Pacific Assistance Dogs Society has a fresh new batch of puppies, and that means the non-profit organization is looking for new volunteers to help care for them.
PADS trains dogs, mostly Labrador retrievers, to become assistance dogs so they can help people with hearing and mobility issues. For example, the dogs are trained to pull wheelchairs up hills, flip light switches, push buttons and even fetch medications from the fridge.
But before they can go through their intensive assistance-dog training, they need volunteers to care for them.
Now that spring is here and puppy season is picking up, PADS is expecting more litters and will need more volunteers.
"Over the coming months, we're going to have a number of litters, so we do need puppy raisers," said Laura Watamanuk, executive director of PADS. "Our volunteer puppy raisers are the most important part of our program. Those are individuals that take our puppies into their heart and homes."
The volunteers look after the puppies for the first 15 or 16 months and take the little dogs everywhere to make sure they are well socialized.
"A well socialized puppy has a better chance of success as an (assistance) dog," said Watamanuk.
PADS covers the pet supplies, including food and vet costs, and hosts weekly puppy training classes.
The puppies eventually return to the PADS facility in Burnaby for advanced training, where they learn to be assistance dogs for people with disabilities.
To volunteer, call PADS at 527-0556 or go online to pads.ca.
