Paws For Independence

The program at Southeastern is called “Paws for Independence,” and rightfully so. The best thing I have experienced to date, as a Puppy Raiser, by and far, without comparison, was Puppy Raiser Day: November 10, 2007. This was the day I met Dulce, Sparky’s “person.” (Pass me a Kleenex, please…) You have NO idea the pride you feel when you actually meet the person whose life will be so positively changed, because of something you helped make happen. (This is so profound that it brings me to tears every time I think about the end result of helping to raise these puppies.) I knew Sparky was great, I knew he had been matched, I knew what his future held. But to hear what he means first hand from his new partner, to meet her face to face, well, there is no price anyone could ever put on that! There simply is no comparison. (I have always said that if anyone were ever on the fence as to if they should become a Puppy Raiser or not, they should be allowed to attend a Puppy Raiser Day!) Sparky would mean independence. One day, Bob will be someone’s independence, too. Puppy Raising is about more than just loving, feeding, and training a puppy a year at a time; by doing this, you are, in essence, helping to give someone freedom, independence. (And it all comes wrapped up in one very huggable, loveable, kissable bundle of tail-wagging fur, too!) So Independence Day as a Puppy Raiser has always seemed like more to me. This Independence Day, we are fortunate to be blessed with this little bundle of freedom, someone’s future, someone’s own personal independence…