Happy Howlaween!

Now I know this annual celebration/spectacle is not as popular in Australia as it is here in North America, but it makes a good ‘doggy’ reference title like the one above. You should see to what lengths they get up to here. Costumes, lollies, decorations and pumpkins galore. It got me thinking about how we would like to spend a Howlaween when we get back to Oz at some stage.

Well as it would be the last day of Dogtober, Roxy and I should do something that would help raise awareness about Assistance Dogs, and help our neighbours and community members understand the importance of these special canines. So I instead going ‘trick or treating’, we would go knocking on everyone’s door a go ‘sit and speaking’! We could educate the community on what the dogs do for us, like pick up things and open doors. We would be able to show them a few of those tricks as well. It would be a great opportunity to explain how much money it costs to train and place an Assistance Dog, over $20,000 by the way, and that we rely solely on donations, fundraising and bequests. Instead of giving us candy (and chocolate isn’t good for dogs remember), people might like to take more information, go to our website and possibly make a donation or sponsor a puppy! That would be a great way to spend a Howlaween and celebrate the last evening of Dogtober.

How can you help Assistance Dogs this last weekend? Get out there on the streets and raise some dead …. I mean funds and awareness!!!!

Howl you all doin?

Hope everyone is having a wonderful time enjoying Dogtober and keeping busy in with events and fundraisers to help Assistance Dogs Australia.

This weekend we all went down to Niagara to see the famous world wonder, Niagara Falls! Now Roxy loves water. I will never forget the first time we took her to a friend’s place and let her off her leash for a bit of a run around the front yard after a long drive. The second she spotted the pond complete with fountain, she was off and dived straight into it doing laps around it like Thorpie! So suffice to say I made sure that her leash was tightly secured to my wheelchair as we ventured towards the thunderous rapids flowing over the Niagara cliffs.

There were crowds a plenty who were taking photo after photo of the falls, but amazingly Roxy was also a sightseeing wonder and we had many tourists asking to take her photo too. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to explain what she does for me and where she comes from. People are always amazed at the many different things she can do and I always laugh when I tell them that “she can also answer the phone and speak like Scooby Doo!” Their eyes light up in amazement until they realise what I just said. It’s great to be able to spread the news around the world about the wonderful job that Assistance Dogs Australia do for people with a disability.

After seeing the falls from above we decided to see it from water level on the Maid Of The Mist Boat. This was where Roxy was really in her element as she loved the spray of water coming up into the boat. Check out a couple of the photos on the Facebook page to see her adventure to the falls. It is fantastic that experiences like this allow service dog’s to accompany their handler. The Niagara Council have many signs up saying that assistance animals are permitted. There are still many places around the world that are not yet educated about the rights of people with disabilities and the laws governing animals assisting people in public places. But in general, we very rarely have a hard time.

Over here in Toronto, everyone is getting ready for Halloween…. or should I say Howlaween. We are going to go shopping for a costume for Roxy so make sure you check back on the blog next week to see what we come up with. In the meantime continue your good work in raising awareness and funds for Assistance Dogs Australia, we appreciate every little thing you do!

Tim & Roxy

Hello everyone and Happy Dogtober. I’m very excited to be back this year helping Assistance Dogs Australia celebrate Dogtober and to not only raise awareness about this wonderful charity but to also inspire you to help raise funds so that Assistance Dogs can continue to provide the community with such an incredible service. And by service I mean, the companionship and amazing physical tasks that these four-legged friends can provide for people with disabilities.

For those of you who are new to Assistance Dogs and this wonderful celebratory month, my amazing dog is named Roxy. She will actually celebrate 5th birthday on October 3rd, so my wife and I are busy organising her party … er pawty, complete with pupcakes from an amazing shop down the road. She has already been in to choose the one that she would like as you can see from the picture.

I am a quadriplegic with limited arm movement and no hand or finger function. So as you can imagine, just everyday tasks are sometimes impossible for me to complete myself. Every day I am faced with these physical challenges and you may think to yourself how hard that must be. But I can tell you now, that this wonderful friend that is constantly by my side is always willing and ready to assist me with any of them and together we forge a path of independence. In fact you have probably never seen anyone so happy at the moment one shuts a door. Obviously I cannot hold on to a door handle and shut the door by myself, but one of our favourite moments in the day is when I give Roxy the command to “tug” on the rope and pull it shut for me. She does so with such excitement and gusto that it nearly comes off its hinges and she loves the sound of it banging shut, knowing that she has done the job well. I sit there with a big grin on my face laughing about her energy and she wags her tail and looks up at me as if to ask “did I do a good job”. “Of, course you did Rox. Good Girl!”

Enjoy the month ahead and I look forward to sharing our stories with you. Make sure you take advantage of a wonderful tips and hints on how you can celebrate Dogtober by holding events and raising funds, which you can find on this website and on Facebook.

Paws Sincerely

Tim and Roxy