A year and a half ago they weren't even housebroken but today they play an integral role in helping their visually impaired owners navigate their own homes.
Twenty five dogs graduated from the Canadian National Institute For The Blind’s (CNIB) guide dog program on Friday afternoon. Ceremonies were held in Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, St. John’s and Vancouver.
The dogs undergo intensive training before being paired and housed with a visually impaired owner.
“I’ve always wanted a dog,” seven-year-old Mason Christiaens, of London Ont., said “I’m so thankful to CNIB for pairing me with my dog Queenie. She’s not only a dog, she’s part of the family.”
Mason was the youngest two-legged graduate at the ceremony. At just 17 months old, Carla the golden retriever is the youngest guide dog to graduate. Her owner Diane Bergeron said that’s no coincidence.
“I’ve had guide dogs for close to 40 years,” Bergeron, who has retinal deterioration, said “I train them all to find the buttons on the crossing light poles. A lot of them lean on the pole, or look at the button but he first time I asked Carla to find the button she spun around, jumped and found it right away.”
CNIB’s dogs fall under three categories. Guide dogs help people who are blind or visually impaired navigate their homes as well as obstacles in public.
Buddy dogs are assigned to children who are likely to need guide dogs later in life, while ambassador dogs promote CNIB at public events and help raise awareness.
Today more than 1.5 million Canadians, including 680,000 people in Ontario, live with sight loss.
