Two by Four September 2015
Guide Dog Users of Canada Newsletter, Published Quarterly
Guide Dog Users of Canada
Website:
Email:
Phone/Fax: 1-877-285-9805
Please find complete contact information at the end of this newsletter.
Editor: Bob Berrigan
Assistant editor, past member of GDUC Board: Laurie Scott
Your suggestions or submissions are always appreciated. Contact Two by Four at
In This Issue:
Editor's Notes
President’s Report
Article: The U. K. Experience
In Dog We Trust – E-book
Gone to the Dogs and Loving It – A Collection of Poems
Article: I was blind… now I have bionic eyes
Rate Your GuideDogSchool
Article: Why do Dogs Eat Grass?
In Memoriam: Bizet is at RainbowBridge
Article: Minimally invasive techniques means quick recovery for working dog
Article: World's first tactile tablet is 'iPad for the blind'
Happy Birthday, humans and Guides!
Article: Students design a facial recognition cane for blind people
Some Dog Humour
How to Contact Guide Dog Users of Canada
Editor’s Notes
Welcome to our September 2015 edition of Two by Four! On behalf of the entire GDUC Board of Directors, we hope that all of our members, friends, and volunteers had a long and wonderful summer, and like Humpty Dumpty, will have a great fall to match it.
We’re continuing with a very popular feature in this edition of Two by Four, our list of birthdays of both guides and members. We all love our dogs, and want to congratulate and thank them. Yet we, too, each have a birthday. We don’t need to know the year of your birth, just the month and day! I’ve created a database and will publish a list of birthdays for the upcoming months between issues. This edition will cover September right through to the end of the year. I invite you to also pay attention to the introduction of this month’s birthdays, for it points to an interesting statistical anomaly.
I wish to apologize to our readers. In the June edition, I published the first half of an interview with my guide dog, Gus. I had hoped to have the second half available for this issue, but it seems even dogs choose to have Work to rule campaigns. What’s more, Gus was joined in the interview sessions by another one of our member dogs, Jefferson, who works with our president, Penny Leclair. Jefferson also has a lot to share, it seems, and I’m still working my way through the hours of recorded material these great guides have served up. I’ll be sure to give them plenty of room in our winter holiday edition!
Speaking of winter holidays, I have another question to ask our members. I’d love to publish some creative responses to the following: If your guide dog could sneak out of the house alone to buy you a present, what might it be? What do you think your dog would choose for you? Something exclusively for you, such as a sweater? Or would he be like so many people, buy you something that he or she would get for him or herself?
Please send your contributions to: by December 4 so I may include them in the December edition.
I sincerely hope that you will be in attendance at our 2015 AGM and Conference in Kingston, Ontario, from September 18 through 20. Christine and the AGM committee have put together an amazing event this year, and the board is very excited. If you’re there, drop by the head table and say hello to the board members. I know I’d like to meet as many of you in person as possible, and I’m sure this sentiment is shared by my fellow board members.
Each member is important to this organization. If there is a reason why you joined, then maybe a friend who is a guide dog user may also join GDUC for the same reason you did. Please tell your friends about why you are a member and how they can become a member too.
Refer a friend to:
Please contact the Board members if you are willing to work on any of our committees listed at the end of this newsletter. GDUC can only become more well-known if we all do the work it takes to reach out to others. If you know of guide dog users, please give them the information to join. If you know of a group that would like information about GDUC, or would like to have a speaker come talk about what we do, contact the board at and we will try to arrange for a presentation.
Thank you to all members. Thank you everyone who supports GDUC with your lifetime or annual membership.
Finally, I’d like to thank all the contributors who sent articles, columns, and news releases for this edition of Two by Four. Believe me, I can’t do this job without your support! Thanks to Laurie Scott, Lynn Raloff, Penny Leclair, Alan Conway, and everyone else who helped make this newsletter possible! I appreciate hearing from our readers with your comments and suggestions, so keep them coming.
Please note Previously published articles taken from the web have not been edited and appear as they originally were published online.
Bob Berrigan, Editor.
Guide Dog Users of Canada President’s Report
September 2015
By: Penny Leclair
Guide Dog Users of Canada is growing in membership and is now at ninety members. Our goal is to see one hundred this year, please help us achieve this number by year’s end. Recommend us to a friend who has a guide dog. We need more members to pay the bills.
