HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-08-10, Page 19Wednesday, August 10, 2016 • News Record 19
Dog therapy in Huron County dwindling
Shaun Gregory
Postmedia Network
Many elderly facilities in the
world use canines as a form of
therapy. It's a rewarding experi-
ence for the older community.
Howbeit, the organization that
operates the program, has
become aware of Huron Coun-
ty's decline in volunteers com-
pared to the neighboring
districts.
St. John Ambulance falls
under the umbrella of sponsor-
ing the totally volunteer run
program that started in 1992 in
Peterborough, Ont. Now
throughout the province about
3,000 handlers apply their ser-
vices to thousands of seniors
each year.
The general manager at the
Seaforth Manor Retirement
Living and Long Term Care,
Cathy Stewart, along with sev-
eral residents, enjoy a visit from
time -to -time from the Austral-
ian Shepherd who goes by the
name Buffy.
"We get a specific time and
she wanders around the home
and if you want to visit with her,
you can. If you don't want to,
that's okay to," stated Stewart,
mentioning the dog has visited
the establishment well past 200
times.
Londesborough News
Brenda Radford
Special to the News Record
Regular readers of this space
will remember I inquired about
the swallow structure just south
of the bridge at the south edge
of Londesborough some weeks
ago. Last week we found out
that it was placed in advance of
repair work on the bridge as
Owen King Contractors of
Walkerton arrived in the village
with their equipment, and on
Friday the traffic lights to con-
trol the flow of traffic over the
bridge were set up.
I spoke with one of the crew
and learned that repair work on
the arches supporting the
bridge was set to get started.
That work will take from two to
three months so, you will want
to allow a little extra time leav-
ing the village.
Recently I remarked about
the yellow weed which seems
to be everywhere this summer.
However I am enjoying the
Chicory with its purple flowers
and the Queen's Anne Lace that
are quite abundant along our
roadsides this year.
Villagers have been receiving
their fair share of sad news in
recent weeks. Some of the
health issues maybe attributed
to the hot and humid weather
we've been experiencing oflate.
Gordon Shobbrook is out and
about again after nearly a week
in hospital getting attention to
his heart.
Tom Pollard and former vil-
lage resident, Mervin Durnin,
also both suffered from heart
problems recently but are
reportedly on the mend.
Condolences from villagers
are extended to Bert and Linda
Renkema, also former area resi-
dents now living in Clinton, on
the tragic death of their
daughter, Brenda, and one of
her sons in a traffic accident a
couple of weeks ago in the
Kingston area.
Then this past week we
learned that Bob Hillis who
lived on a farm just east of the
village passed away suddenly as
a result of a fall. To date I have
heard nothing about a service
for Bob. Sympathy is extended
to his surviving sons, Allan and
Aaron.
Sunday services have resumed
at Londesborough United.
The greatest song writing
team of all time, Rogers and
Hammerstein, did have a flop
back in 1926. Their musical pro-
duction, "Betsy'; barely lasted a
month. Many people probably
never heard of the show.
However, a song from that
show composed by Irving Ber-
lin does live on and has made
millions of people smile since
then. "Blue Skies" became a
number one hit on the popular
music charts in the late 1920's,
was featured in the first talking
motion picture, "The Jazz
Singer'; and was the basis of a
1946 film with Bing Crosby and
Fred Astaire. "Blue Skies" has
been recorded hundreds of
times and Willie Nelson had a
number one hit with it as well.
A line in the song goes,
`Bluebirds singing a song, noth-
ing but bluebirds all day long."
The bluebird is a symbol of
happiness to many Native
American groups. Seeing a
bluebird is considered a sign
thatyour troubles are over
Trulyablue sky day lifts one's
mood compared to a grey sky
day. Try to use a 'blue sky' smile
to lift the spirits of those around
you every day.
We have been having our
share of sunny skies but some
rain would be most welcome...
"Dogs are very calming pets;
pets in general are very calming
and because we don't have
pets, it's huge'
Apart from handlers being
allowed to offer services, Stew-
art indicated families who have
loved ones who live there are
also encouraged to bring pets
for avisit As long as the pets are
well behaved and all the vac-
cines are taking care of, they can
make an appearance.
With the healing furry
friends, if the proper protocol is
not followed, they will be dis-
continued of their duties.
According to St. John Ambu-
lance, therapy dogs must be
accepting of a friendly unfamil-
iar person, sit composed for
petting, walk on a loose -fitting
harness, wallc through a crowd
(including wheelchairs and
walkers), by command sit and
remain in position and have no
aggression to other dogs.
Kaye Parker, the coordinator
responsible for the coverage of
Grey -Bruce and Huron County,
said between the two counties,
most of the dogs are usually
easy-going, the more important
predicament at hand is finding
people to signup.
Grey -Bruce has about 55
unpaid assistants, which signifi-
cantly out figures Huron
County, which is currently at a
low of approximately eight
volunteers.
"Huron County at one time
had a very large Therapy Dog
Program. I'm not sure why, but
it just deteriorated," Parker said
in atelephone interviewAugust
3.
A large draw in Huron
County was the Blue Water
Youth Centre that housed max-
imum-security
aximum-security offenders; nev-
ertheless those undertakings
were axed when the place
closed its doors permanently in
2012.
Parker said Grey -Bruce pres-
ently travels to secondary
schools during exam time as
well as frequent visits to Geor-
gian College. In doing so, she
said this is a popular undertak-
ing which
ndertakingwhich may play a role in the
number of volunteers who join.
"It's a wonderful program;
let's face it, some of the
home's (occupants) don't
see the outside much,"
explained Parker.
"We go in and visit with a
team and they love to see the
dogs, they bring them a lot of
comfort. It helps bring back
happy memories for them."
For more information on
how to become a Dog Ther-
apy handler, go to sja.ca
all" 'till'
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