Do you have what it takes to love and train a special kind of dog and willingly hand over the leash to somebody else at the end of a year?
If you answer yes, the organizers at B.C. and Alberta Guide Dog Services and Autism Support Dogs would like to talk to you.
The charity is looking for volunteer puppy raisers from southern Vancouver Island as far north as Nanaimo, the Lower Mainland and Calgary as they look to place as many as 50 puppies expected to be born this year. These puppies, typically Labrador retrievers, are selectively bred to become guide dogs for blind/visually-impaired people, or autism support dogs for children with autism and their families.
Volunteers would have a puppy live with them for about a year, receiving them when they are roughly seven to eight weeks old. Puppy raisers are an important part of the training process as they help prepare the pups, through a supervised program, for advanced training by teaching them basic obedience and socialization skills.
“These are the cream of the crop,” said Laura Mahoney, puppy-raising supervisor for B.C. Guide Dog Services. “But before they start school they need to learn manners, go into public places and respond to training.”
Her team of volunteers takes their charges wherever they go during the day — to shopping malls, up and down escalators, to construction sites, parades, concerts and on public transit. Art Raven, who just started training his third dog, even goes to a fire station to see how his dog will react when hearing a fire siren for the first time. The idea is that the dog needs to be able to function in an urban environment.
The ideal guide-dog puppy raiser should have a dog-friendly home with secure outdoor space (apartments are also acceptable), have more than one pet dog (cats are allowable, too) at home, or children under school age and be at home during the day and willing to take the puppy with them wherever they go. The typical candidates are generally retired, stay-at-home moms, or those working from home.
“People don’t need a giant yard. If living in an apartment, we train dogs at an early age to touch a bell located beside the outside door to indicate they have to heed the call of nature,” Mahoney said.
The charity offers ongoing support to volunteers and covers the cost of dog food, veterinary care and other basic necessities. Volunteers take the dogs to obedience classes twice a month and make themselves available for one home visit a month.
For more information, contact Mahoney at laura.mahoney@bcguidedog.com, at 250-217-3132 or go to bcguidedog.com.
Fifth anniversary for Every Step Counts
Every Step Counts, a walking and running program that encourages physical fitness for people struggling with mental health, addiction, poverty and social isolation, recently celebrated its fifth anniversary by giving away its 240th pair of running shoes.
A free pair of shoes is celebration enough for anybody. But for participants of the program, the new shoes represent hard work on their part — they only get the shoes after they have successfully attended 15 sessions of the program.
The program, initiated by the Victoria Foundation and hosted by the Victoria Cool Aid Society, is based on the belief that exercise and teamwork can help foster self-esteem and promote healthier lifestyle choices for those struggling in life.
“It’s a low-key, grassroots movement,” said Gillie Easdon, the program’s co-ordinator. “For some people, this new-found activity will be with them for the rest of their lives. For others, it is a springboard to greater things.”
She says the program has proven popular, even with people only hearing of it by word-of-mouth. She now leads two groups, with up to 40 participants in each, twice a week.
Recruits and volunteer community participants run and enjoy yoga-based stretches. The exercises are typically followed by healthy snacks while participants listen to short talks given on various topics such as correct running technique and healthy eating.
Participants have said they sleep better, experience less anxiety, have weight loss, enjoy increased energy and have fewer mood swings.
The program is so successful, the group is drawing up a template so social service agencies from across Canada and as far away as Australia can copy their success.
With funding challenges the program’s future is determined year to year. But Easdon says 580 participants and 240 pairs of shoes earned proves its viability.
“We have proven that physical activity should always have a place — and is a vital component — in the health of individuals.”
For more information, go to coolaid.org.
This fundraiser is easy as Pi
The Order of Pi is a simple yet effective fundraiser that has been carried out for the past 20 years by University of Victoria engineering students. It all has to do with cream pies and not wanting to wear one.
It starts with an “accuser,” who donates a sum of $20 or more and names a friend of theirs to be “pied,” along with a “charge,” and a time and location for the “trial” to be held. The accused should be (hopefully) a good-natured person willing to play along (and get a little messy).
Students dressed as monks then proceed in traditional robes with “sacred” music to the appointed location to put the accused on trial. When charged, the accused has the option of pleading guilty and getting a pie in the face, or pleading innocent (by beating the donation against them by at least $5) and then, in turn, accusing someone else. This means that the original accuser can be prosecuted by their own victim.
There must be a good number of people who like cream pies as the students raise about $2,500 every year in Victoria. The event also runs in engineering societies across Canada.
Pi Week this year runs Monday through Friday. Donations in excess of $25 receive a receipt for tax purposes, and all proceeds go to the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island.
To nominate somebody, contact Angus Hudson of the UVic Engineering Students Society at 250-721-8822 or esschar@uvic.ca. For more information, go to uvicorderofpi.ca.
Musical anniversary for Margaret Jenkins
Invited guests, parents and spectators were transported back to the 1900s this week as students at École Margaret Jenkins School celebrated the school’s 100th anniversary with MJ —The Musical, which honours the school namesake’s journey of courage as a suffragette, social reformer and political activist.
The school’s 400 students, from kindergarten through Grade 5, acted, sang and danced in celebration of Jenkins.
“There are six classes and 135 students in each show and they’ve been rehearsing since January,” said Esther Clifford, a longtime music teacher at the school.
“I became inspired by Margaret’s life and all that she accomplished for women’s rights, veterans and disadvantaged children and felt a musical rich in period costumes and songs would be a fitting tribute.”
The musical is just the beginning of the celebrations. The school will host relatives of Margaret Jenkins and noted alumni at celebrations this spring. For more information, go to margaretjenkins.sd61.bc.ca.