Seniors’ club learns more about guide dogs
The East Rand Seniors’ Club welcomed the South African Guide Dog Association (SAGDA) to their meeting at the Boksburg Central Methodist Church hall on August 17.
Pieter van Niekerk, head of public relations at the SAGDA and puppy raisers Jan de Wall and Sabra Fisher were present with their furry-kids.
Pieter introduced his nine-year-old golden retriever guide dog, O’Reilly. Jan and Sabra showed what raising puppies for the association is all about, with guide dogs Sellick and Sanjo.
Pieter explained that The Gladys Evans Training Centre provides training for service dogs, guide dogs and autism support dogs.
A service dog is a type of assistance dog specifically trained to help people who have disabilities, such as hearing impairments, mental illnesses (such as post-traumatic stress disorder), seizure disorder, mobility impairment and diabetes. These dogs are trained to retrieve, fetch, open and ‘speak’.
Guide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles freely and to cross the road safely.
Autism support dogs assist children living with a developmental disorder such as autism.
Jan spoke about the SAGDA’s breeding process and said that all puppies are produced from specially selected stock, very often from dogs already bred by the association.
At the meeting, the East Rand Seniors’ Club collected R1 105 for SAGDA.
The East Rand Seniors’ Club history
The East Rand Seniors’ Club is a non-profit organisation which has been in existence for about 20 years.
The members are mostly from Boksburg but if you are living elsewhere on the East Rand and don’t have a problem travelling to the Boksburg Central Methodist Church every third Thursday of the month, you are welcome to join.
Contact Barbara Morrison on 011 896 2548 for more information.
