Assistance dogs are ready to show off their skills

In celebration of International Assistance Dog Week from August 1 to August 7, the South African Guide-Dogs Association will be hosting their Pup Games.

The SA Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind trains association dogs with the necessary skills to aid people who are visually impaired, physically disabled and children on the autism spectrum.
With the week falling in the same week as the Olympic Games taking place in Tokyo, the association would post a series of videos showcasing the skills the guide dogs learn in an engaging way. Some of these skills include swimming, obedience and obstacles.

Event manager at the association, Jackie Quail said the week’s showcases was scheduled to begin from August 2 at 10:00 on the association’s Facebook page.

She said the game is a demonstration of the hard work and training the dogs go through in order to become assistance dogs. “It is often asked if assistance dogs are allowed to have fun and the answer is a big ‘Yes’. Assistance dogs need to be focused while working with their owners, but when the harness or jacket is off, they are adorable goofballs like any other pet.
“Assistance dogs have the added bonus of being able to spend all of their time with their owners, a luxury that most pets don’t have.”

She added that donations are still needed in order to continue training the dogs to help individuals with disabilities as it costs R100 000 in excess to train one assistance dog.
“Assistance dogs are vital in the association’s mission to positively change the lives of many South Africans living with a disability. There are many ways to donate to the association such as, signing up for monthly debit orders or purchasing raffle tickets and merchandise.”

Details: Jackie Quail JackieQ@guidedog.org.za; www.guidedog.org.za