Central Point, Ore. — Guide Dogs for the Blind have dropped off an eight week old yellow lab puppy to the Central Point Providence Office that will soon be the clinic’s newest guide dog. Pence was brought to the Rogue Valley on the puppy truck from San Rafael, California, and arrived around 4 PM on Friday.
“When they’re here, they learn how to behave, different sights, different sounds, different smells,” Lynn Hobbs said, the Nursing Quality Supervisor at the Central Point Providence Medical Clinic. “How to behave when they’re with a blind person, so the blind person can have a job, and have the independence they need to live a normal life.”
Both Pence and his trainer are making a full-time commitment; they will work together at the clinic and go home together at the end of the work day.
This is the fifth dog that has gone through the training program with the Central Point Providence Medical Clinic staff since they entered the program two years ago. The dogs go through an eight-step training program, beginning at eight weeks old, and ending between 13 and 18 months.
UPDATE: Two drivers who deliver Guide Dogs for the Blind were struck by a vehicle Friday night in Grants Pass at the intersection of Parkway and Agness. Both are injured, one of them severely. An employee confirmed that the two injured truck operators were taken to Three Rivers Hospital in Grants Pass.
They had parked the puppy truck at their hotel, and were walking to dinner. We’re told the puppies that had not yet been delivered are now in the care of local volunteers with the Guide Dogs for the Blind program.
This is a developing story. NBC5 news is your place for updates.
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