Giving back to the community
Recuse work
Our love for dogs extends beyond training and care for owned pets. We are deeply committed to helping homeless dogs find their forever homes and providing a safe and nurturing environment for them until they do.
As a part of our holistic approach to animal welfare, our team members actively participate in fostering dogs. This not only gives these homeless animals a temporary home but also plays a crucial role in their rehabilitation and socialization.
Chrys volunteers with Agave dog rescue based out of Portland Oregon and Seattle gone dogs based out of Seattle Washington. By opening up our homes to these dogs, we are providing them with love, stability, and the opportunity to thrive before they find their permanent families.
Through these fostering efforts, we exemplify our commitment to making a tangible difference in the lives of dogs. Our compassion and dedication contribute significantly to the well-being of these animals, and we are proud to support their efforts and the organizations they work with.
Guide Dogs for the Blind
In the 1950s, Guide Dogs for the Blind's puppy raising program was offered as a 4-H project for rural youth living on farms. Through the 4-H program, youth raisers who lived close together belonged to a 4-H club, led by 4-H appointed adult volunteers. Eventually the program expanded into GDB's own regional puppy raising clubs, welcoming volunteers outside of the 4-H program, including adults. Those puppy raising clubs make up our traditional puppy raising model to this day.
As the demographic of volunteers continues to grow, GDB has moved beyond the club model in order to meet our volunteers where they are. Now offering alternative puppy raising models - such as the hybrid and satellite puppy raising programs - to accommodate a wider range of families and individuals dedicated to helping us raising the next generation of GDB puppies.
Which brings us to Jesslyn! Jesslyn is part of the first hybrid program in Portland, Oregon. She is nearly 7 months old and is Chrys’s first puppy for guide dog training. Jesslyn recently completed her first workshop with the other Portland hybrid puppies and will keep improving her skills daily, either on her own, with the Vancouver puppy raisers group, or at other hybrid gatherings until she is ready for Recall. A puppy raising field manager (PFM) determines when each dog is recalled to a GDB campus for breeding evaluation, guide dog training, or K9 Buddy evaluation based on a variety of factors including the dog’s temperament and behavior, the age of other dogs being recalled, transportation logistics, and more. Generally, this happens when the dog is between 13-18 months old and meets the recall ready measures covered in the guidebook.
If you want more information about puppy raising please visit www.guidedogs.com
Meet Harvey: Harvey is an incredibly sweet and well-mannered boy who absolutely loves a good snack and can’t wait to engage and play with all of his fun toys. He is getting along exceptionally well with the resident dogs, and he displays great play tendencies with every other dog he has met. While he can be a little timid when meeting new people, he tends to warm up quickly with just a little time, patience, and gentle support. Harvey is fully potty trained and is also very well crate trained—he genuinely loves to spend time in his cozy crate! Harvey is looking for a loving home with a securely fenced yard where he can roam freely and a friendly canine companion to join him in his adventures. It’s important that Harvey is placed with an experienced large breed owner who can help teach him important boundaries as he continues to grow. At this time, we are not considering homes with small children to ensure a safe environment for everyone involved.
Turkey and Koolaid are an ultra adorable, chunky pups who where rescued out of California and is seeking a happy adoptive family in Oregon or Washington. Turkey is the tan pup (male) and Koolaid is the brindle (female). Both are fun out-going, loving social puppies that enjoy play, snuggles and exploring new things!
- Born on 11/26/24 and weighs about 11 pounds at just over 6 weeks old. They will be 8 weeks old on 1/21/25 and can go home with his new family then. You can meet either in their foster home in the meantime!
- Mom dog appears to be a bully breed mix and we are happy to share photos and video of her. Mom dog is very people social and good with other dogs. We were told dad dog is a Boxer.
- We cannot predict size at full maturity but we would estimate they will be around 60 pounds full grown.
- Raised in a loving, safe, cozy foster home since birth. Given lots of handling and love by humans, started on potty training and crate training. Exposure to cats and other friendly adult dogs too.
We are looking for adoptive families dedicated to socializing and training their puppy, especially in the first 6 months when they are eager to learn. We want our large breed puppies to grow into well-adjusted, social adult dogs. We here at Balanced Life are more than happy to help with any training needs.
Turkey's and Koolaid’s adoption fee includes two rounds of puppy vaccines, a microchip, multiple rounds of dewormer, neuter surgery between 6 months to 1 year old and flea/tick/heartworm prevention. It also includes a free wellness exam at one of our partner veterinary clinics.
They will not be adopted out together, to learn more about them visit Agave Dogs Rescue or adoptapet.com just search for them by name
