San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department - Bring Your Child to Work Day By: Mary Guilliam

 

 

Children visit San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

 

As a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind I was asked to do a presentation of what a guide dog puppy learns and any information about Guide Dogs for the Blind. I am in the process of raising my third puppy for Guide Dogs and currently am raising Fianna, an nine month old yellow lab. I asked my co-leader Ron Chrisman if he’d like to participate in the demonstration with his puppy Velvet (14 months old).  Ron was more than happy to help spread the word about puppy raising for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

There were 17 children and approximately 10 adults present for the demonstration and participation at the event. We were able to talk about why we teach puppies everything we do and the reasons behind those teachings. The children were so fascinated with how well behaved our puppies were and how they would do anything that was asked of them. Several of the children asked wonderful questions about how Guide Dog for the Blind works and said they might be interested in raising a puppy someday.



Captain S. Dicus, Captain D. Gregory, Ron Chrisman, and Mary Guilliam

After our presentation we took Fianna and Velvet out to 40-King (Sheriff’s Department Helicopter) and they were allowed to explore the helicopter after it had sat down and was turned off. Fianna and Velvet showed no apprehension towards the helicopter, further demonstrating that our puppies are not afraid of anything. 

After having brought all of my puppies to work over the last four years it was such a nice gesture for my department to ask that a demonstration be part of the Bring Your Child to Work Program. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has been so very supportive of Guide Dogs for the Blind.