International Guide Dog Day

It’s International Guide Dog Day! Amanda benefits from the assistance of a service dog who performs many different tasks.  Some of those tasks are those of a Guide Dog. “Guide dogs, a type of assistance dog, are trained to help people in life with disabilities. Also known as seeing-eye dogs, they are specifically trained to lead blind and visually impaired people, helping them navigate situations or obstacles they normally would not be able to.” https://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/ownership-adoption/pet-ownership/pet-owner-topics/guide-dogs/ Amanda has a visual impairment caused both by seizure foci on her occipital lobe, and further by the resection surgery which removed her left occipital lobe.  She has minimal peripheral vision on her left side and no peripheral vision on her right side.  For this reason, one of the many tasks her service dogs are trained to do is to guide her around obstructions on her right side.  This is important to help Amanda avoid ditches, poles, people and cars that she would otherwise be unaware of. CNIB write that the timeline for training a service dog for visual impairment follows this guideline: 0-8 weeks- important time spent with mother and siblings. 9 weeks – 4 months- the puppies are taught to socialize and learn basic skills, commands and routines. 5- 12 months- the puppies learn to navigate obstacles and are exposed to crowds, other animals and public spaces. 13-17 months- the puppies work with a professional trainer, and learn the basics of guiding with a harness. 18 months- the puppy is matched with a Canadian with sight loss, and they learn to work together for the next 6 months or longer until they become a team.   The following websites provide more information on Guide Dogs. https://www.dogguides.com/vision.html https://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/ownership-adoption/pet-ownership/pet-owner-topics/guide-dogs/ https://www.sponsorpuppies.ca/?utm_campaign=aber_cnib_guidedogday&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=remarketing_brand&utm_content=responsive_v2&gclid=CjwKCAjwj6SEBhAOEiwAvFRuKKpqvvbHYFlMwMpEzt4y8LOvk9wYdhX6lc656zl7vJBgqJqNqDgUmBoCKK0QAvD_BwE   Stay tuned for news on our upcoming raffles!  And don’t forget to follow our pages: https://cablescalling.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Cables-Calling-Born-to-be-a-Service-Dog-101555021631826/ Donate here:  https://bit.ly/3fvYtxd

COVID-19 Vaccine

 Yesterday Amanda got her vaccine at the North York General Hospital, Seneca Newnham Campus site. She was approached by staff at the centre after receiving her shot.  They told her they knew they couldn't pet Kira, they could see she was working, but they just wanted Amanda to know that just seeing Kira had "brought joy" to their day.  What a lovely message!

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Donate here:  https://bit.ly/3fvYtxd

A Tribute to Diesel, Sept. 17, 2005 – April 5, 2021

 

                                                        Cable and Diesel

 This post on Cable’s Calling is dedicated to Cable’s friend Diesel who passed away early this week at the age of 16 ½.  Diesel was a Border Collie with whom Cable spent the past five and a half months at RuffSport.

 

Cable’s trainer, Heather McLeod, started her career with Diesel, training him to become an agility and dock diving champion.  He helped her bring the sport of dog dock jumping to Canada and was the Canadian Dock Jumping champion in 2011.

 Diesel knew over 100 tricks and performed with RuffSport Entertainment in agility, flyball and disc catching.  He was a beautiful dog and has taken a piece of Heather’s heart across the rainbow bridge with him.

Agility Fun

                                                                Water Fun!

                  Rest in peace, beautiful friend.

Happy Easter!

 Between cash donations and GO FUND ME contributions we have collected $18,005 towards Cable's training! That is exactly half way to our $36,000 goal.  Thank you so much, and please continue to share our links and our cause.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Cables-Calling-Born-to-be-a-Service-Dog-101555021631826/posts/

https://cablescalling.blogspot.com/

Donate here:  https://bit.ly/3fvYtxd