maryland, Delaware and New York.

“There’s the saying that it takes a village to raise a child, well, it takes a puppy club to help raise our puppies,” Avagliano said.

He heads the puppy-raising club PPAWS – People & Puppies at Work for Sight – which meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month in Ocean View and provides support, tips and training techniques for those who are part of The Seeing Eye program.

Currently there are only eight families in Cape May and Atlantic counties involved in the club, so it is actively seeking others to get involved. The dogs are bred by The Seeing Eye and stay with their mother for their first two months.

Then they are placed in homes for about 12 to 14 months, where they learn to socialize, become accustomed to the sights and sounds of the outside world and learn basic commands before returning to The Seeing Eye for guide dog training.

“I have four grown children, but when my eldest was in eighth grade, she was looking for a civics project for Girl Scouts,” Avagliano recalled. “She found The Seeing Eye organization, and we got involved.

“It’s a good way to teach kids about responsibility, and as my wife said, it’s also a life lesson in loss without death, when the puppy is returned to the organization. It’s always an emotional event returning the puppy to Seeing Eye, but it’s also very rewarding that you were a part of starting the puppy on the right foot.”

Avagliano said the first three dogs his family helped raise didn’t make it as Seeing Eye dogs, but the fourth one did. “Our first dog, Igor, couldn’t leave squirrels alone; he loved chasing them,” he said. “When they graduate from puppy college, they do a graduation walk, and when Igor was walking, he saw a squirrel and pulled his person out into the street. That can’t happen with a blind person.”

The organization breeds 400 to 500 dogs per year, and about 70% will make it as guide dogs, according to Avagliano. Medical issues, temperament and physical fitness play into their success. Oftentimes, when the dog fails as a Seeing Eye dog, it is trained for search-and-rescue, bomb sniffing, arson detection and other missions.

“Igor ended up as a search-and-rescue dog,” he said.

Families are given the first option to adopt the dog if it doesn’t succeed with Seeing Eye, and Avagliano’s adult children have adopted two dogs that didn’t make it. “One is a therapy dog with Make-A-Wish in Orlando, so it’s great that my children continue to give back to the community,” he said.

The program breeds only Labrador retrievers, German shepherds, golden retrievers and a Lab/golden retriever cross because they tend to be “quite healthy, range between 40-70 pounds, and usually have a good temperament to be a guide dog,” said Lauren Christie, assistant director of canine development at The Seeing Eye.

Once the decision is made to adopt a puppy, the raiser is required to attend monthly club meetings, where all sorts of help and assistance is provided. “It’s all about socializing the dog in the outside world, so when the dog returns to us, they are used to noises, crowds and other people,” Christie said. “We also have puppy sitters available, so if someone needs to go away for a few days, they have help.”

The Seeing Eye organization covers all veterinary costs and provides the puppy raiser with a food stipend.

“It’s a great program for anyone who loves dogs, as long as they can handle it,” Christie said. “It’s a great way to teach children responsibility, and a great opportunity for someone who is retired and has more time on their hands to spend with a dog. No experience is necessary, and our clubs really provide a lot of help.

“The screening process is very simple. Visit our website, fill out an initial form, and a volunteer will call and chat with you. We look for a loving home where the puppy can learn to be confident, learn basic obedience, and socialize at malls, stores, walking the streets, taking trains or buses.”

Avagliano said he takes his puppy to Wawa just about every morning, where “they know my puppy’s name, but not mine,” he said, chuckling. “They watch the puppy grow, and shed a tear when it leaves.

“Eastwood, the puppy we’re raising now, leaves on Tuesday, and I’m steeling my emotions for that time. I know that the puppy will be trained and hopefully make it as a Seeing Eye dog, but if it doesn’t, I know it got started on the right foot and will help others in some way.

“It makes you proud when you see this little 7-pound ball of fluff come into your life, and then graduate and help someone who is visually impaired. That’s the ultimate goal.”

Anyone interested in becoming a puppy raiser can email Avagliano at PPAWS-NJ@comcast.net.

Contact the reporter, Karen Knight, at kknight@cmcherald.com.