Westborough – Recently, the Westborough Athletic Social Association (WASA) donated $1,000 to the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (GDF) on behalf of Champ, a Labrador Retriever who has spent the last 13 months in Westborough with puppy raiser and WASA member Jim Meikle. Puppy raisers are essential members of the foundation family, which has the mission: “To improve the quality of life for people who are blind, visually impaired, or who have other special needs.” Puppy raisers open their hearts and home to a foundation puppy and teach the puppy basic obedience and social skills while exposing it to many different situations.
On March 10, Champ returned to GDF, which is headquartered in Smithtown, N.Y. For the next four to six months, Champ will be evaluated and placed in the career that suits him best: a guide dog for someone who is visually impaired, a service dog for someone with a disability other than blindness, or a therapy dog to work in VA or military hospitals. 2011 marked the GDF's 65th anniversary of providing guide dogs, training and a lifetime of aftercare at no cost to people who are blind or visually impaired, giving them new independence and enhanced mobility. America's VetDogs, a subsidiary of GDF, are also provided guide and service dogs to disabled American veterans of all eras.
WASA felt it was important to donate to the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind as the majority of GDF's funding comes from generous people who understand the benefits and independence that an assistance dog brings to the life of someone who is blind or has another disability. GDF also receives funding from foundations and corporations, from fundraising events, and more recently from the licensing and sale of America's VetDogs products. The foundation does not receive federal funding.
