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Dog Adoption

Find out more information about adopting Guiding Eyes for the Blind puppies and dogs.

Every Guiding Eyes dog is valued and, ultimately, finds its place in the world

Whether as a highly trained guide dog, another type of service dog, or a loving family pet, it’s important that each of our dogs finds their place in the world. Guiding Eyes offers a highly successful dog adoption program where dogs can be adopted as pets as puppies (8 to 12 weeks old) or as young adults (16 to 24 months old). Occasionally, we also have a limited number of mature dogs who have been retired as guides or breeding dogs and are in need of a permanent, loving home.

Public Adoption

Raiser Adoption

Retired Dog Policies

Alternative Careers

About Career Changes

The best guide dogs are the dogs who want to be guide dogs – it’s not for every pup! Dogs who are not suited to guide work may still go on to other careers. (And if a dog wants to be a pet, that’s OK, too!) Possible career changes include:

Service Dogs

Guiding Eyes partners with several organizations that train service dogs, such as NEADS and Susquehanna Service Dogs. These dogs go on to help veterans with physical and emotional challenges, as well as children and adults who are deaf or have other physical or developmental disabilities. These dogs make their companions feel safe, retrieve objects, turn on and off light switches, bark on command for help, and many other tasks.

Detection Dogs

For many Guiding Eyes dogs-in-training, sniffing is their favorite pastime. A detection dog is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as illegal drugs, currency, explosives, and contraband electronics. These dogs are often the first line of defense, protecting thousands of people with their powerful noses and love for food. To the dogs, it is a fun game of hide and seek. We partner with several agencies for detection, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Connecticut State Police Canine Unit, and select security agencies.

 

We take great care when releasing our pups to other careers, only partnering with organizations and people who ensure the highest standard of care. Guiding Eyes maintains frequent contact for the first few weeks of placement and then receives periodic updates until retirement. If the placement is not a fit for any reason, at any time, the dog returns to Guiding Eyes.