What is it like raising guide dogs? Volunteers offer thought-provoking answers

Cameron Northwood loves taking his dog, Zani to different locations, such as the mall, a loud hockey game, a bus ride around the city, and shopping trips to the grocery store.

Zani, an eight-month-old black Labrador-retriever, is learning to confront new situations and navigate loud and unfamiliar spaces in Calgary.

She's a guide dog who's being raised by Northwood, a volunteer puppy raiser at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB.) 

This is the second time that Northwood has signed up to raise a CNIB Guide Dog with his family.

Northwood had a long conversation with his kids before welcoming Zani home, telling them that if they decide to raise the puppy, they'll have to stick to the decision and "be committed to it."

After making up their mind, the family applied to CNIB and were rewarded with a pleasant surprise: a Labrador puppy.

"Every day, it's like such an adventure and so much fun," said Northwood, recalling how his first guide dog didn't like her vest in the beginning and made everyone chuckle at the grocery store, knocking down several cans in her quest to feel at ease.

Kezia Gray, a puppy development trainer with CNIB Guide Dogs, is also raising a black Labrador pup to be a guide dog and is confident that she'll make her proud. 

"Sharon is a nine-month-old puppy in training," said Gray in an interview on the Calgary Eyeopener. "She's well on her way to becoming a guide dog one day."

Volunteers at CNIB Guide Dogs can choose from four different options based on their comfort level. They can either raise a puppy for a year or give them a home for six months.

LISTEN | Kezia Gray talks about raising guide dogs for CNIB:

According to Gray, dog lovers can also volunteer to raise six-month-old dogs "until they're ready to progress into formal training" or take them in for short periods.

The best part? Volunteers don't need to be experienced.

"Our requirements is just to have a home that's able to have a dog in it," said Gray. "It's not a requirement for them to have previous experience with dog training."

She added that CNIB covers food and veterinary costs coupled with training expenses. However, volunteers do need to have a somewhat flexible schedule to accommodate individual and group training sessions.

Northwood has picked up a few lessons from watching Zani grow and knows what it takes to raise CNIB Guide Dogs.

He gave an example — if Zani needs to go to the bathroom, he needs to ensure she's accustomed to relieving herself in different locations as opposed to just on grass.

"You don't just open up the door and let them out," said Northwood. "They have to be used to different environments. And somebody that's getting a guide dog might live downtown or work downtown."

An incredibly rewarding experience

Overall, Northwood said that raising a guide dog is an incredibly rewarding experience because you get to witness its progress and evolution as time goes by.

"I can't say good enough things about it," said Northwood.

While both Northwood and Gray agree it'll be tough parting ways with their guide dogs, but they acknowledge it's satisfying to know their pets will transform someone's life someday.

"A lot of our volunteers liken it to basically sending a kid off to college," said Gray. 

She added that the team stays in touch with all the puppy raisers and sends them "regular updates" so they know how the dogs are doing.

Northwood said that knowing his dog is going to do "something good" for someone in need is what gets him through the difficult moments.

"But I'd be lying to say, you know, you're not upset to see it go," he said.