Guide Dogs – sometimes referred to as dog guides or service dogs – are provided free of charge to Canadians with a disability. The disability isn’t necessarily vision loss as dogs can also assist people with hearing loss, people with autism, diabetes, and other challenges to daily living.
I don’t use a guide dog myself, but once a friend encouraged me to take her dog for a short walk. Of course, the terminology of this last sentence is completely wrong. It was the dog who took me for the walk. I can still recall the sensation of the pull on the harness and the strength and purpose of the dog who was my guide.
This little experiment wasn’t necessarily a good test to show my suitability to be matched with a guide dog. In reality, dogs are selected carefully for their future tasks and then undergo special training to prepare them for their working lives. When they are deemed ready, they are then matched carefully with a new owner. Both dog and new owner also go through an intensive training period together. The entire process and cost of training just one dog guide is around $35,000.
You can check out more about guide dogs by going to the following web site:
If you have missed out on the walk today, you can still donate during the year. Next year’s walk will once again be on the last Sunday in May.
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