LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On March 9th, Michigan 4-H and Leader Dogs for the Blind will reignite their partnership with a kick-off event at the Leader Dog campus in Rochester Hills. Leader Dogs for the Blind is an organization that pairs blind and visually impaired individuals with service dogs for safe and independent daily life activities and travel. By partnering again with 4-H, The Leader Dog program will allow 4-H families to temporarily house a puppy before returning them to the program once the puppy is 13-months-old.

4-H is a program that is offered through the Michigan State University’s MSU Extension office and it’s the largest youth development organization in Michigan. Every year, thousands of young people explore what interests them in areas ranging from science and technology to clothing and textiles as well as raising farm animals and selling them. 4-H offers fun and educational hands-on experiences which help shape young people into future leaders in their communities.

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Over the years, the partnership between 4-H and the Leader Dog program fell by the wayside according to Kristi Schrieber, 4-H Program Coordinator at the Isabella County MSU Extension Office. She said that the two groups worked together a lot in the ’80’s and ’90’s and maybe up until around 2005 but somehow got disconnected from each other. The celebration on March 9th will include Laura Fisher, Puppy Development Coordinator for Leader Dogs, explaining the program and how 4-H families can participate.

The March 9th kickoff event will also celebrate Nan Nellenbach, a former Michigan 4-H volunteer, who will be posthumously honored for her 40 years of service to the program and a slideshow will document her participation with the puppy program.

Nellenbach’s daughter, Melissa Doubek, says, “We are so excited to rejuvenate the 4-H puppy program for Leader Dogs for the Blind. My mother’s passion was raising dogs for Leader Dogs and promoting the 4-H puppy program.”

Nellenbach’s own father had a visual impairment and she was an avid dog lover. Eventually she applied to raise puppies for the Leader Dog organization and started to volunteer in 1976 through the MSU Extension and Michigan 4-H. Over the years, she raised 50 puppies and her kids have fond memories of the program and the puppies who were always milling around the house. Doubek doesn’t remember a time when the house was without puppies. She said, “They were just a part of our life and they were with us everywhere.”

Nellenbach was known around town as “The Dog Lady” and even marched in parades to promote the program and expose the puppies to lots of people and different noises. Nellenbach’s kids also got to wear special outfits in the parades that their mother made for them – dog costumes.

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Families who raise the puppies make a commitment to take care of the puppies from when they are six-weeks-old through 13-months-old. After that, they are returned to Rochester to complete their guide dog training.

Doubek says, “You may never meet the beneficiary of your efforts. That noble effort is not for recognition, but rather the knowledge that your work is going to help someone in need.”

In addition to raising puppies, families can also host breeding dogs which Nellenbach also participated in. Doubek said about her mom, “Mom definitely had a personal relationship with every dog that was born in our home. She would many times stay up all night to help birth the puppies and make sure that they were able to nurse. Every puppy would receive a special name and she would cut small pieces of fur, so she could keep track of the puppies by name.”

Nellenbach passed away in 2017. 49 of the 50 puppies she raised became successful Leader Dogs.

For those who want to learn more about fostering a Leader Dog puppy, the informational meeting on March 9th will be held both in person and online at 6 pm in Rochester Hills. Registration is here.