Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

LIONS FOUNDATION OF CANADA GUIDE DOGS

Local Lions Clubs raise more than $4,200 for Guide Dog Foundation

Oct 30, 2023 | 6:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — The line between work and relaxation might be tough to see when it comes to Safari the Autism Assistance Dog. But when he’s wearing his vest, he’s on the clock, helping his ward, Kayden.

“In Kayden’s day-to-day, Safari is his peace of mind,” Kayden’s aunt Shanda Moisander explains. “It’s his companionship, it’s his ability to get out and interact in the community. It is his buddy, his companion, and it allows [Kayden] to navigate this world of ours in his autism world. It bridges the gap for Kayden, really.”

Kayden and his family received Safari through the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides program. On Sunday at Flacon Lanes, the North Kamloops Lions held its annual Dog Bowl celebration, which wraps up its annual fundraising campaign for the foundation.

“We get teams from all the other Lions Clubs, we have the White Cane Club, we have individual teams that come out,” event organizer Dale Brush explains. “We give them pledge forms, they go out and raise pledges, bring the money in, and all funds raised goes to the Lions Foundation Dog Guides program to purchase a dog for somebody in our region.”

Week in Review

Week in Review: Week of Oct. 21

Oct 26, 2024

Two and Out

PETERS: Facing caucus revolt, Justin Trudeau could learn from Joe Biden

Oct 25, 2024

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: October 24, 2024

Oct 25, 2024

The Dog Bowl Fundraiser has been a big success over the years for the different clubs involved.

“Our first two we did, we managed to raise enough to purchase a dog for someone in Lumby,” Brush recalls.

Getting Safari has been a transformative experience for Kayden and his family.

“Even walks we’re too strenuous for him, too much going on around him,” Moisander explains. “Safari has fixed all of that. It has brought Kayden out of his shell, we’ve never seen Kayden so alive.”

The club raised over $4,200 this year. After the success of the Dog Bowl, organizers hope they can keep building, and give more people the chance to get the life-changing help of a guide dog.