The Douglas College Newsletter

 

February 1998

@ New Westminster Campus, David Lam Campus & Thomas Haney Centre

IN

Douglas College

 

Towser PADS into College hearts

It’s official: the David Lam
Campus has fallen in love
with Towser, a special canine
now “attending college” in
Coquitlam. As part of the
Pacific Assistance Dogs
Society (PADS) training
program, the pure-bred
Golden Retriever is

 

“studying” with Disabled
Student Services Facilitator
Lynne Currie.

“We are getting lots of
attention and visitors, even
though he’s here learning to
work,” Currie says with a
laugh. “Luckily, it’s a good

lesson for Towser and the
public to learn about what it
means to be an assistance
dog.”

PADS, a non-profit
organization established in
1987, promotes the use of
specially trained dogs to help
people with disabilities live a
fuller, more independent life.
While most people are aware
of guide dogs for the blind,
many don’t realize that dogs
can also help people with
other disabilities perform
tasks such as housework,
shopping or just getting
around.

Eight months of intensive
training ensure that “Service
dogs” are able to help people
with physical disabilities turn
switches off and on, push
elevator buttons, open fridge
doors, get dressed and pick up
small items. “Social dogs” are
trained to provide love and
companionship for
individuals who are
convalescing, autistic or
developmentally delayed.
“Hearing, dogs” help the deaf
and hearing impaired by
alerting them to sounds of a

baby crying, a fire alarm,
even telephones and door

bells.

But before they are trained in
their speciality area, PADs
dogs need volunteers like
Currie to help them get
socialized and learn basic
commands. Since the end of
November, she has taken him
on the 701 Maple Ridge bus
to work with her every day
(Towser has his own special
pass from BC Transit). At the
office, he relaxes under her
desk, follows her around
campus and learns to pay
attention to her activities.
This semester, she’s even
taking him to the New
Westminster Campus for Bob
Logelin’s class in Facilitated
Employment and
Independent Living.

“ll keep him until he’s 15
months old, which is in
January of next year. The
main—and most challenging—
point of this stage is constant
attention training. Assistance
dogs must learn to stay
focused on their handler
despite distractions, and
Towser’s progressing faster
with this because I bring him
to work.”

Currie reports that an
invaluable offshoot of the
experience is greater personal
awareness of access issues for
people with disabilities. “It’s
directly related to the work I
do at the College, and to my
volunteer work with the
Maple Ridge Municipal
Advisory Committee on
Accessibility Issues.
Thankfully, I have the office
space and flexibility to have
Towser here with me full-
time, and my co-workers
have been great about it.”

And while it will be hard to
give him up at the end of the
training process, Currie says
she’s ready to see him
graduate into a mature
assistance dog. “People ask
me how I can do this, and I
tell them that in fact it’s
Towser who’s loaning me
this wonderful opportunity.”

Assistance dogs have also been
trained on-site at institutions
such as SFU, the BC Cancer
Agency, BCIT and BC Tel. If
you or anyone you know can be
a volunteer puppy trainer,
contact PADS at 527-0556 or
check out their website at http:/
/www.wzone.com/showcase/

pads.

 

Institutional Self-Study enters new phase

Check your mailboxes: The
1997 Institutional Self-Study
Report is here and ready to
read.

Thanks to the applause-
worthy efforts of the Steering
Committee (Wilma
McCrossan, Chair) and its
many working groups,
College-wide findings have
been consolidated for review
and discussion. For
McCrossan, the report
(entitled Reality Check: To
What Extent is Douglas College
a Learning: and Learning-

Centred Organization?)
reflects a fresh and inclusive
approach in a time of
accelerating organizational
change.

“The self-study has been a
fascinating process which has
encouraged some frank
discussion, and this document
reflects that. The report is
meant to be reader-centred, to
fit with our ever-evolving
commitment to learn, share,
use knowledge to change
policies and practices, and
move forward to meet the

needs of our diverse
community.”

Reality Check is being widely
distributed internally—if you
haven’t received your copy in
the next few days, call Bob
Cowin in Institutional
Research at 527-5348. Please
take the time to read this
thoughtful and thought-
provoking document, to
prepare for the self-study’s
external stage set for the end
of this month.

Dr. Rachel Donovan, Vice
President of Instruction at the
College of New Caledonia,
will chair an external team
arriving on Tuesday,
February 24. The team will
meet with various employees
to ensure that the findings of
the Steering Committee and
working groups accurately
reflect the College, and to
generally discuss how
recommendations might best
be applied.

At 1pm on Friday, February
27, the external team will give

an oral report of its findings
in Room 1606, NWC (with a
video link to Room B-1350,
DLC). Everyone is welcome
to attend.

“Please join me in welcoming
Rachel and her team for this
crucial next phase of the self-
study,” adds President Susan
Witter. “I encourage each of
you to continue with the
spirit of openness and
enthusiasm that has marked
the process so far—your
contributions will be in
excellent hands.”

 

Quote of the Month

Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.

Japanese proverb