By: Mary Grace Shaw

Athens area volunteers for the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (GDF) are raising money to order to sponsor a future assistance dog by allowing people to vote for their favorite costumed puppy through donating to the GoFundMe. The organization set up a gofundme page where you can donate to your favorite costume.

Alyson Radetsky raises puppies through the Athens GDF program. She entered her golden retriever, Penny, in this year’s competition by dressing Penny as Doug, from the movie “Up.” Radetsky said the GDF foundation’s goal is to raise $6,000, the amount needed for the Athens group to sponsor a dog.

“These dogs give people life,” Radetsky said. “[They] give them (the blind) the confidence to be independent.”

The group hopes to raise $2,000 from the gofundme page, which would beat the $1,960 raised during last year’s costume contest.

“If we can raise the money to sponsor a dog to do that then we can provide that opportunity for somebody,” Radetsky said.

The last puppy the group sponsored, Dooley, is about to go into training, according to the organization’s gofundme page.