For the love of dogs (and books.)
Have you heard of our charitable giving program, Book Love? Maybe you’ve made a financial donation to the program, or donated your time or furniture helping us move refugee families in to their new homes. Perhaps you’re interested in working with us to help get books to kids via our city’s neighbhood health clinics. Or you may be a teacher who has built a gift registry on our website, and asked your community to purchase books for your classroom using our Book Love discount. Maybe you heard about Book Love via one of the book drives we’ve run in partnership with local literacy groups and non-profits like Wright to Read, or the Alexandria Women’s Shelter.
But even if you haven’t heard of Book Love, I hope you’ve heard of puppy storytime. Why? Because it’s about the most adorable and heartwarming thing you can experience. Books. Puppies. Kids. It’s pretty cute. And impactful, too. Here’s a look at how we got lucky enough to become involved with these delightful little puppies and dedicated volunteers.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind is a non-profit that provides guide dogs to people with vision loss. They’ve been around for more than 60 years and have graduated more than 10,000 guide dog teams! While it takes three years and up to $50,000 to train a guide dog, their services are provided free of charge. A network of more than 1,700 volunteers comes together to raise puppies for Guiding Eyes. It’s pretty amazing work they do - the greater independence and companionship guide dogs provide can be life changing.
Old Town Books connected with Guiding Eyes thanks to one of our booksellers. I’ve wanted to raise a guide dog puppy for ages, since I was old enough to understand the basics of dog training. When I was in graduate school I took my dog (and Old Town Books mascot) Scout through the Good Dog Foundation training program. Scout came to work with me when I was an academic advisor at NYU, and attended special therapy dog events at NYU as part of the Good Dog Foundation. We also visited New York Presbyterian Hospital in Brooklyn, where he got lots of love from patients and doctors and nurses alike.
I love and admire working dogs. And I love and admire the folks who make these sorts of programs possible. So it was a delight when Amanda, one of our book club leaders, introduced me to Guiding Eyes. I signed up for their volunteer session and became a puppy sitter last year. Since then my family has hosted several adorable, wiggly little puppies aged four months to a year old. They stay with us a short while, no longer than a week so far, but their visits have been wonderful. My young children love practicing with the puppies, encouraging good household manners and playing fetch with them in the yard. Our dog Scout dutifully endures their puppy-ness, huffing off to the couch when the tussling gets on his old dog nerves.
I’d encourage you to donate to Guiding Eyes, volunteer to raise or sit their puppies, or even simply join us at the next puppy storytime.
In the meantime, here are some book suggestions by puppy raises in the Dominion Region of Guiding Eyes. Enjoy!
~ Ally
P.s. - have kids curious about guide dogs? Read Looking Out for Sarah by Glenna Lang.
Heron
Nancy Klein - currently raising 4th pup, Heron
To me, dogs are just happy to be alive. They definitely know how to race in the rain and dance in the rain!
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
Ribsy by Beverly Cleary
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Winette
Kathleen McQuade - currently raising 2nd pup, Winette
There are many reasons why I chose working with GEB, but one of the main reasons was the joys of dogs.
The Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn
They are private detectives and Chet (the Dog) is the narrator of the books. He is hysterical and you really feel like you are living the life of the dog. Chet is also a K9 dropout. (there was a cat involved, story for another time) These books are Adult Fiction.
Deb and Paul Wydra - currently raising 7th pup, Ike
Ike
Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson
What I love about this book—even though Roselle is from GDB—is Hingston’s fun descriptions of Lancaster, CA and UC Irvine in its early days (both places I’ve enjoyed in my past life in CA). He shares his parents’ brave parenting style, his love for driving, riding bikes, and flying planes! The text moves back and forth from his life to his escape, with Roselle’s help, from one of the Twin Towers on 9/11.
Trusting Calvin by Sharon Peters
Get those tissues ready! This small book carries a beautiful and inspirational message about surviving and enduring--despite horrific circumstances. It does have some graphic sections about the Holocaust, but it’s a truly worthwhile read.
Jane Wilson - raised 28th pup, Felix
Through Otis’s Eyes, Letters from a Guide Dog Puppy by Patricia Kennedy and illustrated by Robert Christie
Felix
This is my absolute favorite Guide Dog book. Patricia Kennedy is a former GEB Dominion raiser and penned this sweet little book on the lessons that we raisers learn while having our special puppies.
Planet of the Blind by Stephen Kuusisto
Steve is quite an amazing GEB Guide Dog user, poet, and college professor, who has written several fascinating books. My favorite is his “Planet of the Blind” which is a beautiful memoir of his life. It is absolutely marvelous and says so much about his life and perspective. In the earlier part Steve talks about how he spent years trying to pass for being sighted and how having a guide dog has changed his life.
Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet’s Journey by Stephen Kuusisto
A beautiful story of personal growth and the development of the relationship between the guide dog and its partner. Very inspiring for anyone but especially raisers.
Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean
Growing up I had quite an admiration for Rin Tin Tin and I believe Susan Orlean wrote a fascinating and warm account of him, and also about the countless ways we would be lost without dogs in our lives.
Haben by Haben Girma
An astounding and inspiring story of the first deaf-blind graduate of Harvard Law School. She is a guide dog user and an advocate for individuals with disabilities. GEB is one of the only schools that has a program to accommodate the vision impaired who have additional needs. Our instructors are quite amazing how they adjust the training of the dogs and then later the team.
Jane Masri - currently raising 3rd pup, Gait
Gait
Neil Cronin - raised 1st pup, Lemon
Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs
Lemon
Katie Meuer - currently raising 7th pup, Kismet
Bones Would Rain from the Sky by Suzanne Clothier
I love how this book highlights the amazing, deep relationship we can have with dogs, and reminds us to take the time to try to understand these companions and partners to build that incredible bond
Kismet
The Protector of the Small Series and The Wild Magic Series by Tamora Pierce
While not specifically books about dogs, books that heavily include animals and their welfare, training, and relationship development with humans on the side of some pretty amazing female characters breaking norms. These are probably the most influential books from my pre-teen/teenage years that further piqued my interest in working with animals and giving back through service.
The Clifford Books by Norman Bridwell
I LOVED these books when I was young and would check stacks of them out at the library. Thought it would be the coolest to have the biggest dog around and do all these fun adventures together.
Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant
Again, something about this giant dog with such a gentle bond with his person
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo