HORNELL, N.Y. (WENY) - Hornell resident, Elizabeth Williams and her family have been volunteering to raise puppies for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a non-profit organization that provides guide dogs for those who have vision loss. Elizabeth's family has raised 19 dogs since 1999, and Elizabeth is currently on her 12th dog that she is responsible for, a female Labrador Retriever named Tacoma.

The program relies on contributions from donors as each dog is valued at $50,000, but they give the dogs to the people who are visually impaired for no charge.

The volunteers get the puppies at about 8 weeks old, and they train the dogs until they are about 16 months. Then the dogs leave for professional training before being matched with their new owner. 

"It's our job to prepare these dogs to be exceptional guide dogs" said Williams. "Creating confidence in these guys, having them not be afraid of anything. She wears her vest and this is what she wears when we do public access training. Another thing that we do is house manners. They have to be 100% reliable in a house because they're going to be living with someone who is visually impaired."

Elizabeth mentioned that being a volunteer puppy raiser takes a lot of dedication, but she keeps coming back knowing she is helping those in need.

"It is one of the most incredible feelings in the world" said Williams. "I'm very blessed that my family started when I was younger because I've grown up with the habit of giving back and doing things that make a difference. Even though it's hard to give these puppies up in the end, I know the end result. I think the most common statement I is I couldn't do it" she added. "It's hard. It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of love, a lot of training, but it is so worth it and yes you could do it."

To view more information on Guiding Eyes, head to their website here.

Click on the attached video to view the full story with Elizabeth Williams.