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Dog Guide awareness walk expands in Ponoka

Ponoka’s second annual Purina Walk for Dog Guides is being held in Centennial Park on May 25, beginning at 10 a.m.

Who let the dogs out?

Ponoka’s second annual Purina Walk for Dog Guides is being held in Centennial Park on May 25, beginning at 10 a.m.

The walk is put on across Canada each year by the Lions Foundation of Canada and Dog Guides Canada.

Members of the Ponoka Lions Club are inviting residents of Ponoka and their furry friends to come out for the event, make some new friends and raise the funds needed to train the country’s population of dog guides.

“Mostly it’s just to get people aware that it’s out there,” said Dixie Tyndall, chairperson of the walk and Lions Club member.

“We have a couple Lions guide dogs coming to the walk,” she added, referring to the seeing-eye dog and seizure response dog that will be attending the event. The owners can then answer any questions other walkers may have about the process of gaining a dog.

In Canada, the waitlist for a guide dog can span several months and the cost of training is $25,000 per animal. “These dogs go out to Canadians at no cost to the people,” said Tyndall.

It is events like the walks that pay for the training process. “We set a goal of $5,000 for our walk,” said Tyndall.

Canadians employ six different kinds of guide dogs: seeing eye, hearing, service dogs, seizure response, autism assistance, and diabetic alert guide dogs is the newest branch. “The dogs alert them (type 1 diabetics) to when their blood sugar drops to dangerous levels,” said Tyndall.