Guide dogs and guide dog puppies are leading the way along the Napier Rotary pathway, all in the name of fundraising.

Hawkes Bay locals, dog owners and their 'personal trainers' (aka their dogs) are invited to join guide dogs, guide dog puppies and members of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) to raise money for the Guide Dog Appeal.

"This walk is a great way to get out and about and enjoy the Hawkes Bay sunshine, use this fantastic new pathway, and, at the same time, helping us to provide more guide dogs," says Bronwyn Harman, RNZFB Fundraising Manager and Dog Walk organiser.

"Walkers will also be able to join the guide dogs in having a dog bone at the end of the walk – although we will be offering humans chocolate chip biscuits shaped as a dog bone rather than something to gnaw on!"

The walk starts at the National Aquarium on Sunday 10 April at 11am and should take about an hour to complete. It will head up the pathway along the main road out of Napier for about 2kms then return to the aquarium for tea/coffee/juice and a human-edible dog bone. Refreshments will cost $5 and walkers are asked to give a gold coin donation for the Guide Dog Appeal at the start of the walk.

Guide dogs mean freedom, independence, confidence and companionship, but these important mobility aids come at a high cost. It costs $22,500 to breed, raise, train and match a guide dog before it graduates as part of a working team.

Guide dogs are provided free of charge to the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind's (RNZFB) members. Guide Dog Services receives no government funding, all costs are covered by public donations, legacies and corporate sponsorship.

We need dogs - not the dogs themselves, but the funds to continue providing this valuable service to blind, vision-impaired and deafblind New Zealanders.

The 2005 Guide Dog Appeal will be held from Friday 8 - Sunday 10 April. Please give generously when you see our collectors out and about on the streets or donate $3 by texting GDOG to 883.

For more information or a photograph please contact:
Jane Gower, Communications Co-ordinator, RNZFB, Ph: 09 355 6884 or 021 357 412
Sarah Byers, Communications Co-ordinator, RNZFB, Ph: 09 355 6906 or 021 752 875