It’s hard work becoming a guide dog.

Hard work becoming a guide dog.

Support Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind guide dogs in training. With your help, they can do so much more.

Donate to Red Puppy Appeal, 30 March — 1 April 2012.

And here’s an idea: bake a difference for Red Puppy Appeal by baking and selling puppy-shaped bikkies to your friends and colleagues.

If you love to bake or to eat, you’ll love Red Puppy Bikkie Day! It’s a great opportunity to bake a difference in support of RNZFB’s guide dogs in training.

[Via Bikkie Day - RNZFB.org.nz.]

What do you do when your guide dog loses its sight? You get your faithful companion and helper a guide dog, that’s what:

Edward and Opal.

A Suffolk man was devastated when his faithful guide dog lost his sight — so he got a new dog to act as eyes for both of them.

Edward had given Graham Waspe, 60, six years of loyal service until he had to have both eyes removed after developing inoperable cataracts.

Mr Waspe, from Stowmarket, couldn’t bear to be parted from his canine companion — so he got a new guide dog to look after them both.

[Via Guide dog gets a guide dog | Orange UK.]

[Photo from original article.]

Guide dogs bring new freedoms to visually impaired people in many Western countries, but it’s not so easy in China:

Despite the convenience guide dogs bring to the blind, there is no regulations in China at present that guarantee a legal identity to the dogs.

Guide Dog in Harness.

Currently, ownership of big dogs like Golden Retriever and Labrador Retriever in Beijing is restricted, and big dogs are barred from public places. Since guide dogs are a new phenomenon in the country, they are not an exception under the law.

Ping said that her dog Lucky, a 1.4-meter-long Golden Retriever, was barred from public places quite a few times. …

The current laws and regulations concerning guide dogs in China are ambiguous. According to Article 58 of the Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons, blind owners shall observe the relevant provisions of the country when entering a public place. But it does not name the exact provisions to follow. In practice, the guide dogs do not have a legal identity card and the blind owners need to ask for permission every time they appear in public.

[Via Global Times - Blind faith.]

Guide dogs are new in China — in 2010 there are about 15 graduated pairs of blind people and guide dogs in the whole of China. It could be a long while before people become accustomed to the dogs.

Update: please see the post about the 2012 appeal.

26 to 28 March 2010 is when the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind are raising funds to help with training Guide Dogs:

Red Puppy appeal.

It costs the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind over $22,500 to breed, then train a guide dog for a blind or partially sighted New Zealander. With no government funding for this essential service public support is truly valued. You can continue to support Guide Dog Services by donating today.

[Via : Whats the Red Pupply appeal?.]

Can you help?

Volunteers are vital to the work of the RNZFB’s Red Puppy Appeal, and in the course of a year over 10,000 people volunteer. This includes volunteers for both the Red Puppy Appeal (previously Guide Dog Appeal) and Blind Week. Volunteering provides a wonderful opportunity to meet people, learn new skills, share existing skills, and have fun and give something back to your community.

Maxine Jones took on Guide Dog puppy walking for a while. She had some interesting experiences with Zebedee, the golden Labrador puppy:

International Guide Dog Federation.

I DON’T PARTICULARLY LIKE dogs. …

I’d resisted my youngest son’s demands for a dog for years, but this was a way of giving it back when it was no longer an endearing Andrex puppy and my son had proved he wouldn’t walk it or pick up poo. …

Zebedee is always pleased to see me. And when I walk down the road, everyone wants to know me. …

Walking back with the dog after meeting [my son] from school, a lanky boy with braces stops his bike to talk to us. “I miss my dog,” he says.”My parents split up and we couldn’t keep him.” I’m moved to silence as he props up his bike to pet the dog.

Old ladies empathise most with the dog. Young mothers are wary, fearing they’ll be besieged with requests from their offspring. “I’ve enough on my plate,” one says, her brusque tone covering up a flash of longing.

Zebedee and I are spotted by a posse of 11-year-old girls who are walking past the post office, where we are in line. In one squealing mass, they make a run for her, and cover her in a cloud of pink. Zebedee loves it, licking their faces in turn. Just as suddenly, the girls take flight and flutter off, regrouping outside to discuss how sweet she is.

[Via : Dog day afternoons - The Irish Times - Sat, Sep 26, 2009.]

Guide Dog puppy walking is a great activity, available pretty well anywhere guide dogs are trained. If you think you might be interested visit the International Guide Dog Federation website to find a local organisation you can contact.

Special note: 27 October to 2 November 2009 is The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind’s annual Blind Week Appeal. Give them a donation to support not only training guide dog puppies, but all the other services they offer to blind people.

Two border collies, called Bonnie and Clyde have a very close relationship: Clyde is blind, and Bonnie looks out for him and helps him get around:

Cherie Cootes, from Meadowgreen Dog Rescue Centre, in Hales, near Loddon, said they could not be separated.

“If Clyde’s unsure where he is, he will suddenly go behind Bonnie and put his face on the back of her so she can guide him, he totally relies on her,” said Ms Cootes.

“And when she walks she tends to stop and make sure he’s there – she does look out for him.

“When she’s about you wouldn’t notice he is blind, but when she’s not about he refuses to move.

[Via : BBC NEWS | UK | England | Norfolk | Blind rescue dog has 'guide dog'.]