I invite you to go to our website
Tell us what you think of the hard work your board has done to modernize the site.
And write a blog, or read what is there.
If you have never written a blog before, make our site the place to give it a try. Once you are on our site arrow down to blog and enter. From here you can write a story with write a blog, It is easy just follow the instructions to complete the process.
The story or article you write will be viewed by us and possibly edited, and then posted later. So you will not see your blog right away.
We hope that you will enjoy reading the blogs on this page, and if you like, you can reply to them or write something similar with your own blog.
The quickest way to learn about how to blog is to just go try!
Many of you have given our Secretary, Bob Berrigan, the birth date of your dog and your birthday so that we can recognize everyone’s birthday. It is always good to take a little time to appreciate one another, so by listing birthdays we recognize you and your guide dog.
During the spring and summer we have lost some guides to the rainbow bridge. Some long-time friends have died. We have new guides enter our community as people retire their guide to train with another guide dog.
May we always be here to support each other. This is only possible if we have a strong and growing membership and acquire the funds to exist!
Our AGM promises to be as good, if not better, than in the past.
Twenty-eight members, guests, thirteen volunteers and school representatives will be in Kingston to hold our 16th conference and AGM. We salute and thank all of our sponsors for their generous support.
Penny Leclair
President
Email:
Article: The UK Experience
By Lynn Raloff
Vice president and Wellness Fund Committee Chair
Traveling to the UK has become much easier over the years. IN the 1980s you could not bring your guide at all because of strict quarantine laws.
The UK and other European countries have a pet passport. As long as you follow the rules about bringing your guide into the UK there are no problems. Do keep in mind that these regulations can change and it is very wise to check with the agriculture department of the country you are going about any changes.
I would like to go through the process of bringing your guide overseas. Some of you may find this a little daunting, but to my mind having Martin with me was worth the work!!
First of all you need to make sure your dog has an ISO microchip. Check with your school to find out if that is the type of chip they use.
Secondly, your dog must be vaccinated against Rabies. If you have missed a vaccination your trip will be delayed. In years gone by you had to get a Rabies Titer, however that step and expense has been eliminated.
Third, within 5 days of traveling to the UK your must have you dog treated for tapeworm. This must be done in front of the vet. When the tablets are administered the vet writes down what tablets were given and the type of medication used to kill the tapeworm.
Fourth. Since Canada does not have pet passports you must have your vet fill out an application in order for your guide to go overseas. This document is about 6 pages long and has a great deal of information for your vet to fill out. Be sure your vet signs the appropriate spot on the form. There is a fee associated with filling out this form.
One place to get this form is from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. They are very helpful and are familiar with all the regulations. Furthermore you will need to visit the vet who works with the Canadian Food inspection Agency before going on your trip. This vet certifies that all the information is correct and will sign off the documents. This vet charges a small fee.
Fifth. When you fly overseas you must make sure you are flying with the appropriate air carrier. The list of air carriers are on the agricultural web-site. Remember you must e-mail all these documents to the airline with which you are flying two weeks before you leave.
In addition, you must fly into an airport that has animal reception. When you land you will be met by a vet from animal reception. They will check your documents and check for your dog’s microchip.
Please note that animal reception also needs to have the documents e-mailed two weeks before you leave. Once they receive the package they will send you a letter that states your dog can be imported into their country.
You will get the import document before your guide gets their tapeworm treatment done and before you see the CFIA vet.
I cannot stress it enough that all these steps must be taken in the proper order. If anything is out of order the Animal reception Vet has the right to take your dog.
If you are going to other countries and you need to go back through London Heathrow make sure you are on their system. I had a glitch when leaving Zurich Switzerland. We had to go back to London Heathrow to get to Halifax more directly. London said they did not have me in the system. I was horrified because I sent everything ahead of time. It all worked out, but avoid this by checking with Heathrow.
My advice is that if you do not need to be routed through Heathrow try to go to another airport.
The next thing I want to tell you is about dog food. Martin is on a special diet. I contacted the manufacturer to find out if his food was carried in England or Ireland. They did not have the exact type, but I was able to find food that agreed with him.
I know all this sounds like a lot of work. Once you do it the first time it is not so bad. I was away for three weeks and it was wonderful having Martin with me! This was especially true when Jeff and I got lost in Leeds England and it was Martin who found his way back to the hotel.
