Bring your dog to work? Puppy-love at Philly U.S. Attorney’s office

He’s only 14 months old, but Quade gets around — Phillies games, restaurants, subways, even inside the fearsome judges’ chambers in Center City federal court.

He’s a “Seeing Eye” guide dog-in-training, currently being raised by Nancy Winter, an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Winter and other Philadelphia-area volunteers are tasked by The Seeing Eye in Morristown, N.J., with fostering puppies and training them in rudimentary tasks for a year.

If they progress, the dogs are trained further by professionals and ultimately matched with a blind person.

Quade is one of three pups being raised by Winter and two other colleagues; all of them happen to be lawyers working for U.S. Attorney William “Bill” McSwain at Justice Department offices at 6th and Chestnut Streets.

Denise Wolf was the first volunteer. An assistant U.S. attorney and head of the criminal division, Wolf took on a puppy named Jingle a few years ago.

“At just a few months, they come to your house and you do everything with them,” Wolf said. “If they don’t fail their training then they’re placed” by The Seeing Eye organization or bred for more puppies.

Winter and her husband found themselves empty-nesters, and after seeing Wolf with Jingle around the office, Winter raised her hand — and was matched with Quade, a Labrador retriever.

“The three favorite breeds for Seeing Eye dogs are Goldens, Labradors and German Shepherds,” she said. “They’re easy to train and don’t respond to aggression. And the best part is that my witnesses love petting him during prep for trial. He’s very soothing."

A third attorney volunteered to raise Yardley, a Golden Retriever. All three dogs — and their humans — currently work at the U.S. Attorney’s office almost daily.

Guide dogs learn to tolerate “a lot of nonsense, such as children, airports, and wheelchairs,” Winter said. They must also display what’s known as ‘intelligent disobedience,’ for instance, refusing to cross a street when cars are coming, even against the blind owner’s commands.

“Most blind people live in cities, so we’re training them not to react to noises, smells like in the subway, or other animals,” Wolf said.

Volunteer puppy foster parents don’t pay a dime for food or veterinary bills, all of which are covered by The Seeing Eye. Each dog is also insured up to $1 million.

Jingle failed some of the training tests, so Denise Wolf was given first right to adopt him — which she did immediately.

“It helps that my boss is a dog lover,” she said. U.S. Attorney McSwain has a 1-year-old Labradoodle.