The
concept of using animals as therapeutic aids for residents has been around
for many years. The benefits of residents playing with puppies, kittens,
and even pet rabbits have been well documented over the years. The residents
of Freedom Village, a CCRC in Bradenton, Florida, have decided to “give
back” to the animals in their own unique way: by sponsoring a puppy to be
trained as a guide dog through the Southeastern Guide Dogs Association.Southeastern Guide Dogs is one of nine schools in the United States that train puppies to become guide dogs, then place the dogs with the blind and visually impaired, free of charge. The organization receives no state, local, or other government funding; hence, Freedom Village was even more eager to help. “We have been involved with them for many years,” explains Freedom Village’s Director of Wellness and Community Relations Lothar Sachse. “At one time we also had an employee who had raised a guide dog here; she brought the dog to work and was affiliated with Southeastern Guide Dogs, as well. There have also been some residents in the past who had donated money on their own. So the relationship was there.”
That relationship continued to grow when Freedom Village residents began to volunteer as “puppy huggers.” While obviously not a difficult job, puppy hugging is vital to acclimate the puppies to all types of people and situations that they might encounter in their future jobs as guide dogs. In mid-2002, Freedom Village decided to take the next step and started the Paws for Independence fund-raising campaign.
“We decided we wanted to participate in Make A Difference Day, which takes place in late October every year, and is sponsored by USA Weekend,” says Sachse. “We put a committee of residents together and discussed what we were going to do and how to go about it, and decided that we wanted to adopt a dog. The cost of sponsoring one guide dog was $1,500, for which you get to name the dog and follow its progress as it grows up and goes through training.”
The 12-member committee started to plan special events designed to generate interest—and donations—for the program. “We have a very creative activities department—now called our Lifestyle Department—and they came up with a wonderful way to raise funds,” says Sachse. “They contacted a company that makes stuffed dogs, all different sizes, and came up with the idea that for a donation, you would get one of the stuffed dogs. For instance, with a $5 or $10 donation you would get a small dog, for $25, a larger dog, and so forth. I think the most expensive was $100, for which you received a pretty good sized golden retriever!”
In
August 2002, Paws for Independence was launched at Freedom Village at a special
“Puppy Preview Tea,” organized so residents could meet the newborn puppy for
the first time. As part of this event, residents could make $1 donations in
exchange to suggest a name for the puppy—a sort of naming raffle. After the
resident committee reviewed the entries, the puppy—a black lab—was named “Scout,”
and the proceeds were split between the winner of the contest and Southeastern
Guide Dogs.