I built two wholesale businesses. When I retired at 72, I volunteered to raise service dogs to keep myself on a routine.

Jerry Burns says raising puppies gives his days structure after retirement. Courtesy of Jerry Burns Jerry Burns, 74, is a little more than a year into retirement. He started volunteering when he scaled back on work in his 60s. Raising a puppy has given his days structure and connected him to other volunteers. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jerry Burns, a puppy raiser with Guiding Eyes for the Blind . It has been edited for length and clarity. I ran my own businesses for 53 years. First, I did wholesale sales of tobacco and candy. When I sold my partnership stake after more than three decades, I decided to focus on candy and snacks, avoiding the negativity of tobacco.