Smithtown Volunteer Linda Gallo Raises Dogs for a Greater Cause

A unique gem of Smithtown is the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, where puppies transform into service dogs to assist the blind, veterans and people with other disabilities. Here, Smithtown resident Linda Gallo is integral to the foundation's operations by caring for dogs, giving tours and speaking about the foundation's services.

In 2001, Gallo began volunteering at the Guide Dog Foundation of Smithtown with her son and daughter as they completed their community service requirements at Smithtown High School East. The family began helping out at the kennel, where they would run and socialize with the dogs.

They had never owned a dog before and the foundation allowed them to take puppies home for the weekend. It was not long before Gallo became interested in becoming an official "puppy walker."

"Puppy walkers" are volunteers who receive approximately eight-week old puppies  specially bred by the foundation, mostly golden retrievers, poodles and German shepherds. These volunteers raise the puppies until they are 12 - 14 months old. During this period, it is the puppy walker's responsibility to care for and housebreak the puppy, socialize them with other dogs and people, take them in public to accustom them to different environments, accompany the puppies to guide dog classes and teach them good house manners. 

"I love seeing the dog progress and that it is really getting what I'm teaching it," Gallo said.

Unlike many pet dogs, these professional puppies must learn not just basic commands, but many other skills and manners, like not to climb on beds or other furniture and not to play with balls and other toys, as these are distractions when the dog is working with a blind person.       

Most of the dogs progress to be guide dogs for the blind, for which they must pass a "pretty rigorous" program, according to Gallo. Those that do not pass this training become service dogs in other ways, such as entering the Capable Canine program or the VetDog program.

Gallo remembers each of her puppies fondly, beginning with her first puppy, Ringer, who got his name from the phone company that sponsored his training and care. The dogs she has helped raise and train are now living with people with special needs all over the country, including Kansas and Minnesota, with the exception of one dog, Poola, who did not pass training and now lives as Gallo's permanent pet.

"It is bittersweet. It is sad to give the dogs back, but it is for a reason," Gallo said.  "Then you get to hear back about the dog, and that is so rewarding that you can do it all over again."

Gallo is very active within the foundation and continued working there after both of her children left for college. She does public speaking engagements, provides a temporary home for the dogs of other trainers, helps out around the foundation's campus, and is a puppy walker for an eight-month old standard poodle named Dylan.

Learn more about the volunteers, staff members and puppies of the Guide Dog Foundation this Sunday at the 21st Annual Second Sight Bike-a-thon and picnic on the foundation's Smithtown campus.