Last Meeting
On Saturday, October 18th, sixteen people gathered at the Canadian
Guide Dogs for the Blind in Manotick, a school, which was founded
1984 to provide professionally trained Guide Dogs to visually
impaired and blind Canadians. It is a fully accredited member
of the International Federation of Guide Dog Schools and has no
connection with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind
(CNIB). The facility at Manotick is the National Training Centre
and was opened in 1988. The day was sunny but brisk. Our guide
was Pat Drennan. We first toured the dog kennels where the dogs
are kept 2 or 3 to a section. The breeds are usually Golden Retrievers
and Labrador Retrievers, but Standard Poodles and German Shepherds
are used occasionally. We were told that the dogs are ones, which
had been brought up as puppies with puppy sitters at their own
homes. Purina donates the dog food and any health issues are paid
for by the institute.
After 18 months, the dogs are taken to the Guide Dog facility
to be trained as guide dogs for blind people. They first have
to be separated from their dog sitters which is quite an emotional
time and a special "crying" room is provided for their
departure. Once the dogs are placed into the kennels, they go
through six months of rigorous training. A washing room with a
bathtub is there to keep the dogs clean and a health center is
adjacent to that to keep watch on the health and weight of the
dogs. Once the training program has ended, the dogs are matched
on a personal base with potential clients and rooms for 8 clients
and dogs are located on the premises. These are used for 28 days
at a time. A lounge is provided for the clients. The "crying"
room is again used where the puppy walkers meet the clients who
have been successfully paired with the dogs, to say farewell to
the animals. A short video presentation was given at the end of
the tour. A fully trained guide dog is worth $35,000 however,
is provided to visually impaired and blind Canadians at a token
cost of $1. In appreciation, a donation of $50.00 was made by
the region, to the Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Next on the agenda was a tour of Watson's Mill and the Dickinson
House in Manotick. Both historic sites were most interesting and
are owned and operated by the RVCA (Rideau Valley Conservation
Authority). Watson's Mill was originally built in 1860 by Moss
Kent Dickenson and his partner Joseph Currier, thus it is older
than Canada itself. It was Dickenson who named the village Manotick,
an Ojibwa Indian word meaning "island in the river".
The site was originally known as Long Island Mills and later as
Manotick Mills, but since 1946 it has been known as Watson's Mill,
following its purchase by Harry Watson. Dickenson operated the
mill until it was sold to Aleck Spratt in 1929. The Dickenson
House across the street from the mill was also bought by Spratt.
His wife Evelyn was a school teacher in Manotick. Aleck Spratt
died six years later but the mill remained under Spratt ownership
until it was purchased by Harry Watson.
On completion of the tours, we headed into Osgoode to the home
of Ernie and May MacKenzie where a short meeting followed and
of course a potluck dinner and socializing with which we always
end our tour days. We want to thank the Mackenzies not only for
the use of their home but for arranging all of our fine day's
touring events.
Activities - Rideau Valley:
November 16th: Annual Election Meeting at the home of Jim and
Ann Hall followed by a Potluck Supper, see details in Next Meeting
below.
December 13th: Annual Christmas Party, see details below.
Activities - National:
November 8th: National Executive meeting hosted by Niagara Region.
December 7th : Flea Market at the International Centre, Malton,
hosted by the York Region.
Activities - Local:
November 15th: AACO Dinner at the Nepean Sportsplex.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Rideau Valley Region will be our Annual
Election Meeting at the home of Jim and Ann Hall, 21 Rue Glenwood
in Aylmer, ('phone 819-685-1397) on Sunday, November 16th, starting
at 14:00 hrs. As in past years, Marilyn Henderson will call for
candidates to stand for executive positions for 2009, and will
again chair the election portion of the meeting. Give it some
thought, bring your ideas to the meeting, make some suggestions
and be prepared to offer your services to your Region and stand
for office. As always, following the meeting portion of the afternoon
and after the dust from the election has settled, there will be
a potluck supper and a time of fellowship.
If anyone needs directions: - Immediately after crossing the
Champlain Bridge turn left on the arrow - you will be on Lucerne
Blvd. Continue on this road until you come to the second set of
Traffic Lights - Fraser Rd. Turn right and continue on Fraser
until you come to the Stop sign -Glenwood. Turn Left on Glenwood
to # 21.
Note: Don't forget to bring/mail your membership renewals for
2009 to Blair Prior.
Christmas Party
Our annual Christmas Party will be hosted by Gary and Muriel Donnelly,
and will be held on Saturday, December 13th, at the Rideau Family
Restaurant, near Kemptville. The restaurant is located on county
road #44, (old highway 16), on the right-hand side of the curve
just before the bridge over the Rideau River as you head towards
Kemptville (just past the cut-off to Burritts Rapids and Merrickville).
Festivities will begin at 2:30pm, with plenty of time for socializing,
for the auction and for the exchange of gifts (a $10.00 value)
before supper. As per our custom, ladies bring gifts for ladies
and gents bring gifts for gents. Please ensure that gifts are
available for your invited guests. Should you wish to donate a
Door Prize, this would be appreciated. Above all, don't forget
items for the auction. Supper will be at about 5:00pm or so and
will be your choice of Prime Rib of Beef at $26.95 or Turkey at
$18.95, each with all the trimmings. Gratuities will be extra.
The Telephone Committee will be in touch for a head count and
to get your choice of meal. Hope to see you there.
The Last Word -- An Aesop Fable Updated
One day a farmer's donkey fell into a well. The animal cried piteously
for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally,
he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered
up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He
Bruce Pettinger, Editor, 8 Woodlawn Ave, OTTAWA, ON K1S 2S9
Phone: (613) 234-4266: E-mail: PettingerB@DFO-MPO.GC.CA
R. E. (Ted) Fiander, Regional Reporter, 3 Leeward Street, NEPEAN,
ON K2E 5W4
Phone: (613) 226-5308 : E-mail: tedabel@magma.ca
