Puppy Day on March 23rd is a celebration of our young canine friends that are bred and trained to serve people with disabilities.
If you refer to the Blind specifically, there are dog schools that make available Guide Dogs to any blind person who needs one without any charge. There is a vetting process before you can get one, to make sure you are a person who loves dogs and will take good care of the one given to you. After you have been approved, you are required to attend the school for about a month to have your personality matched with a particular dog and to live and get familiar together, all travelling and living expenses paid. The school usually breeds and selects the little cuddly animals and pays families who love dog breeding, to rear and train the puppy for its future tasks. When the charge is 10 months to a year old, it is then given to the selected blind person who is in the school for orientation. When leaving, the person is provided with 3 months dog food and is paid travelling expenses to return home with the young dog. If for example (and there are many such examples) a blind person in Ontario has opted to get a dog from a school in California, air fares are also paid for. Blind people have the option of schools. They select the school from which they can get the dog through experiences of other blind people. So even though there is a dog school in Oakville, a suburb of Toronto, the Torontonian may opt to go to a part of the US that is known for its dogs. Seeing-eye dogs or guide dogs as they are called, cost about $30,000 to breed and train and the schools are funded by Lions Clubs or wealthy donors. If the blind person cannot afford the expensive dog food after on, the school funds it for every 3 month period purchases. The selected dogs are usually Labs or German Shepherds with the occasional poodle and a couple of other breeds, because these breeds have the right temperament and nature for a lifetime of service. When the dog becomes old or sick and is no longer fit to continue, it is donated to any caring family that wants it or to the family that has originally trained that puppy who usually make the condition that they be given the dog when it is no longer required for service. Usually Labs which are the most numerous of the lot, suffer from hip trouble leading to their retirement earlier than normal. Normally the blind person gets about 7 years service from the dog and then it becomes time to go through the process again to get another dog. Owners are known to cry as you would for a family member and a loving and dedicated one at that, when it becomes time to part. The grief is lessened with owning a young one-year old again. The working dogs are a joy to see. In harness, no one is supposed to pet them or talk to them for fear of distraction. The dog quietly and devotedly goes about its work. Once the harness is removed it becomes a normal dog again, romping, running and playing like all healthy dogs do, though they are not supposed to be given a treat or anything to eat except by the owner. At that time anyone can pet, talk and fuss with it like you would with any other dog. Contrary to popular understanding, the dogs don’t know the route the owner wants to go except if it is a regular one. All it does is lead the owner through crowds, traffic and road crossings safely. The owner must lead it through the desired route. Dogs are usually colour blind and therefore cannot read light signals. It takes its cue from the noise and the general public movement around it. These dogs are truly more than a person’s best friend and companion. We are a species that are truly fortunate to have taken in the wolf thousands of years ago that has evolved to be such a boon to us. https://www.cci.org/the-z-litter-live-puppy-cam/ Roland Francis Toronto.
