Age Group:
Adults- Registration is required for this event.
- Registration will close on April 21, 2026 @ 6:00pm.
Program Description
Event Details
Join us to learn all about Fidelco and their guide dogs! Rachel Dizel is a Connecticut based Fidelco Puppy Raiser Instructor and will share her experiences with raising future guide dogs, how she got started, and what it takes to be a puppy raiser.
Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation partners people who are blind with expertly bred and trained German Shepherd guide dogs, providing all clients with increased independence to improve their lives and the world around them. Fidelco is inspired every day by our remarkable clients. They educate, create documentary films, work in business and government, raise families, and advocate for those who are visually impaired. They climb Mt. Everest, win gold medals as world class athletes, serve America in the military and sacrifice on the battlefield.
Fidelco is an internationally accredited guide dog organization and respected expert throughout the world. For more than six decades, Fidelco has bred the German Shepherd working dog. Since 1981, Fidelco has trained and placed more than 1,650 German Shepherd guide dogs across North America. Each Fidelco German Shepherd guide dog takes two years, thousands of hours, and $65,000 to breed, train, and place. Thanks solely to the generosity of its donors, and the dedicated work of its staff and volunteers, all Fidelco guide dogs are given to clients at no cost. Fidelco pioneered In-Community Placement in the United States and trains all clients in the communities where they live and work.
Fidelco provides 24/7 client support for the entire working life of its guide dogs – typically 10 years.
Fidelco has also placed hundreds of its German Shepherd Dogs with law enforcement agencies, first responders,search and rescue, and missing child recovery organizations to help protect our fellow citizens and keep our communities safe.
Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with offices in Bloomfield, CT. For more information, or to apply for a guide dog, please visit www.fidelco.org
There will be Fidelco guide dogs at the program.
Notes
Accommodations
The library makes every effort to ensure our programs can be enjoyed by all. If you have any concerns about accessibility or need to request specific accommodations, please contact the library at least two weeks prior to the event.