Guidelines
- New manager appointed
- Guide dog experts get together
- How Bayleys brings in dollars
- Crazy about Kim Ritchie
- Great deal on dog tales
- A mistaken case of myopia
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New manager appointed
The newest graduate of Guide Dog Services (GDS) is national manager, Joe Walker.
Joe took on his new role at the end of July, filling the paws of Ian Cox who was recruited from Australia 15 years ago to revive the service.
Joe's training began back in 1994 while he was working for Dame Catherine Tizard.
At that time, Dame Cath was puppy walking guide dog Hobson. As one of her senior staff members, Joe often assumed responsibility for looking after the pup. He eventually took over Hobson's guardianship and thus began an active interest in Guide Dog Services. As they say, the rest is history.
Joe's early career was in the New Zealand Army, where he rose to be second in command at defense headquarters. He began working for the Foundation in fundraising roles, based in the Waikato. From regional fundraising manager he became group manager of regional fundraising throughout the country.
This was followed by a stint as developer of the Bequest Society programme, which piloted successfully in Dunedin (go to Profiles p 17 for more detail).
Divisional Manager Paul Hooper says that Guide Dog Services, which relies entirely for its existence on the charity dollar, will greatly benefit from Joe's expertise in developing cohesive strategies for raising funds.
"He's very much a person who can network and bring together a range of interested parties. He has excellent management skills and is totally dedicated to the service. Aside from that, he's a man of strong cultural and family values, plus he's got a wicked sense of humour!"
Joe believes there is always room for improvement, although his main aim as GDS manager is to build on the good work already taking place.
"One way I compare my management style is to a waka. The paddlers of the waka will be the eight activity managers at GDS. How they flick their paddles determines which way they want to go. I'm on the rudder, responsible for guiding the entire team in the right direction.
"The eight activity managers are the experts - not me ... I want to be sure that everybody has a say before I make any final decisions."
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Guide dog experts get together
Three Foundation staff went "back to the future" to represent New Zealand at the 2004 biennial International Guide Dog Federation conference in May.
Don McKenzie, Paula Daye, and Ian Cox were among the 180 delegates who attended two and a half days of seminars and presentations in Lenk, Switzerland. The conference theme, Back to the Future, reflected the beginnings of the modern guide dog movement 70 years ago and was an opportunity for the 60 guide dog schools around the world to share forward-looking research and expertise. The most exciting work is in genetic selection of breeding dogs. Don gave a well-attended and challenging seminar on the Foundation's move to becoming customer driven.
The conference proved yet again, says Ian, that New Zealand is "well and truly on the map" of the top guide dog schools. Ian was re-elected to the IGDF council for a third term. The AGM also adopted new standards that mean potential schools will have to work harder to become accredited to the federation.
"Working with guide dogs is a way of life, it's not just a job," Ian adds. "The treasures of it aren't in the manuals, they're always passed down by word of mouth. The depth of lifelong experience exchanged at the conference was truly magic ... It was by far the most successful conference yet."
Before the AGM and conference, delegates went to Vevey to plant a memorial tree at the estate where Mrs Dorothy Eustis began training guide dogs in 1928.
How Bayleys brings in dollars
Bayleys Realty Group's sponsorship of Guide Dog Services is going from strength to strength and has raised over $400,000 in only a few months. Many offices around the country have already met or exceeded their fundraising goals for the year. Tauranga, Mt Maunganui and Rotorua offices jointly raised over $39,000 and have named their first fully sponsored guide dog puppy, Travler, after one of the directors of the Bayleys Realty Group.
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As part of this fundraising activity, Bayleys' Mt Maunganui and Tauranga offices ran an art auction in late May. This event alone raised $22,500 - enough to sponsor a second puppy named Skye!
Bayleys Realty Group has a great deal of experience and structures in place for charity fundraising. Tauranga office manager Graeme Ferrabee explains that they have run charity auction events for the past 10 years.
"This year a local charitable trust collected the art. Artists supplied their work at wholesale price, we nominated the charity of our choice then auctioned the work at retail value or above. Half the money raised went to Guide Dog Services and the other half back to the trust."
Graeme says they'll run the auction again next year during the 2005 Guide Dog Appeal.
"We prefer to do one big hit a year. Having said that, we're also setting up a regular payment scheme from each staff member to pay for a guide dog. It's a voluntary thing but the staff are right behind it."
Crazy about Kim Ritchie
By day Kim Ritchie is a telemarketer for the Wanganui Chronicle. By night she's a husky country and variety singer who also happens to be totally blind.
When she sings in nightclubs her guide dog goes with her.
"I've had Forrest for about two-and-a-half years. He comes to shows and, so long as he can see me and he gets some attention, he's fine."
Kim doesn't take Forrest when she goes out busking because his presence might be perceived by the public as begging.
"Forrest might steal the show!"
Kim has been earning a reputation for herself, so much so that a country music station in Feilding offered to help her record a CD. They introduced her to producer Jon De Wiele who laid down backing tracks for her to sing to and then digitally recorded her voice.
The CD covers songs of favourites such as "Crazy" by Patsy Cline, "Grandpa" by the Judds and "Blue Bayou" by Linda Ronstadt.
"Recording that way is a bit like a karaoke set-up," says Kim, who also plays guitar on a couple of the songs.
Called "Ambition", the CD took 12 months to make and will be receiving airplay on 97FM in Feilding.
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It was launched in Wanganui last month at the St John's Club. Kim will be selling copies at performances in Masterton, Foxton and the Hawke's Bay in the coming months.
To get a copy of her CD, call 06 348 7383, or send a cheque for $20 to Kim Ritchie, PO Box 7031, Wanganui.
Great deal on dog tales
Publishers Forrester Books NZ Ltd has offered the Foundation's members, donors and sponsors a discounted price for the book "The Guide Dogs Book of Amazing Dog Tales".
Edited by Neil Ewart, who has been involved in the training and breeding of UK guide dogs for many years, the book features a rich assortment of canine tales from the world of dogs.
Available now, the book features true stories of canine courage, companionship and comedy. British vets reveal the secrets of their surgery, trainers tell tales on their best and worst pupils and owners of assistance dogs boast about their wonderful companions.
The 160 page paperback book, illustrated with black and white drawings, is available from Forrester Books at the special price of $12.00, instead of $19.95 each. To order one, contact Theo at Forrester Books on ph: 09 415 2080, or fax: 09 415 2083.
A mistaken case of myopia
How do you tell the sharpness of a guide dog's eyesight? Until now instructors the world over have had to rely on behavioural indicators such as hesitant or suspicious responses. Searching for a more scientifically verifiable method to test visual acuity, Guide Dog Services entered into a multi-year research partnership five years ago with the University of Auckland's School of Optometry.
To date, a rudimentary test has been created, from a study of 61 dogs. Initial results have just been presented at the International Myopia Conference at Cambridge by a senior lecturer from the School of Optometry. A UK news story gave the erroneous impression that the research was indicating that one in ten working guide dogs was seriously short-sighted and would need glasses if they were human.
In fact, says Ian Cox, all the dogs in the study were either in assessment or training or were breeding stock. Only one working guide dog has been removed from its duties in the past several years for poor vision.
"We've always been able to tell if a dog is starting to have any visual problems," says Ian. "We pick up on that quickly and deal with it."
Despite the robust nature of local guide dog health checks, developing a foolproof test will benefit all guide dog schools worldwide. Research continues.