Lions Club leader dog visits Cambridge
Jim Teisberg - Cambridge Lions Club President
Wednesday, March 16 will go down as one of the Cambridge Area Lions Club’s most significant membership meetings. Guests at the meeting were Steven Nagy and his wife Rose (ambassadors of the Wisconsin Leader Dog Foundation), BJ., a 7-year-old golden retreiver leader dog, his master, Midge Pincha, and Ken Braasch. The Nagys, B.J., and Pincha traveled from Greenfield to give the Cambridge Lions a presentation of what a leader dog can do for a blind person.
Nagy explained that the dog training and breeding facility, located in Rochester, Michigan, is without a doubt the most dramatic and best known service activity of the Lions Club. Founded in 1939 by three Lions who were unable to obtain a leader dog from any other source, the guide dog school has grown to be one of the largest and finest in the world. The whole enterprise began more with courage than anything else when a few Lions from Detroit purchased an old farmhouse which still stands in the center of the complex. Today the facility services over 45 percent of the nation’s blind. Since its inception, over 12,000 leader dogs have been trained.
For 64 years, Lions have invested untold time and effort in the leader dog program. During fiscal year 2003, Lions Clubs contributed over $2.5 million. Leader Dog Foundation offers its services through Lions Clubs around the world to the blind. Lions healp spread the word that blind people who want to be free and mobile can have a leader dog for the asking. They can write on behalf of the blind candidate to obtain an application, which is the sole reason for bringing the leader dog to Cambridge.
Braasch was in attendance because his daughter is visually impaired. The Cambridge Lions thought… If we could sponsor a dog, who would benefit the most”? The answer was Vanessa Braasch. She has attended the Wisconsin Lions Camp in Rosholt for the past 12 years. The Cambridge Lions helped send her to a leadership conference in Washington D.C. Her parents work very hard to help her in all of her school activities adn she is very independent. The Cambridge Lions want her to stay independent and feel the best way for her to achieve independence is by having her own leader dog.
Pincha agreed. She told the Lions about her days without a dog and how much a dog has changed her life. She is totally independent. She goes shopping, out for dinner, and does pretty much what everyone else does, because she has B.J. At one point during the evening, Pincha was standing up, getting ready to speak to the group. B.J. was asked by Pincha to move, but he wouldn’t. Those in attendance couldn’t figure out why and neither could Pincha until it was discovered that a chair was in the way of Pincha’s walking line. The dog directed her to the chair safely and directly. Lions Club members found this amazing and it helped them to understand the importance of the dog and how well dog and handler work together.
Current Lion of the Year, Gary Posorski, challenged the members in attendance to raise money at the meeting for the leader dog program. He passed hat and matched dollar-for-dollar teh money contributed by the membership. The grand total donated Wednesday was $300. The money was donated directly to the leader dog program. The cost of obtaining a leader dog through the Lions is zero. However, the cost to train a dog and handler is $35,000. Dogs for the blind operates entirely on donated funds. They receive no state or federal funding. The continued success of the leader dog program depends on the generosity of the contributors and the community funding sources around the world.
Anyone who would like to make a contribution can contact the Cambridge Lions Club at 423-7718, or go online at www.cambridgelions.org and link to the leader dog program.