Latest news with #GuideDog
Cision Canada
30-04-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
CNIB and Hydro One partner to enhance guide dog safety training infrastructure
TORONTO, April 30, 2025 /CNW/ - CNIB and Hydro One Inc. (Hydro One) announced today a three-year partnership to enhance safety training infrastructure at the CNIB Guide Dogs Canine Campus in Carleton Place, Ontario. The partnership will focus on three components of the training program: The Indoor City Simulation where guide dogs are trained in a controlled, real-world environment to safely navigate intersections, public transit, and other urban spaces. Expanded safety training features including tactile paving, pedestrian crosswalks, and obstacle navigation to prepare dogs and handlers for real-world mobility challenges. Measurable safety outcomes to further demonstrate how every client and guide dog placed in the program has undergone comprehensive training in high-risk environments. "At CNIB, we believe that safety and independence go hand in hand," said Angela Bonfanti, President & CEO of CNIB. "Hydro One's generous support ensures that Canadians who are blind, Deafblind or low vision can confidently navigate their communities with the assistance of our highly trained guide dogs. Together, we are breaking down barriers and creating a safer, more inclusive world." "Safety is a core value and at the heart of everything we do at Hydro One and also guides how we give back to the communities where we live, work and play," said David Lebeter, President and CEO, Hydro One. "This three-year partnership with the CNIB will enhance safety training and help build a caring connection between people who are blind and their guide dogs." People with sight loss often say having a guide dog is a transformational experience. Being part of a guide dog team provides mobility, safety and confidence, leading to increased independence and a sense of connection with the world. CNIB Guide Dogs has raised, trained, and matched more than 100 guide dog teams across Canada since the program's inception in 2017. With applicants waiting on average three to four years to be matched with a CNIB Guide Dog, partnerships like this are crucial in ensuring every individual who needs a guide dog has access to one. For more information about CNIB Guide Dogs and how you can support the program, visit
Time Out
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Meet adorable dogs at this poppy pup-up in Sydney city
Dog lovers, this one's for you! On International Guide Dog Day (this Wednesday, April 30), Martin Place will become a puppy paradise. Guide Dogs NSW/ACT is marking the date with a free puppy pop-up, and it's shaping up to be a tail-wagging treat. If you head over to Martin Place, you'll be able to meet adorable Guide Dog puppies, watch live training demos, and chat with the Guide Dogs team as well as with members of the low vision and blind community about life with a working dog (in case you've ever considered becoming a puppy trainer?). Make sure you 'paws' to meet Gulliver, the much-loved 4.3 metre-tall Labrador mascot, who'll be spreading awareness throughout the day. The activities begin in the morning at 7:30am, and run through until 2pm. Session times include: Puppies in Raising Class: 7.30–9.30am Older Dogs: 9.30–11.30am Young Puppies Play: 12–2pm This event comes during Guide Dogs NSW/ACT's recently launched campaign – their Access Means Business initiative, which aims to help Sydney restaurants, cafés and bars become more accessible to people with low vision or blindness by providing a handy toolkit for hospitality businesses to use. Shockingly, people with low vision or blindness are still refused entry into venues due to having a Guide Dog in tow. Find out more about that campaign and resources over here. That campaign was launched earlier this year at Newtown's Tokyo Lamington – a trailblazing venue that has been leading the charge in terms of accessibility measures for people with low vision or blindness. This week's Martin Place event will now see the launch a related campaign, 'Is Inclusion on Your Menu?', which is all about highlighting the legal access rights of Guide Dog users, as well as continuing to encourage hospitality venues across NSW and ACT to become more inclusive. So, whether you simply adore dogs, want to support people with low vision or blindness, want to know more about Guide Dogs, or are simply looking for a feel-good way to spend your lunch break, don't miss this free pop-up over at Martin Place, Sydney, from 7am to 2pm on Wednesday, 30 April 2025. While the booking is still highly recommended.
