Couple welcomes litter of puppies for Leader Dogs

By Paul Kampe
The Oakland Press

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A Rochester Hills couple opened its home for the holidays to a litter of puppies who will eventually go on to provide a much-needed service to the community.

Carol and Rich Bolterstein of Rochester Hills have been playing host to eight tiny black Labradors since their birth in late-November, according to The Oakland Press.

The litter is expected to one day provide much-needed assistance to the disabled through the Leader Dogs For The Blind program.

The puppies, three females and five males, were born to “Faithful,” whom the couple got from Leader Dogs earlier this year and plans to adopt. The pups recently began teething and opening their eyes.

“So far, it’s going very well,” Carol Bolterstein said. “We were excited and nervous at the same time.”

The labor took about four hours, Bolterstein said, as the couple recorded vital information, checking for any possible health issues and added collars to identify each of the puppies.

“She was really good with her pups,” Bolterstein said. “It was really rewarding.”

The Boltersteins used a portable heater to raise the temperature to the mid-70s for the puppies.

The couple will soon hand off the dogs, who will then be raised by another family of volunteers for more complex training along the way to their eventual place as a guide dog for the disabled.

The Rochester Hills-based organization, which provides free guide dogs to the visually impaired across the country, is celebrating its 75th anniversary. All of its programs are provided free of cost to clients, including meals and housing during training, travel and equipment, according to the Leader Dogs website.

“Since its start in 1939, Leader Dogs for the Blind has made enormous strides not only in our hometown of Oakland County, but internationally, as we’ve been able to welcome clients from Canada, Mexico, Spain and many other Spanish-speaking countries,” CEO and president Susan Daniels said in a statement.

The Boltersteins joined Leader Dogs earlier this year after passing the organization’s headquarters at Avon and Rochester roads numerous times.

“We had thought about doing it,” Bolterstein said. “You see the signs around the Rochester area. We thought ‘maybe we should do this.’”