The Whalen’s were always dog lovers, especially Michael, who, according to his mother, Dolores, would find a new dog to befriend wherever they ventured. So when Dolores came across a newspaper article in 1986 about The Seeing Eye’s need for volunteer puppy raisers, she couldn’t resist signing up. It was an added perk that Michael was nine years old at the time, meaning he could be considered the primary raiser.
The first puppy they raised was Capri, a German shepherd. “She was the sweetest, smartest, most intuitive dog,” Dolores said.
“One night, we were sleeping with the windows open because our AC broke. Capri heard a disturbing noise outside and woke me up. The noise happened again, and I walked outside with her to show her that it was the bug zapper, and everything was okay. When we went back inside, she went over to both my children to check on them to see if they were all right. I stood there in the darkness crying. My heart was so full of emotion.”
Capri eventually returned to The Seeing Eye for formal training and was selected to become a breeder. The Whalen family was thrilled to later raise one of Capri’s puppies named Cora. They also eventually adopted Capri when she retired from the breeding program.
“When Capri retired, she came back to live with us. She walked straight upstairs to Michael’s room and laid down in her old crate. Capri helped us to raise five more puppies through the years.”
Due to life changes, Dolores Whalen and her family had to put a pause on their puppy raising journey, but after fifteen years, she began raising puppies again with her grandson.
“We have met so many wonderful people and shared so many experiences through the puppy raising program. We raise these puppies to enrich the lives of others, yet they enrich our lives every day. There is nothing like puppy love!”
