The Innisfail Lions Club agreed to donate $3,000 towards a guide dog training program that helps improve the lives of people with a variety of disabilities.
The funding will be matched by an anonymous donor who has agreed to contribute up to $75,000.
"Our aim as Lions is to help people go out in the world and coexist with everyone," said Marvin Latimer, a member of the local club who serves as chairman of speech and hearing initiatives for the 68 Lions clubs in the province's northeastern district. "We work on different programs so that they can make money themselves and feed their families."
The national Lions have been training "canine vision" dogs since 1985 in Canada. The 1,900 canines who have gone through the program now include "hearing ear" dogs for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, "autism assistance" dogs who provide children and their families living with autism spectrum disorder a sense of calming relief during stressful situations, "special skills" dogs to help people with a medical or physical disability retrieve objects or open and close appliances and doors, and "seizure response" dogs that activate an alert system or bark for help in the event of a seizure.
"They started out with sight and then they've expanded into other areas," Latimer said. "The dogs are trained to take them on the street or right through towns."
In 2011 just two "canine vision" dogs were matched with Alberta residents, while three were sent to help families dealing with autism, one was put into service to protect someone with epilepsy, two were dispatched to help people who are hard of hearing. Currently nine people in the province are in line for guide dogs, two for "seizure response" dogs, five for "autism assistance" dogs and two for "hearing ear" dogs.
Latimer and his wife toured the Lions' National Training School in Oakville in 2010, where the new handlers get to know their new guides over a period of two to four weeks.
The Lions Club places a big emphasis on supporting people with disabilities, particularly people with sight problems
Latimer stresses the funding will go to help people regardless of whether they are a Lions member or not.
"Anything we raise is for the general public," he said. "It's open to anyone."
A Sundre resident received a Lions guide dog from a similar American training facility, while fifteen years ago an Innisfail resident was paired with a guide dog from Southern Ontario.
The Innisfail Lions Club voted unanimously Dec. 12 to approve the funding.
"Our aim as Lions is to help people go out in the world and coexist with everyone."Marvin Latimer, Innisfail Lions Club
