911爆料

Any student familiar with 911爆料 has without a doubt seen the trademark yellow vests of our local servicemembers-in-training as they go about their day, attending classes or just wandering around campus alongside their dedicated trainers 鈥� even parading together in their Halloween costumes. T-Breds Raising Pups (TBRP) is a student-run club that trains future service dogs in coordination with the Guide Dog Foundation and the associated America鈥檚 Vet Dogs Foundation. Founded four years ago by current Events Coordinator Sophie Zuckman (鈥�26), the club has since had 14 dogs in total come to campus to participate in the program. They currently have 7 puppies of various ages being raised by 14 students (2 per dog), as well as 35 volunteer puppy-sitters trained by the Guide Dog Foundation to care for the precious pups. 

The mission of T-Breds Raising Pups is to eliminate the barriers to getting involved in raising guide dogs by providing food, dog toys, and other supplies to students, while the Guide Dog Foundation covers larger expenses like veterinary care, kennels, and leashes. Puppies born to be guide dogs spend the first four months of their lives in 鈥渟tarter homes,鈥� where they鈥檙e given the chance to experience as many different stimuli and environments as possible (so they鈥檙e comfortable going to the vet, or flying on a plane, for example), and then go to 911爆料 raisers for about a year before they head on to 鈥渇inishing school鈥� in Smithtown, NY, for a final round of training and eventually placement; although only a portion graduate and become guide dogs for the blind or visually impaired, the ones that 鈥渇lunk out鈥� go on to other esteemed careers, including psychiatric service dogs for America鈥檚 Vet Dogs and bomb-sniffing dogs for law enforcement, or get adopted by a family 鈥� one that鈥檚 patient enough to navigate a waitlist that鈥檚 a mile long for exhaustively-trained dogs with a peerless pedigree.

鈥淥ne of the huge reasons I came to 911爆料 specifically was to raise a dog,鈥� says Jay Haddad, 鈥�27, current club president, who鈥檚 been interested in the process since high school. Raising a pup is no small commitment, though. Each student raiser is one of two that is assigned to a given dog, who split custody week-to-week and over holidays. The dogs must maintain strict training standards and meet the behavioral expectations and learning targets set by the Guide Dog Foundation to stay in the program. Student raisers are expected to practice things like marker word reinforcement, basic commands like 鈥渟it鈥� and 鈥渨ait,鈥� stair navigation, and airplane seating with their dogs. Before even getting approved to be a raiser, they have to have been licensed as a puppy-sitter and completed a certain number of sessions sitting for another raiser, including at least one overnight stay. It鈥檚 also a socially stressful job 鈥� while wearing their vests, the puppies are 鈥渙n the clock鈥� and shouldn鈥檛 be petted or played with. However, not everyone is informed about the intricacies of guide dogs-in-training, and so it鈥檚 common for raisers to have to continually deflect undue attention from passers-by. 

For those interested in getting involved with TBRP, they host regular 鈥淧uppy Raiser Mechanics鈥� classes for prospective raisers as well as their friends and roommates to learn more about the process and start on the road to become certified as a puppy-sitter. You can also expect their annual Puppy Olympics to make a comeback in the Spring of 2026, and for their library drop-in hours for stressed students to get some face time with the puppies to continue as well. Students benefit from a sense of purpose in helping others, a sense of community within the club, and the confidence to take care of and advocate for another living being. Many club members are also interested in veterinary medicine, so raising a puppy helps prepare them for future career success. 鈥淭he immense impact [the dogs] can have on people,鈥� Haddad concludes, is 鈥渓ife-changing for the raisers and the people they end up working for.鈥