[nagdu] Guide dog school that offers guide dogs to children between the ages of 11 & 17 years old.

[Deanna Lewis]

What do you all think about this...
Deanna and Pascal



MIRA - The only organization in the United States dedicated to providing
guide dogs to blind children and youth between the ages of 11-17.

MIRA: from the Spanish "look", "to have one's sights set on", was the
nickname of a favorite guide dog trained by Eric St. Pierre, founder of MIRA
Canada. MIRA Foundation USA takes its name from its collaboration with MIRA
Canada, a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 upon the belief that all
individuals, regardless of their physical challenges, should be able to set
their sights on the same goals as those people born without handicaps.

Today, MIRA Canada is recognized as a global leader in the breeding,
selection, and training of guide and service dogs. MIRA USA was created in

2008 as a legally separate entity, but with close ties to MIRA Canada, where
our dogs are currently trained.

Our mission is to offer blind children in the United States between the ages
of 11-17 the opportunity to receive guide dogs free of charge, to provide
targeted educational outreach to promote public awareness, and, as we
continue to grow, to offer support services to the adult population of blind
and their families.

It is our experience that blind children, for the most part, are highly
adaptive, fiercely determined, and seek to have many of the same
opportunities as their sighted peers. Although a cane provides an adequate
degree of mobility for the blind and severely visually impaired, there
remain some serious limitations. For example, it is impossible to navigate
with a cane when there is no tactical information such as what is provided
by sidewalks. A child living in a rural area is severely challenged by this
restriction.

Furthermore, a cane tends to be isolating, whereas a dog provides a social
bridge to the sighted community. Not only are dogs social creatures, they
also provide stability and a level of protection through their visual
awareness training that a cane could never replicate.

Finally, a guide dog provides a young blind person with a greater level of
self-reliance at an early age. Although a very young student is not going to
be out on the streets alone with their dog, having the ability to navigate
without holding a parent's hand is crucial to developing maturity and
confidence. The student's freedom and mobility are especially enhanced in
the school environment with the assistance of a guide dog. Although there is
no cure for blindness, there can be hope, and we at MIRA witness it every
day through the service of a MIRA guide dog.

http://www.mirausa.org/