Of course I have used a guide for 32 years and I am lost when I do not have my dog with me. Keep in mind that having your guide with you overseas will give you the freedom you enjoy at home.
Happy traveling!!
Lynn and Martin
**End of Article.
In Dog We Trust E-book
Written by GDUC members and volunteers, compiled by Volunteer Paul Bennett of LaBeag Publishing and GDUC President Penny Leclair, this E-book is now for sale online at COBO and Amazon. From Heart-warming to humorous, from thought-provoking to poignant, these stories and essays speak of guide dogs and the people who love them. All proceeds from sales will be donated to GDUC’s Wellness Fund. Click on the below link to purchase In Dog We Trust
Go to published, where you will find the book, with instructions to complete the online process. Accessible Media inc., AMI, is producing an audio version of “In Dog We Trust”, narrated by professionals. This audio book will be available for sale in the near future. Keep checking our website for further developments.
Gone to the Dogs and Loving It - a Collection of Poems
If you are like most of us, your family and friends love dogs. Now you can give them a birthday, Christmas or thank you gift that is unique and will help support Guide Dog Users of Canada. Thanks to Devon Wilkins you can purchase a ten dollar CD or MP3 download called Gone to The Dogs and Loving It. The collection features 27 poems about dogs. Many of the poems were written by Devon Wilkins, (past president of Guide Dog Users of Canada). Several Poems have sound effects or musical backgrounds. Every cent of the ten dollar purchase price will be used to benefit GDUC. You can order CDs or the MP3 download by going to
A work of love by a dedicated member of GDUC - Devon has included "A Guide Dog's Prayer", the poem read at the 2013 AGM which everyone enjoyed so much. Get your copy today!
Article: I was blind… now I have bionic eyes
From the BBC news show, The Human Body”
By Rose Eveleth23 September 2014
What is it like to see again after years of blindness? Rose Eveleth asks a woman whose sight was restored with a remarkable new eye implant.
Fran Fulton is 66, and she’s been fully blind for about 10 years. A few weeks
ago, all that changed.
Fulton suffers from retinitis pigmentosa – a degenerative eye disease that
Slowly causes light-sensitive cells in the retina to die off. Over the course of
Several years she lost her sight, and for the past 10 years she hasn’t been able
To see anything at all. But in late July, Fulton was outfitted with a system
called the Argus II. A pair of camera-equipped glasses are hooked up to
electrodes implanted in her eyeball, which feed her brain visual information.
Using the system, she can now see the world again. What’s the experience like?
“When they ‘turned me on’ so to speak it was absolutely the most
breathtaking experience,” she says. “I was just so overwhelmed and so excited,
my heart started beating so fast I had to put my hand on my chest because I
thought it was going to pop.”
As both cameras and our understanding of the visual system improve, new
techniques to restore sight to the blind are progressing too. Devices like the
Argus II are able to bypass damaged eyes to restore some vision to those who
have lost it. It’s not the same as fully restored vision, and it’s still early
days – there are only six people in the US with the Argus II – but researchers
hope that as they learn more about vision they can help those who’ve lost it get
it back.
An implanted electrode on the retina bypasses the failed parts of the eye
(Second Site)The Argus II system is made up of three parts: a pair of glasses, a
converter box, and an electrode array. The glasses aren’t corrective, they are
simply a vehicle for the camera – and that camera is no more complicated than
the versions found in modern smart phones. The image from the camera is then
transmitted down into a converter box that can be carried in a purse or pocket.
This box sends signals to the electrode array implanted onto the patient’s
retina. Essentially, what the Argus II does is skip over the cells that
retinitis pigmentosa has killed to get visual signals to the brain.
Robert Greenberg, the president and CEO of Second Sight, the company that
developed Argus II, explains that the eye is like a multi-layer cake. On one
layer are the light-sensitive cells, called “rods” and “cones”, that sighted
people rely on to take in light and turn that into visual information. But for
those with retinitis pigmentosa, those cells are dead. “We’re bypassing those
dead cells and going to the next layer of the cake,” Greenberg explains.
This means that Argus II has to convert the information from the camera into
signals that the electrodes implanted in the eye can use, and that the brain can
interpret. Figuring out how to achieve that was the focus of Greenberg’s PhD