The Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation’s Ride for Independence
is this weekend, July 20th in Bloomfield CT.
This is another very worthy charity event that the NLMC is participating in, donating to and volunteering for.
Here is a little background on their organization: Fidelco is a not-for-profit organization that relies on
donations. 98% of each donation goes “To The Dogs”. There are less than 50
staff members and what they do with these limited resources is nothing short of
amazing. They got their start as the pet project of Charlie and Robbie Kaman,
founders of Kaman Helicopters, back in 1960. What they do is breed and train
German Shepherds to serve as guide dogs for the visually impaired, search and
rescue dogs, and cadaver and bomb sniffing dogs.
They place about 100 dogs a year, which means they need to
breed 200 dogs a year, because even with selective breeding, not every pup has
what it takes. And of the 100 that are placed, not every match works out in the
long run. The pups that are selected are placed with foster families until they
reach an age where they can be trained. The training starts gradually to get
the dog accustomed to this change in lifestyle. Eventually they reach the point
where the training takes up the majority of their time and becomes their whole
life.
Much of the volunteers’ time is taken up
in preparing food for the dogs. No commercial brand kibble here. They probably
eat better than you do and each dog’s dinner is separately prepared for the
needs of that dog.
When placing a dog with an individual the trainer will stay
at a nearby hotel with the dog and increasingly work with the individual until
both the dog and the individual are working together as a unit. As you can
imagine this takes a considerable amount of time and expense, but the results
speak for themselves.
Follow up visits are routinely made to ensure that the fit
is good, provide any additional training and to make sure the dog is being
treated well.
A lot of demand has been generated through the conflicts in
Iraq and Afghanistan for injured veterans for whom there is no charge. Fidelco serves
first responders and civilians as well at no charge.
Members of the New London Motorcycle Club have volunteered to stage the
motorcycles coming in for the ride. Volunteers have been requested to arrive at
Fidelco by 8:30 AM. If any members are interested in volunteering to help on site
that morning please call Steve Natale at (203) 641-1677 for more info.
It’s not too late to register for the ride. Anyone that has not preregistered
for the event and is interested in going can see the Treasurer, Paul Neves
or
myself
at Thursday’s business meeting or at the meet-up spots listed below with
payment. Please be sure to arrive earlier than the posted A.O.B. so we can
leave on time.
TWO
MEET-UP SPOTS
Dunkin Donuts, Rt. 32, Uncasville A.O.B. 8:30 AM
SHARP! Please try to be a little early as we will be stopping in
Glastonbury to meet up with other riders.
Glastonbury Home Depot parking lot. A.O.B.
9:30 AM. Again, please arrive a little early so we can depart on time.
This will get us to Fidelco before the police dog show and early enough to
still lend a hand if you’re interested.
Hope to see everyone there
Thanks
Rich Jones
