Raising a Guide Dog in a Chapter House

The story of Otto and his Gamma Phi-Arizona State raisers

By Janet Bergeron Vidrine, Gamma Zeta-Louisiana State

Raising a puppy to one day become a guide dog involves a lot of work from applications to training, but the result is worth the time and effort. In November 2023, Guide Dogs for the Blind gave a presentation at Gamma Phi-Arizona State about becoming guide dog raisers and puppy sitters. Many members were interested in participating in the program and filled out interest indicators which included answering questions about availability, current schedules in school, majors and GPA information. The chapter president met with Sandy and Becky from Guide Dogs for the Blind to help them find raisers in the chapter. They reviewed the applications and based on the information provided determined which members were qualified and able to raise dogs. Many chapter members were selected to be puppy raisers and puppy sitters.

Once selected, the future raisers and babysitters attended an all-day training session where they learned all they needed to know about raising the puppy and the expectations. They also had practice with real guide dogs to get some first-hand experience with handling. Next came the home evaluations to make sure the raiser had the necessary space to raise a dog. 

Caroline McGuire, Gamma Phi-Arizona State, co-raised Otto with another DG sister, Sophia Busch Isaksen, in their shared apartment for the first 10 months. When school started back up in August, Caroline moved into the chapter house and Otto split his time up between living in the house and with Sophia in her apartment. Every moment was an opportunity for Otto to learn and train, whether it was walking on the busy streets of Tempe or being able to sit and settle well during large sorority functions, Otto was always learning. 

When Otto lived in the chapter house, he experienced living with 30 women. Several members in the house were also puppy sitters, so their knowledge of how to handle Otto came in handy. Through several presentations, the entire chapter learned everything about puppy etiquette to help them understand that these puppies were not your average dogs and that you could not treat them as such.

Some etiquette tips they learned included not talking to the puppies in a baby voice, always approaching the handler first and asking permission to pet, and to not distract the dog or touch them when they had their green vest on. It took some time for the members to remember all the rules, but they did learn and even helped teach others in the community these rules as well. Overall, the entire chapter had a very positive response to having the dogs at DG events and in the house, and everyone grew to love all the puppies. During family weekend members would show off their composites to their families and point out the guide dogs who had their own featured pictures. 

Saying goodbye was difficult not only for the raisers but for all the members of the chapter. All the women living in the house got attached to Otto. They threw him a puppy graduation party where he got to “come” and get his diploma of kibble. All the women got a chance to take pictures with Otto in his graduation cap and say their goodbyes to him.

Flying Otto out to Oregon was very emotional for both Sophia and Caroline, but they were so proud of how far Otto had come and how well he did during his training. He did well through all the phases and made it to phase eight before they got news of his “career change.” Unfortunately, Otto was not going to be a guide dog due to some body sensitivity issues. He is now in New Jersey waiting for his next assignment.

In Caroline’s words, “Getting to raise Otto for my junior and senior year of college was the best decision I have ever made, and I would not change anything.”

If any chapter members are interested in raising a guide dog, please reach out to one of the many organizations looking for raisers. Members can live in Delta Gamma facilities while raising a puppy. Check the Delta Gamma Website Library for the housing waiver information that would need to be completed before becoming a puppy raiser.