From the left: 1st, owner Melanie Langille raised $370 with her nine-year old, Shelby; 2nd, owner Meridith Mitchell raised $310 with (Prince) Phillip who gleefully danced in a circle; 3rd, owner Shirley Roberts raised $283 and her hound was pleased he gav

On May 30, some 23 dogs took their families and friends for a hike. The sponsors, Purina, help local clubs to raise funds and awareness for dog guides and this is Purina’s 25th year of helping the Dog Guide Training Program.
In addition to training dog guides for people who are blind or visually impaired, the Lions Foundation also trains dog guides to meet the needs of Canadians with hearing and other medical or physical disabilities.
All programs are offered at no charge to the client, but future care and maintenance become the responsibility of the dog guide recipient.

Dog Guide Programs

and#9658; Canine Vision Dog Guides – for people who are blind or visually impaired
and#9658; Hearing Ear Dog Guides – for people who are deaf or hard of hearing
and#9658; Special Skills Dog Guides – for people with a medical or physical disability
and#9658; Seizure Response Dog Guides – for people who have epilepsy
and#9658; Autism Assistance Dog Guides – for children with autism

Training programs are both generic, to meet the general needs of clients, but are also specific to the needs of the individual client to whom the dog guide is assigned. In the final stage of training the client and dog guide train together and live together at the Oakville training facility for up to 26 days to ensure bonding and a team approach to work and on-going care.
River John and District Lions Club were the organizers of this, the first of what they hope will become an annual event for River John. The dogs had a choice of distances with both one and three kilometres of trail to follow depending on how energetic they thought their owners might feel at that time.
Some dogs were very quiet while others just could not wait to be interviewed and had a lot to bark about. One or two were a little camera shy, but I put that down to it being their first entry into a large event of that kind. Many of the participants immediately enjoyed the treats Purina provided for them and had no problems sharing their water supply with the humans.
A grand total of $1,929.10 was raised and prizes were presented by the River John and District Lions Club for the top three amounts collected on the pledge sheets.
Congratulations to everyone involved! It was an event close to my heart as I used to be a guide dog trainer in the UK many moons ago. I have seen great things happen when a person has a dog at their side and the freedom that the dog can provide.
One of the announcements made last Sunday was that an Autism Assistance Dog has been placed near Yarmouth. What a great piece of news to share with all these like-minded people.