24th April International Guide Dog Day

   

 

Dogs are a man’s best friend because of their loyalty and dedication, but assistant dogs take this to a whole new level. International Guide Dog Day is celebrated on the last Wednesday in April each year. It marks the establishment of the International Federation of Guide Dog Associations on 26th April 1989. International Guide Dog Day is an opportunity to celebrate the work of guide dogs around the world and raise awareness of the importance of guide dog services to help people who are blind or have low vision live life on their terms.

International Assistance Dog Day is on the 4th August. Assistance dogs help people with disabilities or illnesses to navigate through life. They help where they can and perform simple tasks like guiding their owner’s path, helping fetch an item, and lots of other activities. 

Here in Australia we also celebrate Hearing Assistance Dogs on 19th April, because on this day in 1982 Amber, the first Hearing Assistance Dog went to help a deaf recipient in South Australia. Since then more than 700 dogs have been trained to help individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Any of these dogs are amazing and should be recognised for all that they do. Reading about dogs that work as assistant dogs is something some of my students have really taken a likening to. They bring a book back and then say are there any more like this?

In the library look for:

• Looking Out for Sarah  by Glenna Lang

•  Gus the Guide Dog  by Gina Dawson

• I Love Vincent  by Laura Ljungkvist

The Little Paws series  by Jess Black 

• Welcome Home Harley

• Meg's Big Mystery

• Ringo's Road Trip

•  Goldie Makes the Grade 

• Training a Guide Dog by Wendy Macdonald

These books are about assistance dogs:

• Rescue and Jessica  by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes

• Tuesday Tucks Me In by Luis Carlos Montalvan  

• Mogie by Kathi Appelt

• Madeline Finn and the Therapy Dog by Lisa Papp

• Hello Goodbye Dog  by Maria Gianferrari