Today in Pictures – May 2nd – Bark For Life

On May 2nd, Luke, Hudson, and Murphy attended the Bark for Life fund-raising event in downtown Sunbury, Ohio. Luke said the event was great, Sunbury was great, the people were great … well, you get the picture. He was excited that all three of them got to be part of the event. Here are some pictures.

The American Cancer Society Canine Bark for Life honors the life-long contribution of our Canine Caregivers. It presents an opportunity for people to be empowered through their canine companion partnerships and to contribute to cancer cures through the mission of the American Cancer Society. Canine Caregivers are Canine Companions, Guide Dogs, Service Dogs, Rescue Dogs, Therapy Dogs, Police Dogs, Cancer Survivor Dogs, Diagnostic Dogs, and family dogs, who, with their owners, joined the American Cancer Society as relay teams and participants to celebrate cancer survivorship, to honor people lost to cancer, to raise funds in support of cancer research, education, awareness, patient services, and advocacy, and to help eliminate the suffering that cancer causes worldwide.

Speaking of honoring service dogs, May is National Guide Dog Month. Did you know it takes over two years and $40,000.00 to train one guide dog? A potential guide dog puppy is raised with a trainer for 18-20 months, and then the dog is given to the school for formal guide dog training, which consists of actual guide dog work with a harness. This takes another 4-6 months. Then the dog is matched with a blind person, who is sent to the guide dog facility to learn how to handle the dog, and this training takes 28 days. Guide dogs are given to the blind for free.

The National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU), a division of the National Federation of the Blind, is the oldest and largest organization of the blind in the United States.