Fundraiser for Local Guide Dogs Group This Saturday in Bonney Lake

They come to the volunteers as puppies. The miniature Labradors and Golden Retrievers are clumsy, eager to explore and get into everything, but there's no denying they are flat-out adorable.

Like a new family pet, these puppies require constant attention and nurturing, along with a stern hand to be able to train them to be comfortable in a variety of settings.

Volunteer and puppy spend anywhere from a year to a year-and-a-half together, but the humans know that unlike the case for a family pet, they ultimately can't keep these dogs because they're raising them for the national organization Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Who would put themselves out like this to do the work preparing a puppy, loving the puppy but have to give up that puppy to support someone they've never met?

In the Plateau area, there's a group of volunteers who do this regularly. They are called Future Vision and currently made up of residents in Enumclaw, Buckley and Bonney Lake.

This Saturday, Future Vision is holding a breakfast fundraiser at Midtown Grill in Bonney Lake in order to support the work that they do. The cost is $10 per ticket and the meal includes pancakes, bacon, eggs, juice or coffee.

It's also an opportunity to meet the volunteers and learn more about what it takes to raise guide dogs. No doubt, the dogs grow with the volunteers and their families. Group leader Jana Decker described to Patch in November the process through which the volunteer hands off the dog to its new blind partner. "As soon as you hand the leash off to the partner, you know why you do it," she said.

If you're able to get over the emotional and financial hurdles of training a puppy, there are some practical benefits to it, particularly if you're able to get the entire family involved.

Seniors say it keeps them young. And high school students who do the work for a senior project or for community service can find financial benefits too in the form of scholarships, said Decker.

To learn more, visit www.guidedogs.com or call Decker at 360-802-9858. The breakfast on Saturday starts at 9 a.m. and runs until 11 a.m. at Midtown Grill in Bonney Lake.