Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > In the News - Pet related articles and stories in the press > Newspaper Articles of Interest (animal/pet related) from Around the World

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old July 20th, 2003, 06:44 AM
petnews's Avatar
petnews petnews is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 220
Pilot program trains poodles as guide dogs

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Poodles may soon be leading the blind.

Although Labrador retrievers and German shepherds have long served as guide dogs, the poodle has a distinct advantage over those breeds - it is considered hypoallergenic.

The visually disabled who are allergic to other dogs may be able to use the curly-haired standard poodle, which stands at least 15 inches high at the shoulder.

That's why Guide Dogs of America, a Sylmar-based nonprofit organization that trains and provides guide dogs, launched a pilot program Friday. The organization gave five 8-week-old standard poodles to volunteers who will train the dogs in basic obedience.

In roughly two years, the dogs will undergo formal training, learning how to move people safely from one place to another, officials said. The organization then will match the dogs with visually impaired owners.

It costs about $38,000 to raise and train a dog but the organization provides them free to legally blind men and women in the United States and Canada.

Sharon Majewski and her husband, David, raised the pilot program poodles at their home in Vancouver, Wash. She said the animals have ideal temperaments for guide dogs.

"They love people and they really like to perform for you," she said. "They like to show off how smart they are, and how well they can teach you stuff."
Attached Images
 
__________________
Our stories derive from various news sources through press releases and from various pet-related sources. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them here.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:41 AM.