THE FIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION, INC.
103 Old Iron Ore Road, Bloomfield, Conn. 06002
www.fidelco.org
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Date: January 18, 2011
Contact: Jack Hayward
860-243-4800
FIDELCO GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION, INC.
OFFERS GERMAN SHEPHERD PUPPIES TO QUALIFIED HOMES
Voluntary Puppy Raisers: The First Step in Guide Dog Training
Bloomfield, Conn.- The Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, Inc. (Fidelco) is accepting applications for its Voluntary Puppy Raiser Program; which is the first step in training guide dogs for people with visual disabilities. Interested persons must fill out an application available at www.fidelco.org or by regular mail. Fidelco’s address is 103 Old Iron Ore Road, Bloomfield, Conn., 06002. Applications can also be requested by e-mail at puppyrasiers@fidelco.org and by phone at 860-243-5200. Upon receipt of the application, requestors will be contacted.
Applicants and their pups must attend Saturday training sessions at Fidelco’s Bloomfield campus to teach their pups basic obedience skills and to socialize the dogs. Families or individuals keep their pups until it is time to return their dogs to Fidelco for formal guide dog training.
“Volunteer Puppy Raisers are an integral part of our training effort,” said Sally Keating, director of the Fidelco Volunteer Puppy Raiser Program. “We currently have more than 100 puppy raisers in the area but we’re always on the lookout for additional families that may qualify to raise a Fidelco pup in their homes.”
The Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Bloomfield, Conn., breeds, trains and places its own, unique type of German shepherd guide dogs with people who have visual disabilities. It pioneered In-community Placement in the United States; a process that allows guide dog users to be trained in the communities where they live and work. Fidelco relies solely on the gifts and the generosity of individuals, foundations, corporations and civic organizations that partner with us to “Share the Vision.”
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