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Guide Dog Users of Canada is establishing a network of Care Officers across Canada to offer a sympathetic and understanding ear to any guide dog handler wishing to talk about issues such as retirement, illness, death, and any other emoational topics we face as handlers.

While general program statistics (number of conversations, general topics discussed) may be reported to the organization’s executive for assessment purposes, conversations with a GDUC Care Officer are strictly confidential, and nobody other than the Care Officer will know about the conversation.

Would you like to speak with someone?

If you are a guide dog handler who has recently acquired a new dog and are having difficulties with the bonding process, are facing the retirement, illness, or death of your current guide dog, or are experiencing a particularly difficult time with your guide, speaking with a GDUC Care Officer may help you navigate the turbulent emotional waters. To arrange a confidential conversation with one of our Care Officers please Email Tami Grenon or Email Melanie Moore.

Rationale

Veterinarians, family members, friends, and even, to some degree, guide dog schools, do not, and cannot, understand the special bond that handlers share with their guide dogs, to the same extent as someone who has lived and worked with a guide dog. Our guide dogs are not merely “pets,” and having come to rely so heavily on our dogs for our safety and well-being while we are travelling, the illness or loss of a guide can be especially traumatic.

Qualifications of GDUC Care Officers

A GDUC Care Officer must be someone who is willing to listen and talk to anyone facing emotionally-charged issues relating to their guide, whether that be illness, retirement, death, or the formation of a bond with a new guide dog (especially while going through the grieving process for a reveered old guide dog). GDUC Care Officers must have the time, interpersonal and communication skills, and experience and understanding of being a guide dog user in order to be effective in this role.

In keeping with our commitment to continue to improve our efforts to provide our members with bilingual services, it is important that at least one of our Care Officers be someone who is bilingual.

Persons being considered for such positions must respect the confidential nature of the discussions held with guide dog users, particularly in cases of difficult financial or legal circumstances, and may, from time to time, have to seek advice either from the GDUC Executive and/or from the training school of the guide dog handler.

To Become a GDUC Care Officer

If you are an active member of Guide Dog Users of Canada in good standing, and are interested in becoming a GDUC Care Officer, please Email Tami Grenon (Chair Person of GDUC’s Care Officer Committee) for more information.