- 注册
- 2002-10-07
- 消息
- 402,179
- 荣誉分数
- 76
- 声望点数
- 0
Penny Bowden woke up one morning when she was 43 and realized she could no longer see.
“It’s quite frightening when you’ve had your sight your whole life,” said Bowden, who lives in Ottawa.
Bowden, now 52, was diagnosed with Stargardt’s retinal dystrophy, which rapidly progressed. She became legally blind in both eyes within a year. Bowden said there is no cure or treatment for Stargardt’s, a disorder that causes progressive damage to the centre of the eye’s retina.
“Having your sight your whole life and being involved with sports and typical things that a lot of people take for granted, you don’t take for granted anymore.”
But Bowden’s life changed for the better when she met Astro, her guide dog. She was matched in 2016 with Astro, a golden labrador retriever, by the Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind and began training at its national training centre in Ottawa.
The Canadian Guide Dogs’ training centre is one of more than 150 places participating in Doors Open Ottawa this weekend. The centre is open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is located at 4120 Rideau Valley Dr. in Manotick.
“It’s about the people, it’s about changing somebody’s life,” said Steve Doucette, events and guide coordinator with the organization.
“You get people who have lost their sight and they go through a grieving process. It may be at the point where they’re not very mobile or independent. (Having a guide dog gives) them their independence back.”
The national training centre breeds its own dogs, which are usually labrador retrievers as they are good work dogs, Doucette said. The dogs are first socialized by what the centre calls “puppy raisers,” who volunteer to raise a guide dog for the first 12-18 months of its life, until it is ready to enter the training program.
“It’s six months of formal guide dog training with a guide dog mobility instructor, so it’s a two-year process in full,” Doucette said.
“When we have a perfect dog selected especially for them we will pay for them to come to Ottawa,” Doucette said, “We accepted people from across Canada.”
Steve Doucette brings Mia through some steps at the Canadian Guide Dogs centre in Ottawa, May 31, 2017.
The dogs train with their new owners, as well as the instructor — and when the work day is over, the dogs get to play.
Those who would like a guide dog must first apply and be eligible to enter the training program. Once they have been accepted, the centre pays for their stay at the facility for a four-week training program. The trainees eat, sleep and live in the facility, and there is a dog bed in each room.
Training a guide dog can cost up to $40,000 per dog.
“There’s no government funding for guide dogs,” Doucette said.
“While Doors Open Ottawa is free, it allows us to get into people’s minds and introduce our organization so when they do consider a regular or annual contribution to charity, they will hopefully keep us in mind.”
Clients often say their guide dog has saved their life figuratively and literally — figuratively in the sense that the client may have had depression or felt like they lost their independence. Having a guide dog gives them a piece of their life back, Doucette said.
“In the literal sense, one of the things we train guide dogs to do is to disobey in only one circumstance,” Doucette said. “And that’s crossing the road or getting into a traffic situation.”
A person still has to decide when it’s safe to cross the road but if they make an error in judgement, the dog will block the owner’s path and not allow them to proceed, Doucette said.
Bowden said she could not picture her life without Astro.
Paramedic Headquarters
Claire Harten knows paramedics don’t just pick people up and bring them to the hospital.
“I like showcasing all the equipment that we have, because it helps to show what our scope of practice is,” said Harten, who has been a paramedic for five years.
“People don’t realize what our medical skill set is and what we can do to stabilize people on scene and how much we can do for patients before they get to the hospital.”
The Ottawa Paramedics Service Headquarters is inviting the public to peak inside its facilities at 2465 Don Reid Dr. on Sunday only for Doors Open Ottawa from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“This building belongs to the citizens of Ottawa and it’s something they can be proud of,” said Marc-Antoine Deschamps, the public information superintendent.
“There’s a lot of passionate people working here. They get to share their passion and (the citizens) get to see where all the magic happens.”
Marc Antoine Deschamps, a supervisor with the Ottawa Paramedic Service, walks between vehicles at their headquarters on Don Reid Dr., which will be open to the public for Doors Open Ottawa.
At a recent visit, rows of ambulances were parked in the headquarter’s massive emergency vehicle garage. Fresh off the assembly line, they appeared to be clean, and prepped with medication and equipment.
Ambulances carry medication for most emergency situations, from minor allergic reactions to cardiac arrest, said Deschamps.
There are also specialty vehicles for different emergency situations, such as the ambulance ATV, which can be seen on the Rideau Canal in the winter.
“They can also be deployed for an emergency where someone gets stuck way down in a trail and it’s time-sensitive to get them out,” Deschamps said.
The headquarters even has a bus that has been converted into an ambulance.
“It’s called a treatment and rehab unit,” Deschamps said. “We can treat three patients on stretcher and several others in the back.”
Five other spots to check out
Click here to see a full list of participating buildings.
oblackmore@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/olivia_blckmr
查看原文...
“It’s quite frightening when you’ve had your sight your whole life,” said Bowden, who lives in Ottawa.
Bowden, now 52, was diagnosed with Stargardt’s retinal dystrophy, which rapidly progressed. She became legally blind in both eyes within a year. Bowden said there is no cure or treatment for Stargardt’s, a disorder that causes progressive damage to the centre of the eye’s retina.
“Having your sight your whole life and being involved with sports and typical things that a lot of people take for granted, you don’t take for granted anymore.”
But Bowden’s life changed for the better when she met Astro, her guide dog. She was matched in 2016 with Astro, a golden labrador retriever, by the Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind and began training at its national training centre in Ottawa.
