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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-07-14, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2005. Former army man trains dogs in Brussels With friends Martin Piel has begun a dog training school in Brussels. Piel began training dogs with the army while stationed in Germany and once operated a breeding and training kennel there. He and his wife Christina are shown with their two greyhounds, Bobby, left, and George, and German shepherd Dakota. (Bonnie Gropp pnoto) By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor Give them an inch and they’ll lake a metre. Martin Piel of Brussels knows that keeping a dog well-trained depends on its owner. “It’s an on­ going process. We never stop learning, why should a dog. As it is with anything, if you don’t continue to improve a dog’s obedience it will falter.” Piel, who is opening a dog school, comes with an impressive resume. A native of Manchester, England, Piel served 12 years in the army posted in Germany. “I started doing dog sport, which is protection, tracking and obedience with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in 1983." After leaving the army in 1990, Piel stayed in Germany and worked as a army chief dog handler for the garrison. During that time he started his own breeding and training kennels in Germany. He supplied the U.S. Air Force base at Lackland. Texas with their dogs. The German shepherds and hunting breeds, such as Labradors, were used to find explosives and narcotics. Piel’s dogs also went to police departments throughout the States. Having met his wife Christina, who lived in Timmins, Piel came to Canada in 2002. Looking on-line for property “down south” they discovered a “three-bedroom Victorian” in Brussels and bought it sight unseen this year. Realizing quickly, however that the house 'was far too big for the two of them, they have now got their eye on a house just west of the village on Newry Road. The three- acre property is well suited to Piel’s goal of a school and kennel where he can once again begin breeding German shepherds. “My dogs will be quality pups. I will know both of the parents. If they don’t make the grade I won’t breed them.” He is also expecting to do classes at the arena each spring and fall. Training a dog as a pet is no different than training one for the military. “Ninety-nine per cent of the time you have to train the owner, not the dog. People do things that cause a dog’s behaviour and don't realize it.” That is also the reason why the owner must be involved in the training. “The only exception would be if the dog needed to qualify for protection or breeding.” Using positive and negative re­ inforcement, Piel said, any dog can be trained. “You can teach an old dog new tricks, but it might not be to the standard of a young dog, or may take more time.” Optimum time to begin training is at eight weeks of age. Regardless of when it begins, once started the training never ends. “It's about perseverance and patience.” Piel said he has three rules when training: ask the dog, tell him. then show him. Another tip to get the process off to a solid start, said Piel, is to never take a pup away from its mother before the age of eight weeks. “Actually, in Germany it’s illegal to do so. The mother teaches respect and socialization. To take a pup younger than eight weeks, you will have social problems and health problems.”- To re-inforce this, he explains that when disciplining a puppy he “does it the way the mother would,” he said, by grabbing the dog’s muzzle. The important thing is to define the boundaries early. “The dog is a pack animal. They will sense who is in control. It needs to be established that Mr. and Mrs. are Alpha, then the children. He is way down in the pack.” Anyone interested in learning more can contact Piel at 887- 9232. Coalition looks at poverty in Huron County By Jim Brown Citizen staff Poverty is not just a phenomenon of the big cities. It does exist in the small urban centres and in the rural areas of Ontario, including here in Huron County. The Huron County Social Justice Coalition was established in 2003 as a result of service providers finding that many of their clients are facing the same type of problem. Most of these problems are associated with money or a lack of financial resources. According to Lynne Bonnett, the Huron County Social Justice Coalition is a collection of individuals and organizations that meets to contribute to and advocate for equality, fairness and justice for all citizens of Huron County. The social justice coalition has three main goals. The first is to collect local statistical and anecdotal information regarding social justice issues. The second is to provide information to the community and all levels of government regarding social justice issues, and the third is to advocate for change regarding social justice issues. The coalition holds regular meetings, about six or eight a year, is involved in community education and has just concluded,a program of visiting municipal councils to educate the local representatives about the issue