Guide-dog Pup Games puts Olympics in the shade

The South African Guide-Dogs Association is celebrating International Assistance Dog Week, held in the first week of August, with the Pup Games, a virtual event.

Themed liked the Olympics, the Pup Games is a chance for the guide-dog trainees to show off their capabilities.

From Monday August 2 to Saturday August 7, at 10am, the public can use Facebook to watch short daily highlights of the dogs participating in a range of events, including obedience, obstacles, swimming and recall. A litter of five puppies will participate in the “future athletes” event, and the week will end with a closing ceremony.

A production company filmed the event when it was held at the association’s Johannesburg branch in May. Staff and trainee guide dogs from the Claremont branch were there to represent the Mother City.

Guide-dogs event coordinator Jackie Quail said the association wanted to show that training a guide dog was a serious business but it was also a lot of fun.

“Assistance dogs are allowed to have fun, even though they need to be focused while working with their owners, but when the harness or jacket is off, they are adorable goofballs like any other pet.”

Christa Scorer, a guide-dog mobility instructor from Claremont, said it had been fun being involved in the Pup Games, and she had seen how the dogs reacted to or ignored various objects and scenarios in the obstacle event.

Service dog owner Janice Salthouse, of Fish Hoek, encouraged the public to support the Pup Games.

“Our pups make life lighter and easier to cope with daily chores; their training is fun, hard work and filled with love, which is then given to us unconditionally,” she said.

The non-profit association is asking the public for support, either through donations or buying raffle tickets and merchandise. Visit www.guidedog.org.za or email Ms Quail at JackieQ@guidedog.org.za for more information.