New members are always welcome to come to our meetings! You can refer to our events calendar to see when and where our meetings take place! There is also no "sign up" sheet for our meetings, so you are free to come and go as you please!

No. Our meetings and events are always open to all Clemson students, regardless of if you are a member or not. That being said, being a member does have its perks! By becoming an official member of our club, you will be kept in the loop of any meeting or event that we do have, and you will find out some information before other students!

While we do have club dues, they are optional. We will have an additional 1-2 events each semester for our dues paying members, including puppy yoga! Dues are $5 for the semester or $7 for the year.

We will meet once a month each semester. Our meetings will typically take place at 7:30 pm on a Wednesday night, but to keep track of all of the specific dates, I suggest taking a look at our events calendar! If we ever have any changes/cancellations, we will notify you either through GroupMe, email, or Instagram.

No! We understand that you are a student first, and you may have a conflict the night of a club meeting. We will send meeting minutes after our club meetings to ensure that you are up-to-date on what was discussed. We may also record any meetings that are jam-packed with information, but most of our meetings will be pretty laid back. Any time you are able to, though, we would love to see you there!

No, Zoom is unfortunately not offered for our monthly meetings. If there is a specific meeting that you can not make in person, but do not want to miss out on, please contact us. There is a chance we will set up a Zoom meeting for certain situations. Again, our meetings are not required, and we do send out meeting minutes.

Any volunteer opportunities that we have available will be sent out in our emails or through GroupMe. We will also send any forms that you would need to fill out along with that. If you have any questions about upcoming events that we may need volunteers for, please do not hesitate to reach out!

It is important to always ask the handler before interacting with their dog. You should never touch the puppy, speak to the puppy, or distract the puppy in any way before speaking to the handler first. In some situations, the handler may say no for a variety of reasons, and it is important to always respect "no" as an answer. If the handler does say "yes", always listen to their guidance for how they would like you to interact with their puppy.

The easiest way to join our email list is by becoming a member of our organization on TigerQuest! There is a link to our TigerQuest located on the "general member" page under "How to get Involved"!

The majority of the dogs in the program are Labrador Retrievers. The Guide Dog Foundation also breeds Golden Retrievers, Standard Poodles, and lab/golden mixes.

Yes. There is no limit on the amount of pets you have at home as long as your dog(s) are up-to-date on vaccines and have no history of dog aggression.

If you are interested in raising a puppy through the Guide Dog Foundation, start by filling out an application through their website. You can find this by going to How To Help -> Puppy Raising -> Apply Now. You will then be sent a follow up email to watch the orientation video and complete a few quizzes. Then, you will have to do a home interview with the puppy advisor, as well as a "home check", which will likely take place via Zoom. Lastly, you will be given the puppy contract and roommate agreement before being given your puppy assignment!

That depends! The process takes at long as it takes you to complete the required material. If there is a specific day that you would like to receive a puppy, be sure to let the puppy advisor know, so you can be placed on the list for a specific transport day.

The Guide Dog Foundation is always accepting puppy raiser applications. If you are 100% certain that puppy raising is right for you, you can go ahead and submit an application through their website. That being said, it is important to note that, as of right now, it is a requirement that all service dogs in training must be at least 6 months old before going into any on campus facilities. If you are currently living on campus, or if getting a puppy in the middle of the semester would be difficult for you, it would be best to wait to apply.

The Guide Dog Foundation pays for many of the basic puppy raising necessities. When you pick up your puppy, you will be supplied with a puppy leash, a puppy collar, a large collar, a leather leash, a puppy vest, a treat pouch, an approved toy, an 8-collar, a tie-down, a measuring cup, a small bag of dog food, a bowl, a brush, ear cleaning solution, flea/tick prevention, heartworm prevention, and a crate. The Guide Dog Foundation also pays for all veterinary care. You would be responsible for purchasing the dog's food once you run out of the food they provided you with. This will cost approximately $30-$40 a month. Anything additional that you would like to purchase for your puppy that has not already been listed would also be your responsibility.

South Carolina law grants service dogs in training the same legal rights as service dogs. That being said, Clemson does have a policy for service dogs in training, which requires them to be at least 6 months old before entering a campus building. The puppies are also not allowed anywhere that could potentially cause them harm (a laboratory, the zoo, a loud concert, etc.). If you are unsure where your puppy is allowed, contact the puppy advisor. In the event that a business is denying you access, ask for a manager and explain the importance of public access training for our puppies. If they are still causing problems after that, politely thank them for their time before exiting the building. Report any instances of this to your puppy advisor. If you are an out-of-state student, I would recommend doing research on your state's service dog in training laws to learn more.

Yes. You are not required to have any experience before raising a puppy through the Guide Dog Foundation. You will be taught everything you need to know about puppy raising throughout this process.

While you cannot puppy raise while you are abroad, you can choose to be a starting home or a finishing home for a guide dog puppy! To learn more about what it means to be a starting home or a finishing home, you can refer to the page under "Ways to Get Involved". You could also choose to puppy sit until you are back from studying abroad. This also applies to people traveling out-of-state for internship opportunities.

Because Clemson guidelines require all service dogs in training to be 6 months old before being able to enter on campus facilities, including dorms, it is difficult to raise a puppy while living on campus. Guidelines also require the completion of the CGC and CGCA tests prior to allowing the puppies in dorms. While it is not impossible to abide by these guidelines while living on campus, we would recommend waiting until you are in off campus housing to apply. Another option is to be a finishing home for a future guide dog, where you would receive a dog who is older than 6 months old.

Puppy raising is a huge time commitment, so it is important to ensure that your schedule will allow for it before applying. That being said, co-raising is a great option for those who may not be able to take on the responsibility of raising by themselves. This way, you would be splitting the time with another person. Puppy sitting is another great option for those who cannot commit to puppy raising. You can always start out puppy sitting and then apply to raise when your schedule is more open. To learn more about co-raising or puppy sitting, refer to our pages under "Ways to Get Involved".

Yes! In fact, many people who puppy raise will decide to raise another one after they turn their previous puppy in. You are encouraged to raise as many puppies as you would like and are able to.

To apply to be a puppy camper through the Guide Dog Foundation, you would need to navigate to the GDF website. The application is the same as the puppy raiser application, but you would need to check the box that says "Puppy Camp".

It is very similar to the puppy raising application process. It consists of a written application, the completion of an orientation video and two quizzes, a home interview, and a roommate agreement/contract.

As of right now, no. Due to Clemson regulations set in place for service animals in training, we do not allow those who are living on campus to puppy sit. I recommend those who are living on campus to become involved as a club member or volunteer and to apply to puppy sit once they are in off campus housing.

Yes! All puppy campers are required to have the same understanding and skills as puppy raisers, and they are required to stay up-to-date on all training methods used by the Guide Dog Foundation, which allows them to be able to bring the puppy on public outings.

No, for similar reasons as to why puppy campers cannot live in on campus facilities. The registration process for bringing the puppies to class is reserved only for puppy raisers, and there is currently not a separate registration for puppy campers.

You can decide to puppy sit for as long as you are comfortable with! Most raisers will typically only need a sitter ranging from a few hours to a few days, but this will also vary.

We have a GroupMe with all of the puppy raisers and the puppy sitters. This will allow raisers to be able to send messages when they need a camper, and the campers can then respond if they are able to watch the puppy. After the completion of the puppy camping application, our puppy advisor will add you to this GroupMe.

No! Raisers will provide you with everything that you need. The only instance where you may need to buy something is if something gets broken/damaged while the puppy is in your care.

Yes! If you are a current puppy raiser, and you would like to be put on the puppy camper list, be sure to let your puppy advisor know.