LHS senior takes her passion for training guide dogs to FFA National Convention

But instead, Cloyes wants to become a child psychologist, a bit surprising since during her short but productive life, she’s raised at least 10 dogs – though not your ordinary run of the mill mutts. Instead, she raises the kind of dogs that can make a difference in someone’s life – a big and meaningful difference it turns out.

She raises her puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind as a part of the school’s long-standing Guide Dog Puppy Raisers. Since implementing the Guide Dog Puppy Raisers, Lemoore High School’s program has graduated roughly 125 dogs into the Guide Dogs for the Blind program.

Guide Dogs for the Blind is a San Rafael, California based organization, originally founded in 1942 to help veterans who had been blinded in World War II. One of the current functions of the organization is recruiting volunteers for puppy raising, which Lemoore High School has done for several years.

She’s currently training two dogs: Aleen, a black 11-month-old Labrador and Sardi, a Golden Lab cross, at 13 weeks old. Both, if successful, will be delivered into the thankful arms of a blind person somewhere in the United States, most likely California.

“My older sister started raising hers (dogs) during her junior year in high school, and my family has been raising them ever since,” said Cloyes, the daughter of Lemoore’s Don and Glenna Cloyes. “I’ve had a couple of dogs before Lemoore High School and the remainder while in high school.”

For all her efforts – and her dedication – toward this unusual endeavor, Cloyes, it turns out, is a national finalist in the area of small animal care and production, thanks to her project to raise guide dogs for the blind.  She has been invited, and will attend, the National FFA Convention this October in Indianapolis where she will be questioned and compete against others in the same category.

“I like the experience I have with the dogs, as well as with the community, because I’m helping someone who really needs these dogs,” she said. A typical dog needs a year and a half to two years before it is trained well enough to be delivered to an enthusiastic recipient. “We get them when they’re about eight to 12 weeks old,” said Cloyes.

“Paige is an outstanding handler and raiser,” said her local coordinator, Marybeth Hearn, who also teaches agriculture at Lemoore High School. “Paige has also been a spokesperson for Guide Dogs for the Blind and was featured in a video that Guide Dogs uses for FFA puppy-raising recruitment.”

According to Hearn there are 150 FFA members in 10 western states currently raising Guide Dog Puppies for the Blind. Lemoore High School has been a pioneer in getting this project recognized at the state and national levels of the FFA.

Lemoore currently has eight students who will be or are raising puppies at this time.

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