Guidelines
- A word from the General Manager
- New manager for breeding services
- Record - 93 new guide dog teams in 2001
- Ziggy and the Professor
- Dedicated walkers recognised
- Star Shepherds make the grade
Page 14
A word from the General Manager
We're pleased to announce that after more than two years of negotiations with Hamilton City Council approval has just been given for a dog run to be built at our Hamilton office by the end of February. Up to 40 dogs will use this facility from time to time.
I'd like to thank all our wonderful volunteers, sponsors, staff and colleagues for your hard work over the past couple of months, and I hope you enjoy reading Guidelines.
New manager for breeding services
GDS's new breeding services manager describes her role as "a dream job".
Rebecca Hean (pictured page 15) has had a lifelong passion for dogs and is thrilled to be a part of the team at Guide Dog Services.
Rebecca, who has a special interest in canine behaviour, genetics and reproduction, has bred and won in the show ring and in obedience, agility and field trials with her Golden Retrievers and Shetland sheepdogs. She worked abroad as a canine "midwife", pedigree analyst and professional handler and, aged just 14, won the junior dog handling title at Crufts Dog Show in England.
At GDS, Rebecca will be responsible for the Douglas Pharmaceuticals Breeding Improvement Programme - caring for the 27 breeding stock dogs, around 50 dogs "on ice"(frozen semen), and their puppies until they are seven weeks old - along with staffing responsibilities and offshore development.
Record - 93 new guide dog teams in 2001
Ninety-three guide dogs have been bred, born, raised, trained and in 2001 were matched to ninety-three blind and sight impaired people, thanks to the success of Guide Dog Services (GDS) and its partnership with Douglas Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
This is the largest number of guide dogs that GDS has produced and matched to new owners in one year since it was established in 1973.
"A lot of our success is to do with our excellent breeding programme, says Rebecca Hean, Breeding Services Manager, GDS.
Since it was established ten years ago the Douglas Pharmaceuticals Guide Dog Breeding Improvement Programme has produced around 100 puppies each year using natural and artificial breeding techniques."
Partnership with Douglas Pharmaceuticals has enabled GDS to research, develop and grow its guide dog breeding colony.
"Prior to the breeding improvement programme, only around 18 percent of dogs bred were suitable to become guide dogs. Now it's around 70 percent. This puts GDS in the top three guide dog schools worldwide!"
"The partnership with Douglas Pharmaceuticals is an integral part of helping us to reach our goals" says Miss Hean.
"We couldn't have achieved the results we have without their ongoing support. With their help over the years, hundreds of blind and sight-impaired people now have guide dogs enabling them to maintain their independence."
Page 16
Ziggy and the Professor
A German Shepherd guide dog puppy being socialised by a blind sociology professor is an interesting twist on puppy-walking, but one that both Ziggy and the Professor are enjoying as they tackle that challenge.
Where did it begin?
Well, after 20 years of working with guide dogs, Professor Peter Beatson had missed out on the "delight" of having a puppy. So, when his faithful German Shepherd guide dog Paisley died last year, the professor asked Guide Dog Services' Ian Cox if he could raise his next guide dog by being the puppy walker. Professor Beatson, the only blind person in the country to have two doctorates describes Ian's reaction to his idea: "Ian said, `Are you serious? Do you know how difficult life with a puppy can be?`" But the sociology lecturer at Massey University was determined to get the puppy he'd never had. So along came a long-haired German Shepherd puppy that resembled a "bear cub" and two months on, Professor Beatson now understands what Ian was talking about. "It is hell," Professor Beatson jokes about life with the boisterous 25 kilogram four month old which he named Ziggy . "He is the size of a rhinoceros with the mental fiendishness of a puppy!" "It would be impractical for most sight-impaired people to raise their own guide dog, unless they had a lot of help from a partner," says Professor Beatson. "The responsibility for Ziggy lies with my wife - she is the one who has to clean up after the typhoon." Once Ziggy is about 18 months old, he'll be put forward for the Guide Dog training program. If successful, the giant will be returned to the professor, making him one of very few people in the country to have ever puppy-walked his own guide dog. Page 17 A group of long-time puppy walkers were recently recognised for their important contribution to guide dogs. Jan Elliott and Anne Philpott of Avondale, Auckland, who have puppy-walked five dogs over the past seven years, were awarded a second bar medal for a total of 60 months of puppy walking. Jan says the best part about puppy walking is seeing the dog once it has graduated. "It's when you go and see a blind person who has a trained guide dog that you've puppy walked and you see the difference the dog has made to their life," she says. Receiving their first bar for 36 months of puppy walking were: Peggy Cullen, Bridget Fowke, Regina Kane, Helen Peters and Bryan and Elaine Smith. They're extremely cute, soft and furry, have lots of energy and get attention wherever they go. Two Australian Shepherds - the brand new breed of guide dogs in NZ - are settling into life as guide dog teams. Former airline pilot Anne Cassin of Nelson has been matched with Paddie, her second guide dog. The active pair are enjoying life together - hiking in Abel Tasman National Park and clambering over rocks at beaches. First-time guide dog owner Petronella Spicer is also thrilled with her dog Winnie (Windana), who is attracting lots of attention in Christchurch shopping malls. "She just fits in so well to any situation," says a delighted Petronella. Australian Shepherds can work as guide dogs until they're about 14 years old - four years longer than the average guide dog.Dedicated walkers recognised
Star Shepherds make the grade
