Guidelines
- Joe Walker, National Manager Guide Dog Services
- Tribute to guide dog Jasper
- Retired guide dogs
- Bayleys continue to raise money for guide dogs!
- Tony and guide dog Gilbert
- Guide dog cadetship programme
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Joe Walker, National Manager Guide Dog Services
Tena koutou katoa aku hoa.
While the services we provide here at Guide Dog Services should come across to members as 'business as usual', behind the scenes we're doing some revitalising. We plan to provide more guide dogs and more services to more blind, deafblind and vision-impaired people.
The revitalisation is based on a seven-month review of how Guide Dog Services operates. We're clarifying the roles and career pathways of our staff to increase their sense of job satisfaction and making sure we work efficiently.
A new business approach for the next three to five years has been agreed by the CEO. It's focused on achieving the things members said were important in last year's consultation – get more guide dogs out there working in the community. For that, we also need to thank Bayleys who've been working so effectively to raise money for Guide Dog Services, plus everyone who donated time as volunteers or money to the Guide Dog Appeal in April – $720,000 and counting!.
Tribute to guide dog Jasper
In mid-April guide dog Jasper died after being hit by a commercial truck at a controlled intersection in Christchurch. Only five other guide dogs have died in accidents since 1982. The chocolate-coloured, nine-year-old Labrador was much loved by handler Blair McConnell and his family. Blair and Jasper were on their way to work at the time of the accident. Although Blair wasn't injured, he was greatly distressed. "Jasper's loss is that of a friend and a member of our family. He will be missed by us, our wider family, friends and the scores of work colleagues who saw and acknowledged him on a daily basis. Jasper changed my life and many people's lives," says Blair, who had worked with Jasper for almost five years. Blair held a memorial service at his home over Anzac weekend which was attended by about 60 people. He is hoping to be matched with a replacement guide dog as soon as possible.
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Retired guide dogs
"Retired guide dogs deserve special privileges," says National Manager Guide Dog Services Joe Walker.
"Senior citizens have advocates, and retired guide dogs need support too."
Guide Dog Services is looking for volunteers who would like to form a working party to discuss the need and extent of special conditions for retired guide dogs.
A guide dog's working life usually ends between the ages of nine and twelve. A guide dog is retired when its health and guiding ability deteriorate and the safety of the working team becomes an issue. Some dogs stay on with their handler, some are adopted by another family member and others are adopted into new homes to enjoy retirement.
"The decision to keep or adopt a retired guide dog out is up to the handler," says Joe. "With the strong bond that develops between the team, it's not an easy decision to make."
From the dog's point of view, retirement can have many stresses. Those that stay on with their handlers have to get used to a new working dog in the home.
"They may see the new dog going out with their owner and ask, 'why not me?'" says Joe. "They may wonder, 'do I still get fed first, and what about my place in front of the fire?' Being demoted to just a pet is a big transition and I'm not yet convinced we've explored all the options for a quality retirement after having given loyal and faithful service."
Denise Ireland has the task at Guide Dog Services of finding new homes for retired dogs.
"The wonderful volunteers who take on these dogs meet all the costs when they accept a former guide dog as a ‘pet'," says Denise, Guide Dog Services Adoption Services Co-ordinator. "An older dog usually visits the vet more frequently. And the older the dog, the harder it is to find it a new home. We don't put them on the doorstep and walk away though. There's always a trial period during which we visit regularly to ensure the retired dog is settled and enjoying retirement."
If you'd like to either join the retired dogs' working party or volunteer to adopt a retired guide dog, contact Denise Ireland ph: 09 269 0400.
Bayleys continue to raise money for guide dogs!
The Bayleys offices around the country have been "busy busy" fundraising the last few months. At the recent annual Bayleys Management Meeting another $100,000 was raised at their evening auction and 10 offices committed to raising the full cost of a guide dog - $22,500 each! There have been some incredible local events too. The Paihia Wine and Food Festival raised an amazing
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$46,500, the Wellington Art Auction raised $17,000 and the Hawkes Bay auction raised over $20,000. Plus, Bayleys staff were out in force in our ‘We Need Dogs' red vests collecting for the Guide Dog Appeal! A brilliant partnership – thanks Bayleys!
Tony and guide dog Gilbert
The words 'mohawk' and 'guide dog' wouldn't normally be written in the same sentence. But for 18-year-old Tony Mosen they fit quite nicely, and why shouldn't they?
The Auckland teenager, who sports a mohawk which frequently changes colour, has had his guide dog Gilbert for about six months and can't imagine being without him. "Right from the beginning there was a connection there," says Tony. "He sulks if I have to go out without him and we just go crazy when I get home and roll around playing."
However the past months haven't been easy. Tony and Gilbert have been refused entry into fastfood outlets, movies and taxis - something Tony puts down to him not fitting the "blind person" stereotype.
People often think that Tony is training Gilbert but Tony says it just makes him laugh. "If they don't think I'm training him, they think I'm having them on," says Tony. "They look at my appearance and assume things, and it's only if they see my eyes properly that they believe me.
I may look different but I'm like any other teenager. I hang with my friends, go to the movies and do all the normal stuff. The difference is, I now have Gilbert to keep me on the straight and narrow!"
Tony is hoping to do an apprenticeship in live sound next year.
Guide dog cadetship programme
Guide dog instructors and trainers aren't "born", any more than the guide dogs themselves are. Their skills are highly specialised; it takes four years training to become an instructor and two years for a trainer. And there's only one place in the country where you
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can get experience working with guide dogs and that's Guide Dog Services. The Foundation set up paid cadetships to ensure that, as the number of dogs in training grew, so did the number of New Zealand based trainers and instructors. Guide Dog Services has also provided tuition for a number of developing guide dog schools from other countries including Taiwan, South Korea, Brazil, Australia and Japan. Each of these cadets is either funded by the offshore school that supports them or they are self-funded.
"When cadets first start they get 100 per cent supervision," says Training and Production Manager Scott Bruce. "But that decreases as their skills and confidence increase. This then allows the Guide Dog Services training co-ordinators to work with two cadets at any one time, which increases the numbers of guide dogs that can be trained.
"Additional benefits of the cadetship programme include a broadening of professional experience and ongoing development of new ideas."
An important aspect of the cadetship training is Massey University study, in particular the Post Graduate Diploma in Rehabilitation, which forms part of the four-year guide dog instructor cadetship. Other canine related papers are also provided by Massey and taken during the guide dog trainer cadetship.
Kim Norton is in her third year of instructor training and is based in Palmerston North.
"Having a number of different supervisors over the years is great," says Kim. "There are not set rules because every dog's different and you get different ideas from each person too. It's like gathering a toolbox of ideas and experience so you can make up your own individual box of what works for you."
Kim had a veterinary nursing background and then gained a degree in geography focusing on town planning and environmental management. While she's hoping to use that study to advocate for more accessible public spaces for blind and vision-impaired people, she's always been a ‘dog person'.
"The most rewarding part of my cadetship has been seeing the freedom that a guide dog can give someone," she says.
The offshore and Kiwi cadets work, and sometimes live, side by side. "It's been great to exchange different experiences," says Kim.
Local cadets are guaranteed employment when they graduate. So far, more than 20 New Zealand and offshore cadetships and training sabbaticals have been completed.