Pet owners proudly capture and share pictures of their special companions doing a variety of cute and fun things on a routine basis.
On Saturday, March 16, pet owners are encouraged to add to their collection of memories by taking their pet to Touch Animal Rehabilitation on Front Street, North Bay for a pet photo shoot with the Easter Bunny.
Not only is this a fun event, but the $15 minimum donation will go directly into support of the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides program.
“The cost to raise, train, and place a Dog Guide is $35,000. That includes the expense of food and vet bills,” explained Melanie Pigeau of the Widdifield Lions Club, the service club that runs the event.
Dog Guides are highly trained animals working in a specialized area whether it be hearing, seizure response, service, autism assistance, diabetes alert, facility support, or canine vision.
“First they go to a foster home where they live a normal puppy life, but they do go out in public more than most dogs, because they need to get familiar with buses, and malls and being around lots of people,” said Pigeau.
Once the dogs are successfully trained, they are then matched with an individual living with a disability, wanting to live a more independent life.
Some of those matches have been made with North Bay residents.
“We have several Dog Guides in the area, for the hearing impaired, the visually impaired, as well as autism assistance,” shared Pigeau.
Their human partner also must invest time in the training to secure a good match.
“Once they find the dog and their job, then they get paired with a match for someone who is looking for a dog guide and they train specifically together to make sure they are compatible. So, the graduate will go to Oakville and train with the dog guide at the facility,” stated Pigeau.
“Sometimes the matches don’t work out and they wait for another dog that would be a match. But most of the time they’re paired together, they learn to work together.”
Some breeds have proven to fill the job requirements better than others.
“Usually your labs are the most popular; yellow labs, black labs and you will see the odd chocolate.”
On March 16, pet owners can add to the fun by dressing their pets up in Easter attire to bring the cute factor up a notch.
“And we’ll have bunny ears for the pets or if the pet is afraid of the bunny, we have an option where we don’t have to have the bunny in the photo,” shared Pigeau.
“We see dogs, and we do see some cats. We also had a bunny come once and that was kind of cute,” Pigeau chuckled.
The photo shoot is the kickoff to a three-pronged fundraiser held locally for the Dog Guides program.
The next fundraising event is the Dog Guide Walk which always takes place on the first Sunday of June, this year falling on June 2.
A dog wash is scheduled for the following day.
“I try to do as many events as possible to raise the most amount of funds possible because these dogs are expensive and the more money that comes in, the more Dog Guides that go out to people in need,” said Pigeau who is also the Dog Walk for Dog Guides chair.
“Last year we brought in $16,000. I always like to push myself, so the goal is $18,000 this year. The more money we bring in, I notice more Dog Guides come to the area.”
Pigeau is currently booking time slots for the photo shoot, but drop-ins are also welcome.
“The booked times will obviously be the priority. In the times in between sessions, we will be allowing walk-ins.”
Pictures will be taken in 15-minute intervals.
“It sounds like it is not enough time, but usually it doesn’t take longer than five or 10 minutes to get a really good picture,” Pigeau noted.
Pet owners are also welcome to be in the photo.
“We’ve had people bring kids to get their pictures taken with the bunny, so we’re pretty flexible on that.”
Know your pets’ limits around other people and animals before signing up.
“If someone says they have a dog that is sensitive around other dogs, we will book accordingly at the end of our day or the beginning of our day. So, we are flexible in that sense as well.”
The goal at the end of the day is to raise as much funds as possible for the Dog Guide program.
Cash or e-transfer are accepted methods of payment.
