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

[Sarah]

Oh wow! This is very interesting.

Sarah and Wizard

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Deanna Lewis <DLewis at clovernook.org
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,	the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users(nagdu at nfbnet.org)" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 31 May 2013 12:04:45 +0000
Subject: [nagdu] Guide dog school that offers guide dogs to 
children betweenthe ages of 11 & 17 years old.

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/


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