Guide Dog Foundation & America's Vetdogs

We are looking for special families to open their hearts and homes and join our family of weekend puppy raisers.

The Guide Dog Foundation, its sister organization America's VetDogs, and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services have partnered for an exciting program that will help provide assistance dogs for people with disabilities and allow inmates to give back to society.

"Weekenders" host an assistance dog puppy-in-training from Friday evening through Sunday in their own home, providing vital socialization experiences for these puppies that they can't get in prison such as going to the mall or restaurants, attending sporting events, traveling by car or public transportation. The pups become members of the family and part of the family’s lifestyle each weekend. The dog you help raise may provide a new sense of freedom and enhanced mobility for a person with a disability - life with an assistance dog means they can do what they want, when they want.

Guide Dog Foundation-bred puppies are currently placed at correctional facilities in Hagerstown and Cumberland, MD, where they live with inmates during the week and receive intensive training targeted for these puppies to become service dogs for wounded veterans, or for others with disabilities.