Opal the dog

Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries

Quoting The Chronicle-Herald:

When Helen McFadyen got her first Seeing Eye dog a few years ago, she realized quickly there was a need in Halifax for places to exercise the animals. Her five-year-old black Lab, Opal, is extremely well trained and disciplined, but like other dogs she needs a chance to run free, play and sniff around a bit. ”That’s a huge thing, that part of a dog’s life,” Ms. McFadyen, 53, said Monday. “They need the downtime because working dogs, especially guide dogs, have a pretty stressful job. ”They have to do stuff that’s opposed to their natural instinct.” So as the chairwoman of Halifax’s advisory committee for people with disabilities, she started to push three years ago for an enclosed place where people could take their working dogs without worrying about them running away or getting into trouble. ”I thought, wouldn’t it be great if there was a place where I could go and my guide dog could run freely,” she said. Now there is . . . Ms. McFadyen, a divinity student at the Atlantic School of Theology, lives in residence. ”If I were to let Opal off leash, she’d probably decide she wants to go swimming in the Northwest Arm,” she said. “And I don’t think I want her smelling like that.” She said the park cost about $25,000 to build and caused some envy among other dog owners in the city who have been lobbying for off-leash areas. She said she has no problem sharing the space with non-working dogs, as long as they’re behaving. ”There are people who have really wacko dogs out there,” she said. “My dog’s been attacked. We’ve been jumped on by pet dogs.”

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Read the rest of Jeffrey Simpson’s great article

Then…

Read all about Canada’s first Service Dogpark

Read all about Opal-the-dog

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries, Campaign Watch

The Globe and Mail:

Opal is trained to work with the unflappable calm you expect from a Seeing Eye dog. Conditioned to ignore distractions, the black lab is usually the epitome of propriety as she guides Helen McFadyen around Halifax.

But while extensive training has taught Opal to suppress her instincts, she still has all the energy of a five-year-old dog and Ms. McFadyen says she’ll run “like a freight train” when given the chance.

“There’s the assumption that these dogs are regimented little machines,” Ms. McFadyen said. “But they’re still dogs. They need downtime. They need play.”

Until this summer, though, when Halifax opened what is believed to be the country’s first dog run specifically designed for service animals, letting Opal play the way she wanted was too big a risk for Ms. McFadyen. She worried about letting her trusted companion out of reach, and the only way to allow Opal to get real exercise, she said, was to stand in an open space with a long leash and let the dog do laps around her.

“She would run in circles,” Ms. McFadyen said. “It gives an opportunity to run very hard but not what you’d call free running.”

Now, thanks to her lobbying efforts, the dog can run free. The downtown spot set aside for service animals is not big, and it is bounded by several major roads. But it is fenced and double-gated, secure enough that Ms. McFadyen is comfortable letting Opal off leash to work out her excess energy.

Ms. McFadyen, a master of divinity student at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, is chair of the municipal government’s advisory committee on persons with disabilities, which comprises councillors and members of the public.

Blair Blakeney, capital projects parks co-ordinator for the Halifax Regional Municipality, said the city already owned the land when the request came in from the advisory committee, making it a relatively easy idea to pursue.

“This is not a dog park; it’s an area we set aside especially for people with service dogs,” he said. “They deserve something unique.”

The idea is unique not only in the region but apparently in the country as well.

John Rafferty, CEO of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, said that he is not aware of a similar project elsewhere in Canada.

“I think it’s a great step,” he said. “It’s certainly a fantastic commitment by the city of Halifax.”

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Read the rest of Oliver Moore’s great article >>

then…

Read all about Canada’s first Service Dogpark

Read all about Opal-the-dog

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries, Irked Audio

Check out these two awesome radio rants that were recorded in 2008, when Helen McFadyen visited The Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians’ radio program “An Eye on the North”:

Click here to meet Helen on Irked

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries, Campaign Watch, Irked Videos

Interesting developments…after the jump!

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries, Campaign Watch

Helen McFadyen—who is chair of the Halifax Regional Municipality’s Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities, a board member of Guide Dog Users of Canada, a member of the blind caucus of equualaccess.org, past president of the Halifax Chapter of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians, and a much-cherished Irked contributor—recently forwarded us the following advance news release:

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries

Great shot of Helen & Opal. Photo credit: Cyndi Burns

Guide dogs receive extensive training that includes many aspects and exposure to many situations. Ideally, these dogs are raised with people who consistently expose them to “stuff” as pups: all types of walking surfaces (such as gravel, pavement, grates, escalators, wood, grass…), all kinds of noises (example: traffic, bangs, shouting, music, clapping, machines…), all kinds of people Click to continue »

Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries, Irked Videos

It’s a slow day for advice. Apparently all is well with the world. I know it is in mine. Why, you ask? I have shelter, food, water, reasonable health…and a Guide dog. Life for a person who is blind can go lots of different directions. Sometimes the challenge of vision loss can really bum a person out. My life took a huge upbeat when my Guide dog, Opal, came into my life. Sure, you’ve all seen guide dogs at work, but have you ever stopped to think how incredibly awesome they truly are? Here’s what’s going on when YOU see a guide dog team at work:

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries, Bum Deal 

The Unbearable Heaviness of Being…Poor

by Helen McFadyen

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries

It’s All About The Dog

by Helen McFadyen

Yesterday, I was trying to get into my cab at the local Sobey’s grocery store when a man called out, “Excuse me…” I thought I was blocking his path Click to continue »