WOW! Three bucks for a carrot!
I was heading over to visit my father when I decided to take a few minutes to stretch my legs on the Old Quarry Trail. Before going to look for deer or turkeys to photograph, I stopped to talk to Catherine and her helper dog Lincoln. Of course, Lincoln and I got along very well once I started scratching his neck (after asking the owner’s permission first).
Helper dogs such as Lincoln are trained to assist their handlers to do many tasks that others might take for granted such as picking up items off of the floor, pushing buttons at crosswalks or door bells or even providing assistance to get off of one’s knees. Many assistance dogs are used in the CNIB Guide Dog Program to provide assistance to the visually impaired while others are trained to give assistance to those who are not visually impaired. Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers are the most common breeds of dogs in the assistance programs in part because of their gentle dispositions.I’m sure that Lincoln would have been happy to have his neck scratched all day but once he was back in his harness again, he was a working dog again. No time for petting and scratching then.
I headed off into the woods to see what I might find. Today was a good day. Not only were there a few does around but also three bucks.
I checked my pockets. Only one carrot. Hence, the reason for the title to this blog :-).
With that little bit of humor out of the way, I continue my tale. A half dozen does came out onto the trail first while the larger of the bucks lingered back in the woods. One was less photogenic and showed me only his tail!
Thus endeth today’s enlightening tale :-).
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The CNIB does not train or provide guide dogs to the visually impaired. This is a common misconception. The CNIB provides other valuable services, but guide dogs are not one of them (they say this at the bottom of the link you provided).
There are two major guide dog organizations in Canada, one being Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind (indicated on Lincoln’s harness in the picture above), which is located in Manotick; the other being Dog Guides of Canada in Oakville. Just thought I’d share that information.
Great photos!
Thanks for adding that information.