The Canadian Guide Dogs’ training centre is one of more than 150 places participating in Doors Open Ottawa this weekend. The centre is open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is located at 4120 Rideau Valley Dr. in Manotick.
“It’s about the people, it’s about changing somebody’s life,” said Steve Doucette, events and guide coordinator with the organization.
“You get people who have lost their sight and they go through a grieving process. It may be at the point where they’re not very mobile or independent. (Having a guide dog gives) them their independence back.”
The national training centre breeds its own dogs, which are usually labrador retrievers as they are good work dogs, Doucette said. The dogs are first socialized by what the centre calls “puppy raisers,” who volunteer to raise a guide dog for the first 12-18 months of its life, until it is ready to enter the training program.
“It’s six months of formal guide dog training with a guide dog mobility instructor, so it’s a two-year process in full,” Doucette said.
“When we have a perfect dog selected especially for them we will pay for them to come to Ottawa,” Doucette said, “We accepted people from across Canada.”
Steve Doucette brings Mia through some steps at the Canadian Guide Dogs centre in Ottawa, May 31, 2017.
The dogs train with their new owners, as well as the instructor — and when the work day is over, the dogs get to play.
Those who would like a guide dog must first apply and be eligible to enter the training program. Once they have been accepted, the centre pays for their stay at the facility for a four-week training program. The trainees eat, sleep and live in the facility, and there is a dog bed in each room.
Training a guide dog can cost up to $40,000 per dog.
“There’s no government funding for guide dogs,” Doucette said.
“While Doors Open Ottawa is free, it allows us to get into people’s minds and introduce our organization so when they do consider a regular or annual contribution to charity, they will hopefully keep us in mind.”
Clients often say their guide dog has saved their life figuratively and literally — figuratively in the sense that the client may have had depression or felt like they lost their independence. Having a guide dog gives them a piece of their life back, Doucette said.
“In the literal sense, one of the things we train guide dogs to do is to disobey in only one circumstance,” Doucette said. “And that’s crossing the road or getting into a traffic situation.”
A person still has to decide when it’s safe to cross the road but if they make an error in judgement, the dog will block the owner’s path and not allow them to proceed, Doucette said.
Bowden said she could not picture her life without Astro.
Paramedic Headquarters
Claire Harten knows paramedics don’t just pick people up and bring them to the hospital.
“I like showcasing all the equipment that we have, because it helps to show what our scope of practice is,” said Harten, who has been a paramedic for five years.
“People don’t realize what our medical skill set is and what we can do to stabilize people on scene and how much we can do for patients before they get to the hospital.”
The Ottawa Paramedics Service Headquarters is inviting the public to peak inside its facilities at 2465 Don Reid Dr. on Sunday only for Doors Open Ottawa from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“This building belongs to the citizens of Ottawa and it’s something they can be proud of,” said Marc-Antoine Deschamps, the public information superintendent.
“There’s a lot of passionate people working here. They get to share their passion and (the citizens) get to see where all the magic happens.”
Marc Antoine Deschamps, a supervisor with the Ottawa Paramedic Service, walks between vehicles at their headquarters on Don Reid Dr., which will be open to the public for Doors Open Ottawa.
At a recent visit, rows of ambulances were parked in the headquarter’s massive emergency vehicle garage. Fresh off the assembly line, they appeared to be clean, and prepped with medication and equipment.
Ambulances carry medication for most emergency situations, from minor allergic reactions to cardiac arrest, said Deschamps.
There are also specialty vehicles for different emergency situations, such as the ambulance ATV, which can be seen on the Rideau Canal in the winter.
“They can also be deployed for an emergency where someone gets stuck way down in a trail and it’s time-sensitive to get them out,” Deschamps said.
The headquarters even has a bus that has been converted into an ambulance.
“It’s called a treatment and rehab unit,” Deschamps said. “We can treat three patients on stretcher and several others in the back.”
Five other spots to check out
- Canada Council Art Bank: What is an art bank, you ask? This is where corporations, government and museums rent contemporary Canadian art for their spaces. The bank has one of the largest collections of Canadian contemporary art with more than 17,000 pieces. Open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 921 St. Laurent Blvd.
- Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute: A tour of Le Cordon Bleu Paris will take you back to 1847 with its beautiful castle-like architecture. Visit la salle Cointreau, a ballroom where food demonstrations take place (it’s also one of the favourite rooms of the group’s sales and marketing manager Bernhard Huber). Open Sunday only from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 453 Laurier Ave. E.
- Lemieux Island Water Purification Plant: The purification plant spot — an eerie, retro building from 1932 — is perfect for urban explorers and photographers. Open Saturday/Sunday at 1 River St. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (last tour starts at 3:15 p.m.). French tours are available at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
- Bank of Canada: A tour through Canada’s bank is billed as one of the highlights of this year’s Doors Open event. Walk through the Wellington Street Lobby, which is used a ceremonial entrance for special guests, and visit the Knowledge Centre, which is the bank’s modern library. Open Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (no photography) at 234 Wellington St.
- Bridgehead Roastery: A tour for coffee lovers or those just interested in finding out where Bridgehead roasts its fair trade coffee for all of its 20 Ottawa locations. The building dates back to the 1920s and used to be a carriage stable. The main level will be accessible to the public on Saturday/Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 130 Anderson St.
Click here to see a full list of participating buildings.
oblackmore@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/olivia_blckmr
查看原文...
