C.H.A.M.P. Assistance Dogs, Inc.

Do you live in the greater St. Louis area? Think you might like to raise a puppy for C.H.A.M.P. Assistance Dogs, Inc.?

Our puppy raisers are very special people, and we depend on them to help get our babies off on the right paw. It's a lot of work, but immensely rewarding.

Proper socialization and environmental exposure at a very young age is all-important. Puppy raisers must be willing to seek out dozens of new, friendly people each week:

• men, women
• adults, infants, elderly, toddlers, teenagers
• people of all ethnicities
• people using walkers, people using wheelchairs, people pushing strollers and grocery carts
• people wearing uniforms, hats, beards

... you get the idea.

The puppies must also be gently exposed to household sights as sounds, as well as those in the community that they may come across in their working lives:

• city streets, honking cars, big trucks, public transportation
• crowds, parades, sporting events, fairs
• grocery stores, restaurants, malls, elevators
• walking on all different surfaces plus all kinds of stairs
• other nice animals including dogs, cats, and horses

And they need a good start on all these experiences by around 20 weeks old.

Most of all, they need to be loved and cuddled and played with and enjoyed. Our C.H.A.M.P., Inc. puppy classes will show you how to guide the pups towards their full potential. If this sounds like something you'd enjoy (and you live in the greater St. Louis, MO area) please give us a call at the C.H.A.M.P., Inc. office, (314) 653-9466.

(The Gibson video is just under 1 minute in length)