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05-30-2007, 03:54 PM | #1 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wellman, Texas (Lubbock)
Posts: 156
| [News] It's a dog's life There was a lot of friendly play and sniffing among the participants last Saturday of the sixth Annual Walk-a-Thon organized by the Dorval Main Streets Business Community and the City of Dorval. That’s because the walkers were dogs and their human companions, about 30 in number, who came prepared with water bottles and toys, leashes and fancy collars, name tags, fancy tu-tus and even the latest craze — dog strollers! “They’re a little smaller than baby strollers,” said Dorval resident Barbara Cusiano, pushing her pair of English Toy Spaniels who were comfortably esconsced in the cushiony interior of the pram. Darting their heads out when they heard the word “cookie” they posed for pictures. The stroller was a life-saver for Lindy — a one-year-old Yorkshire Terrier who broke her leg when she fell off a couch while playing with some other dogs. Her owner, Pierrefonds resident Linda Riccio, said that it was a good thing they were at the event that day. “She needs to be blessed,” Riccio said. For the second year in a row, Father John Walsh blessed the animals before they started off on their walk to raise funds for the Fondation Foyer Dorval — a seniors’ residence — and for the West Island Palliative Care Residence. According to the palliative care residence’s event planner, Andrea Gordon, a total of $2,000 was raised. “Some of the dogs had two walkers,” she said, which accounted for the higher number of humans than dogs participating in the event. The West Island Palliative Care Centre has seen its share of dogs in its rooms belonging to terminally ill patients, and animals are being used more and more with seniors in their residences, Cusiano said. So perhaps it’s part of a divine plan that one-year-old Carly Bonbon seems destined for a career in zootherapy. “Carly is being evaluated next week to see if she’s a good candidate for pet therapy. She’ll be going into hospitals,” said Cusiano of the youngest of her Toy Spaniels. During his blessing, Father John Walsh said animals have a tremendous power to raise the spirits of despondent people in hospitals, nursing homes and people who live alone. “They are a gift to elderly people. They are somebody to talk to and to listen to. Animals make them happier in their lives. They make us realize that as we get older, we have a friend that has cared about you throughout our life. They teach us to be faithful to one another. They teach us to share, to live together, to enjoy life,” Walsh said. After the blessing, Walsh said in an interview that he does not have a pet. “I never had a dog. I always lived in a house where we couldn’t have any,” he said. “But I do have a picture of an uncle (of my grandfather) who raised greyhounds in Ireland. He raised them for racing.” But Walsh said if he were to have a dog, he would want a big shepherd or an Irish terrier. A brief demonstration in obedience training was given by Sharon Gibbons, who teaches at the Lakeshore Dog Training Academy. She trained 11-year-old Alex — a star pupil and an Australian Shepherd. Gibbons used hand movements to have Alex walk and turn beside her, instruct him to lie down as she walked away from him, sit, stay seated at a distance from her and then come to her only when she called. “Basic obedience is the key to having well-mannered dogs largely because it creates a common language and mutual understanding between dog and owner. And these are essential for the happy companionable co-existence between people and dogs,” Gibbons said. ”Why do I care?” she said. “Because life without dogs is less than life with dogs. OK, maybe not a dog in every house, but at least one on every street. And I want those dogs to have a good life.” original article Emily Fuller, 9, and Rocky, 5 1/2 months, share a quiet moment after being blessed by Father John Walsh Saturday morning at St. Charles Park in Dorval.
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