of poverty in the county. Just what is poverty? According to the 1998 definition by the Canadian Council on Social Development, to be poor is to be distant from the mainstream of society and to be excluded from the resources, opportunities and sources of subjective and objective well­ being which are readily available to others. Bonnett said that according to fall of 2004 statistics from StatsCanada, there are about 600 families in Huron County, most headed by one parent, who live on social assistance. There are also 300 single people collecting welfare. The people are located all over Huron County, not just in certain areas. Altogether, nearly 1,200 people in the county live at or below the poverty line, which is just over 20 per cent of the population, or about one person in five. “Most people with disabilities, physical and/or mental, in Huron County are poor,” stated Bonnett. “More than half of the people living in poverty in Huron County are children.” “Social assistance is not the poverty line,” she said A single person collecting welfare receives $6,833 a year, while according to the Statistics Canada, the poverty line for a single person is $19,256. An employable person with a disability receives $ 11,763, with the poverty line being $24,069. The poverty line for a single parent with one child is the same, but they receive $13,971 in social assistance. A couple, with two children, receives $18,400 in social assistance, with the poverty line being $36,235. Bonnett indicated that a family of three on Ontario Works receives $1,126 per month. The average rental cost of a two-bedroom apartment is $475 or about 42.2 per cent of the family income. The cost of a nutritious food basket is approximately $376.06 or another 33.4 per cent of the monthly income. This leaves $257.05 to cover utility bills, clothing, transportation, home maintenance and family emergency costs. Food and shelter accounts for over 50 per cent of spending in -low- income families. Bonnett said Ontario Works is designed to get people back to work, while the Ontario Disability Service Program is for people who are permanently disabled. There are a lot of people on social assistance in Huron County, with some only capable of working part- time, even though they have been re­ trained through Ontario Works. There are some who are only on social assistance for a short time before getting back on their feet financially. Others are not as fortunate. ‘There are a lot of people who are just a paycheque away from poverty,” said Bonnett. She indicated there is a more of a stigma to being on social assistance in the rural areas then there is in the big cities. “For one thing, many people know who your parents are or who your children are, in the rural areas,” she said. There are numerous consequences of poverty. These include lower levels of overall health, greater risk of disease and injury, higher levels of mental illness, lower education attainment, shorter life expectancy, greater risk of homelessness and a decreased ability to contribute to the community. There are also social costs connected to poverty. These include an increased pressure on the service systems, i'ncreased health care costs, increase use of emergency services, decreased per capita community resources, lower quality of life for citizens and rural out-migration. One would be asking, why is poverty worse in the rural communities? There are several factors, including fewer economic opportunities such as jobs, less infrastructure such as transportation, fewer social supports and services, income supports based on urban models, costs of rural living especially rental housing and discrimination due to visibility. The coalition has two main items on its wish list. One is that Huron County becomes its partner in the fight against poverty and the second is that the lives of people in poverty be improved through increased awareness and improved supports. “It is important to provide this information to the local politicians,” said Bonnett. When the previous Conservative government, under Mike Harris, came to power, the premier set up Fraud Squads to find all the people who were abusing the welfare system. Bonnet said that what they found LAWN QUESTIONS? Organic Programs 4 Available ACCREDITED 524-2424 -Trust the Professionals - was that there was an infinitesimally small number of people actually abusing the system. “There was not that big of a percentage, especially when considering all the monitoring that is involved in the program,” she said. It is also important to present this information for the provincial government. To that end, advocates throughout the province are planning for a We’ll Walk and Ride for Dignity rally at Queens’ Park in Toronto on Sept. 29. Anyone wishing to get involved can contact Bonnett at 519-524- 4406. Those interested in belonging to the social justice coalition can give Bonnett a call at the same number. Graduation Tania Lynn Pletch has graduated from the Law and Security Administration Program at Fanshawe College. We are so proud of you! Love, Dad, Mom, Michelle, Jarret, Andy and her precious girl Makayla.