San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) was filled with wagging tails and smiles on Saturday as it welcomed a group of about 20 puppies training to be Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Throughout the afternoon, the puppies and their raisers practiced queuing up to go through ticketing, TSA, gate check-in, and boarding.
The puppies were also exposed to the environment on the airplane, including the seats, aisles, paths to the restrooms, announcements, and overhead bins.
Organizers say the training exercise helped them learn how to navigate all aspects of a busy airport in preparation to successfully guide travelers who are blind or visually impaired.
Alaska Airlines hosted the training session, which included puppies from several Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) puppy clubs in central and southern California, along with their volunteer puppy raisers.
“These interactive guide dog puppy-in-training events offer an incredible opportunity for GDB’s dogs to learn about traveling by plane, and for our employees to learn more about the travel needs of people who are blind or visually impaired,” said John Wishmeyer, the San Luis Obispo airport manager for Alaska Airlines, in a press release.
The puppies who trained at the airport on Saturday are on track to graduate from the GDB program, which has reportedly qualified more than 16,000 guide teams since it was founded in 1942.
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