National Guide Dog Month is a celebration of the work of guide dogs in the United States as a way to raise awareness, appreciation and support for guide dog schools across the United States. It was established in 2008, as a fundraising drive to benefit non-profit guide dog organizations accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation). [1] It is observed during the month of September.
Guide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green color blind and incapable of interpreting street signs. The human does the directing, based on skills acquired through previous mobility training. The handler might be likened to an aircraft's navigator, who must know how to get from one place to another, and the dog is the pilot, who gets them there safely. In several countries guide dogs, along with most service and hearing dogs, are exempt from regulations against the presence of animals in places such as restaurants and public transportation.
National Guide Dog Month was first inspired by Dick Van Patten, who was impressed by the intelligence and training of guide dogs. During a visit to the campus of the Guide Dogs of the Desert in Palm Springs, California, Van Patten was blindfolded to experience how guide dogs provide assistance and mobility to blind people.
Richard Vincent Van Patten was an American actor, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, whose career spans seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bradford on the ABC television comedy-drama Eight Is Enough.
Palm Springs is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 55 mi (89 km) east of San Bernardino, 107 mi (172 km) east of Los Angeles, 123 mi (198 km) northeast of San Diego, and 268 mi (431 km) west of Phoenix, Arizona. The population was 44,552 as of the 2010 census. Palm Springs covers approximately 94 square miles (240 km2), making it the largest city in Riverside County by land area.
After learning that the costs to raise and train a guide dog exceed $40,000 [2] and can take up to two years, [3] Van Patten was inspired to help raise awareness and money for guide dog schools. [4]
Van Patten served as an honorary Board Member [5] for the Guide Dogs of the Desert. Through his pet food company Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods, he has underwritten all costs for the promotion of National Guide Dog Month to ensure that all money raised would directly benefit non-profit, accredited guide dog schools in the United States.
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods is an American pet food manufacturer with its headquarters located in Burbank, Los Angeles, California. Established in 1989 by actor Dick Van Patten, the company markets itself as "Food For a Lifetime" and promotes itself as having "the finest food you can buy for your pet." A subsidiary of Big Heart Pet Brands, it is currently owned by the J.M. Smucker Company.
In 2008, Van Patten enlisted the support of the Petco Foundation, to organize a fundraising campaign through their retail stores. The San Diego based retailer piloted the first guide dog fundraiser in the Southern California area to benefit the Guide Dogs of the Desert, [6] based in Palm Springs, California. [7] In 2009 National Guide Dog Month was established to benefit the non-profit guide dogs schools accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation.
San Diego is a city in the U.S. state of California on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 120 miles (190 km) south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico. With an estimated population of 1,419,516 as of July 1, 2017, San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. It is part of the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation, the second-largest transborder agglomeration between the U.S. and a bordering country after Detroit–Windsor, with a population of 4,922,723 people. The city is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches, long association with the United States Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center.
In 2009, National Guide Dog Month was established for the month of May, [8] however in 2010, it was moved to September due to conflicts with other national fundraising drives.
In 2011, the non-profit guide dog schools in the United States listed by IGDF were listed as beneficiaries of National Guide Dog Month. 100% proceeds will be donated to the following guide dog training facilities: [9] · Guide Dogs for the Blind · Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind · Guide Dogs of Texas, Inc. · Guide Dogs of the Desert · Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, Inc. · Southeastern Guide Dogs · Leader Dogs for the Blind · The Seeing Eye, Inc. · Freedom Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. · Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Fundraising for National Guide Dog Month is collected from donors and disbursed by the Petco Foundation, [10] a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation (#33-0845930) that supports other IRS (Internal Revenue Service) designated non-profit pet related groups. The Petco Foundation is listed and rated by Charity Navigator. [11]
The use of celebrity spokespersons to attract media interest has helped National Guide Dog Month gain awareness with American consumers. In 2009, while Paula Abdul appeared as a judge on American Idol blind contestant Scott MacIntyre was presented with a guide dog to represent National Guide Dog Month. [12] In 2010, as spokesperson, Nicollette Sheridan helped raise awareness through various interviews [13] and appearances. In 2010, actress Katrina Bowden made promotional appearances in support of National Guide Dog Month. [14] In 2011, spokespersons Omar Miller and Eva LaRue [15] appeared at a graduation ceremony at the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus in San Rafael, California to honor Dr Cecilia von Beroldingen, with the first annual Change A Life Award. Von Beroldingen is a blind scientist who, with her guide dog Neoki, given to her through the program, has been able to continue her work for the California Department of Justice Criminalistics Institute Forensic Training Facility in Sacramento. Miller and La Rue, who portray CSI investigator characters Natalia Boa Vista and Walter Simmons on the television series CSI: Miami presented von Beroldingen with the inaugural National Guide Dog Change A Life Award, to inaugurate National Guide Dog Month in 2011, as a testament to Cecilia's courage and example of how having a guide dog has enabled her to remain independent. [16]
In May 2009, Governors of multiple states issued proclamations in recognition of National Guide Dog Month, including California, Florida, Arizona, Mississippi, Nebraska and Illinois.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, an annual event which predates the official forming of the AKC, the National Dog Show and the AKC National Championship sponsored by Royal Canin, formerly the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. Unlike most other countries' kennels clubs, the AKC is not part of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.
