Sequim Gazette staff

Puppy Pilots recently welcomed two new puppies for training from Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Club leader Deb Cox, and mother/daughter Kim and Elizabeth Rosales are raising litter mates Delilah and Desiree, 14-week-old labrador retrievers, to become partners for blind individuals.

The Sequim puppy raisers traveled to Tacoma to meet the Guide Dogs for the Blind puppy truck, a custom-designed van used to deliver Guide Dog puppies.

For the Rosales’ first time raising a Guide Dog, the Sequim Valley Lions Club sponsored Delilah and are paying for her food while she is in Sequim.

Desiree is Deb Cox’s fifth puppy from Guide Dogs for the Blind. Her fourth puppy, Vivian, returned to the Boring, Ore., training campus to begin harness training.

“Raising a guide dog puppy is such a rewarding and selfless life-changing adventure, which ultimately changes someone else’s life,” Cox said.

Puppy Pilots received another puppy on Jan. 8.

At around 8 weeks old, puppies are loaded into the puppy truck at the Guide Dogs headquarters in San Rafael, Calif, to meet their new puppy raising families. Volunteers raise puppies for 14-18 months, teaching them house manners, socializing them and providing new experiences.

Dogs are returned to Guide Dogs for more formal training and are matched with blind students enrolled for in-residence training. Guide Dogs for the Blind started in 1942 and its services are provided free of charge. The organization is funded through private donations.

For more information about the Puppy Pilots Club and meetings, contact Deb Cox at 582-0560 or deb@

puppypilots.org or visit www.puppypilots.org.