Ferry, shopping, lunch: Bay Area guide dogs get some real-world training

Working guide dogs for the blind and puppies-in-training took in the sights, sounds and smells of the East Bay ferries and the San Francisco Ferry Building on Saturday during a social excursion meant to help them get accustomed to transit and real-world situations.

The pups and people outing began Saturday morning at the Alameda Main Street Ferry Terminal with the first group of Guide Dogs for the Blind’s Foggy Doggie Alumni Chapter and the organization’s Berkeley Puppy Raisers. The group was then joined by more dogs and their handlers at the Oakland Ferry Terminal.

After a quick ferry ride across the Bay, the group toured the Ferry Building, did a little shopping and had lunch at Gott’s Roadside.

A spokesperson for Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, the largest guide dog school in North America, said the outing served as a socialization exercise for the pups-in-training on their journey toward becoming guide dogs for people who are blind or visually impaired.

It’s important that puppies learn good manners and are exposed to a range of real-world situations, such as public transportation, shopping, pedestrian traffic, and dining, the spokesperson said. The outing also gave volunteer puppy raisers the opportunity to spend time with Guide Dogs for the Blind clients and their working guide dogs.

More than 16,000 guide teams have graduated from Guide Dogs for the Blind since it was founded in 1942. The nonprofit organization not only improves mobility for its clients, but also advocates for policy reforms related to blindness. The organization was the subject of a documentary feature called “Pick of the Litter,” which is available on various streaming platforms.