To those of you that received emails, did you all get asked specifically for just chocolate? Were your emails from their training instructor(woman) or director of training(man)?

Guess I'm trying to determine if the organization themselves is soliciting or if someone is guising as them possibly?

I can't imagine an organization asking specifically for a certain color. It wouldn't matter. They would be most concerned about health as in health cleared parents and lineage and sound of mind with proper temperament.

I have been contacted recently and I find the context of email conversing to be quite intelligent, questions being asked are good ones and my questions back answered well too. I was not asked for a certain color. I was told exactly how a puppy would be raised and for what and when. What happens if they don't make it in one spot or another.

They were very interested in full clearances and they have no problem paying my puppy price. I wasn't asked to donate or reduce. I even wrote the director to find out if my email was a legite one and it was.

So curious as to more information from you guys that also got emails. Or perhaps maybe after being turned down so much, they are being careful how they word the context of their emails?

Thanks for talking about this.

I was the OP that inquired about this organization last week. Since then a representative did call me. She told me that their future clients do NOT have to pay money for their service dogs, their organization is maintained by donations. The process of being matched and trained sound intense and the client has to stay I think she said for one month to learn how to utilize their new partner. She told me that only approx 15% of their breedings were mixed labrador-golden and this was due to temperament issues with their golden lines. She told me that dogs are all prelim'ed at about 1 year old and tested for possible service, breeding or those that do not make the cut will go on to be therapy dogs and companions. She told me that as a breeder I can call and request to find out the results of all health testing completed. They are based in Florida and have foster homes all over the country. Bitches are not whelped at the facility, but rather a puppy raiser home. Bitches are retired at approximately 4-5 years old and are only bred 2-3 times.

I know my post is a collection of random thoughts but this is what i remember from the phone conversation. Good luck in making a decision, I decided to try and get involved with an organization local to where I am.

I guess I still have an issue with the 15% of crosses with the Goldens. If they have temperment issues with their Golden Line why not fix it by going outside their lines to Golden's with appropriate temperments or not use the Goldens in their program at all.

Can you say Labradoodle?

I was contacted by phone by the gal and had a long chat w/ her. She seemed to be on the right track, looking for temperament/working ability to overcome some of their shortfalls vs color to me. I have both blacks (one dominant I am planning to breed) and choc. She never mentioned a color preference at all. Maybe they are thinking they've missed out on some good working choc lines over the years???

I'm not crazy about the GR mix thing either-- that never came up in our conversation (which was back in April, before this discussion), but I'm glad I know about it now. Anne

I was just contacted yesterday and have a very long conversation with a lady named Jen. She told me that their lines were getting soft and that's why they were contacting breeders who had dogs that had the clearances they were looking for as well as the right temperament. I was also told that I could go to a link they would provide so that I could see the progress of the dog. The person who finally receives the dog to assist them has the final decision whether or not to notify the breeder that their dog was placed with them. She also mentioned that if the dog does not make it that I would get the first right of refusal.

This facility has a history and there are breeders in Florida that have experience with SEGD. Contact them before you sell. There is a reason they are going of state.

As many nice Goldens or Labradors why in the world would they need mix breeds. And why would they want chocolates. Very strange to me. Know there is a more local organization to us that "wants" chocolates also. That one is very strange.

Something is not quite right when an organization in Florida has to reach this far to obtain dogs. Delete, delete.

Wow. There’s a lot of misinformation in this string. Since my sister knows I am actively involved with this organization, she mentioned this forum to me. I wanted to share some facts. So…here they are. Whoever stated that Southeastern Guide Dogs is selling dogs for $30,000 is completely misinformed. And like every similar organization, breeding dogs are already part of the program but there is an ongoing search for genetic diversity which simply improves the health of their puppies. The focus of this organization is the temperament, trainability and dependability of the dog, not its’ color.



The organization – which is a registered 501(c)(3) corporation – gives the dogs it trains over approximately two years to the visually impaired. They couple this incredible gift with 26 days of on-site training as well as a lifetime of follow up services. So, as breeders, if you want your puppy to have a dramatically positive impact on someone’s life, this is the place for you! Recognizing that not every dog is cut out for guide dog service, the organization has a robust program that places the dogs in other “work” that is similarly impactful – such as specially-trained dogs for veterans suffering from PTSD. One thing they don’t do is train service dogs for people with autism, etc. so that information -- which I saw in a post -- is inaccurate. I really think your concerns would evaporate if you cruised their website (Guidedogs.org). It’s informative and gives you an idea of the professionalism of Southeastern which has been in business for 30 years and has served thousands of visually impaired people - at no charge. It’s well worth supporting in my view.

Lois White Gagne (Stonecrest)
SEGDI puppy raiser

2010-2011 operating budget - $5.2 million