When Frances and Lee Erickson promised their children a puppy for Christmas back in 1988, they expected to bring home a single pet. But, after attending a 4-H Club demonstration by The Seeing Eye Inc. of Morristown, N.J., the family decided to take part in a program that would give them a new puppy every year.

Since then, the Ericksons have raised 15 puppies that went on to become seeing-eye dogs for the blind.

"We heard a blind lady tell how a guide dog helped her. She was a mother of three pre-school children when she lost sight in both eyes. She was just amazing. She sewed, she cooked, she did everything, except drive," says Frances Erickson. "Her sighted friends would walk her into doors, but her dog never would. We were sold on the program before that, but her story confirmed it all the more."

Since the Ericksons had never owned a dog before, they had to learn everything about raising puppies. The primary requirement is to shower the new pet with lots of love so that it will feel secure with people. For the Erickson children--Mary Beth, EG 2003, and Christopher, EG 2001--this meant curling up in sleeping bags to comfort each new puppy on its first night away from the litter.

Seeing-eye puppies--either golden retrievers or German shepherds--are given to families at eight weeks of age and are taken back approximately 10-16 months later. During that time, the family is expected to teach a few basic commands, such as sit, forward, down, rest and come. More importantly, the puppy must be introduced to as many different situations as possible. Special field trips are arranged to take seeing-eye puppies to a variety of destinations. While riding in cars, they sit on the floor of the passenger seat, where they would be seated when accompanying a blind person. At the dinner table, they sit under the table and learn to rest, which is a non-working command.

Aside from a few special rules--no people food, no sitting on furniture and no treats for obeying a command--raising a seeing-eye puppy is much like raising any pet. That also means that the family can become attached to the pet and have difficulty giving it up. To ease the pain of separation, the Ericksons usually took in a new puppy before the older one was taken away. At one time, they had three puppies in the house.

Once the puppies are returned to The Seeing Eye for training, the families who raised them must sever all contact to respect the privacy of the blind person who becomes the dog's new owner.

There is, however, one special chance for the Ericksons to see their puppies performing as guide dogs. When the dogs are trained and just about to be placed with a blind person, The Seeing Eye hosts a "town walk." This event allows families to come and watch the dogs perform from about a half-block away. "They don't want us too close because the dog can pick up our scent," Frances explains.

When the dog "graduates" from guide dog school, the Ericksons receive a picture of the dog in harness and learn a little bit about the blind person to whom it was given. Knowing that a particularly affectionate dog ended up with an owner who lavished it with hugs and kisses was a great comfort, says Frances. Throughout the experience, however, the Ericksons kept in mind that their puppies had a special job to do.

"At meetings, it was constantly reinforced that puppies are coming and puppies are going," Frances notes. "They have a higher purpose."

Frances and Lee Erickson live in Collegeville, Pa. Both of their children attend the University, where Christopher is a senior and Mary Beth is a sophomore.