For most of us a dog is just a family pet, but for some people a dog can make it possible to live their lives. The Purina Walk for Dog Guides is about raising money so people can get the dog they need trained and able to help with their conditions for free. All money raised goes to the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides.
Kim Kubik, who is organizing the walk in Esterhazy, says the goal is to keep the dogs free for those who need them.
“These dogs $35,000 to train. We have a dog for diabetes, a dog for hearing, a dog for sight, a dog for epilepsy and a dog for autism.”
A long time member of the Lion’s club, Kubik has been to Oakville, Ontario where the dogs are trained, and says that the first hand experience with the animal shows just how essential they are for improving the lives of people who need them.
“They gave us a blindfold and gave us a cane, and showed us a little path to go around, you go around with a cane and you get tied up with other people and you hit obstacles and everything else. They gave us a dog to go around the same obstacle course with a blindfold, and it’s unreal what these dogs can do.”
Dogs are also trained to pick up things for people in wheelchairs, get the attention of people who need it. Dogs can also be trained to smell when someone has low blood sugar, which Kubik says is most helpful for people who get low blood sugar at night, waking them up to prevent them from going into a coma. The autism dogs are useful to keep kids from running, but they’re also used as a big comfort.
“The dog is tethered to the child and when the child goes to run, the dog just sits... They’re also a big comfort to a child who has autism. We heard stories and saw pictures, and there was one child who, as soon as they got anxious he would rub their ears. The hair had been rubbed off the dog’s ear from the child rubbing it, but the dog didn’t care, it’s just a comfort.”
Dogs are assigned based on a doctor’s recommendation, but the owners just have to provide the basic needs any dog owner has to provide, being food and vaccinations.
“If they can help you and you’re suited, they’ll find you a dog... When you get one of these dogs, they pay for your flight, and you stay right with them in Oakville for two weeks, getting to know the dog, getting to know how to use the dog and making sure it clicks in with the family as well... That dog is not a dog, it’s a working dog as long as it has a vest on.”
The walk will be in Esterhazy at the Esterhazy Historical Park Museum on the 12th of September, with registration beginning at 10:30. She emphasizes that you do not need a dog to participate in the event.
