Roy Keane leads call for more puppy raisers

The Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind (IGDFTB) have issued a call for puppy raisers in Cork, with Roy Keane heading the campaign as charity ambassador.

The organisation, which is headquartered in Carrigrohane, is seeking volunteers to join their 100-strong fleet of puppy raisers nationwide, to help raise pups for future training as guide or assistance dogs, with a specific focus on recruitment across Cork and Dublin.

Mr Keane, who has been an ambassador for the charity for a number of years, visited the HQ on Model Farm Rd last week to meet with puppy raisers and clients to assist the organisation in their latest callout 

Speaking to The Echo, puppy raising supervisor, Niamh Daly said: “Roy has been an amazing ambassador for IGDFTB for many years – he genuinely loves the dogs and has a real passion for them and our clients.

“He’s really invested, he sees the whole process from start to finish, he sees the difference they [guide dogs] make, so he wants to put his face to that, and that’s amazing.

“Our puppy raising volunteers are incredible, they raise our pups from about 9 weeks old up until they are 14 months old – they do this in their own home and help to bring about a pup that is comfortable in different social environments.

“They do this under the guidance of a puppy raising supervisor to be ready for their next stage of training to be either a guide or assistance dog.

“Criteria wise we need people with a secure garden, that don’t have children under five years old and that have a flexible schedule.

“We have about 100 puppy raisers all around Ireland [but] it’s always ongoing, the demand and need for puppy raisers is constant – you can never have enough.

“Cork and Dublin have the biggest populations, and because we have two supervisors based in both locations, the travel distance is amazing in terms of the support we can give, so both Cork and Dublin are fantastic places to source puppy raisers.” 

Anyone over the age of 18-years-old, who is interested in becoming a puppy raiser, that fits the criteria, is urged to contact the charity, or visit: https://www.guidedogs.ie/.