In general, an assistance dog is trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a professional trainer.
Pet adoption is the process of taking responsibility for a pet that a previous owner has abandoned or released to a shelter or rescue organization. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters and rescue groups. Some organizations give adopters ownership of the pet, while others use a guardianship model wherein the organization retains some control over the animal's future use or care.
An animal rescue group or animal rescue organization is dedicated to pet adoption. These groups take unwanted, abandoned, abused, or stray pets and attempt to find suitable homes for them. Many rescue groups are created by and run by volunteers, who take the animals into their homes and care for them — including training, playing, handling medical issues, and solving behavior problems — until a suitable permanent home can be found.
The Canaan Dog, also known as the Bedouin Sheepdog and Palestinian Pariah dog, is a breed of pariah dog, which has been in existence in the Middle East for thousands of years. There are 2,000 to 3,000 Canaan dogs across the world, mostly in Europe and North America.
Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., or simply Petco, is an American pet retailer in the United States, with corporate offices in San Diego and San Antonio. Petco sells pet products and services, as well as certain types of live animals. Petco sells and holds fish, reptiles, small birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, and mice for adoption. Pet services include grooming and dog training. The company also owns the naming rights to the Petco Park baseball stadium, which is home of the San Diego Padres.
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is a British charitable organisation founded in 1934.
The Seeing Eye, Inc. (TSE) is a guide dog school located in Morristown, New Jersey, in the United States. Founded in 1929, the Seeing Eye is the oldest, and one of the largest, of guide dog schools in the U.S. The Seeing Eye campus in Morristown includes administrative offices, dormitory residence for students, a veterinary care center, and kennels; there is also a breeding station in Chester, NJ. The Seeing Eye, a founding member of the U.S. Council of Guide Dog Schools and a fully accredited member of the International Guide Dog Federation, is a lead researcher in canine genetics, breeding, disease control, and behavior.
Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) is a guide dog school located in the United States, with campuses in San Rafael, California, and Boring, Oregon. It was founded in 1942 by Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson to help veterans who had been blinded in World War II. Guide Dogs for the Blind has about 2000 Guide Dog teams across the United States and Canada.
Canine Companions for Independence is a US-based 501(c)(3) (non-profit) organization that trains and provides assistance dogs. As of 2018, it has placed over 6,000 assistance dogs with recipients at no charge.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind is one of eleven accredited schools in the U.S. for training guide dogs — dogs trained to lead the blind and visually impaired. It houses a 10-acre (40,000 m2) headquarters, training center and veterinary clinic in Yorktown Heights, New York, and it also operates a canine development center in Patterson, New York and a training site in White Plains, New York.
Service animals are working animals that have been trained to perform tasks that assist disabled people. Service animals may also be referred to as assistance animals, assist animals, or helper animals depending on the country and the animal's function.
Helen Woodward Animal Center is located on 12 acres in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The Center was established in 1972 as the San Dieguito Animal Care and Education Center with its primary focus on pet adoption and on-site humane education. It was renamed in honor of its founder, Helen Woodward, in 1987. Since its inception, services have grown to include an equine hospital, small animal hospital, boarding facility, Animal-assisted therapy outreach, therapeutic horseback riding for the disabled and AniMeals food for pets of the homebound. Education services have expanded to off-site presentations and outreaches.
Human–canine bonding is the relationship between dogs and humans. This bond can be traced back at least 15,000 to 30,000 years ago to the Bonn-Oberkassel dog that was found buried with two humans. In the United States, over 48% of households have a pet dog. For centuries, dogs have been labeled as "man's best friend," offering companionship and loyalty to their human counterparts. This is evident in most homes where dogs are domesticated. Children and adults have cordial relationships with all kinds of dogs.
The Puppy Up Foundation, companions against cancer studies the links between human and canine cancers using comparative oncology research. The foundation seeks to raise awareness about canine cancer as well as educate, empower, mobilize and promote investment in comparative oncology research.
Petplan Australia is a pet insurance company underwritten by MS Amlin Syndicate 2001 at Lloyd’s (Amlin). Petplan has separately-operated insurance companies in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America and New Zealand. Petplan is among the largest pet insurance companies in Australia.
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