CCATP #734 – Seamus Lavery on Raising a Service Dog

In this week’s episode of Chit Chat Across the Pond, I’m joined by long-time NosillaCastaway Seamus Lavery. Seamus started posting photos of his black lab Quaid to the live chatroom, and then explained that he’s a “puppy raiser” for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. He agreed to come on the show to tell us what it’s like to be a puppy raiser, what his responsibilities are, what he’s supposed to teach Quaid, and the uphill road it is for Quaid to qualify to be a Service Dog for the blind. Bart is a Belgian living in the Republic of Ireland, while Seamus is a Northern Irishman who lived for 12 years in Belgium (now living in the Washington DC area). His accent is delightful and his story is fascinating. Links Seaumus mentions: * Guiding Eyes for The Blind (https://www.guidingeyes.org/) * Pilots To The Rescue (https://www.pilotstotherescue.org) * Pilots to the Rescue delivering 3 Guiding Eyes Puppies (https://youtu.be/J_TAwddtGoQ) * Trailer for Disney+’s series Pick of the Litter (https://youtu.be/wDT6MUtTkKo) * Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History: The Dog Will See You Now (https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/revisionist-history/the-dog-will-see-you-now) * You can follow Seamus as @batfink2001 (https://www.twitter.com/batfink2002) on Twitter