The Newton Lion’s Club hosted its first district zone meeting Monday night by featuring speakers from Leader Dogs for the Blind and from Kidsight.
Carol Ann Kirkbride, along with eight trainers from Leader Dogs for the Blind, were in attendance to talk to club members about the impact leader dogs make in their communities.
Lion’s Club members have shown their support to Leader Dogs for the Blind for 79 years by financial donations, identifying individuals in the community who could benefit from a leader dog, becoming a puppy raiser or hosting a breeding stock dog.
Kirkbride said the Lions across America became involved when a member couldn’t find a dog for their friend who needed some assistance, and Leader Dogs for the Blind stepped in as a resource.
Kirkbride said there is a three-month waiting period after applying for a dog and after the application is approved.
“We have to understand where this person walks, where they spend their time and consider where they are living,” Kirkbride said. “They go through the group of dogs to find the right one who can best handle the living situation, if they will be in rural Iowa or a big city.”
Kirkbride said the puppies are taught and trained at 4 months old. They learn everything from basic obedience to playing a game of hide and seek. Another important part of training for the leader dog is socialization.
Kirkbride noted one of her neighbors is blind and is very sociable. She said her neighbor needed a dog they could trust to lead them. Kirkbride said when her neighbor got a new dog, they became closed off because the dog was still adjusting to its environment.
“That’s when I knew I wanted to train dogs for the blind,” Kirkbride said. “If the leader dogs can make that much difference in a human’s life, I thought wow, that’s kind of cool.”
In addition to changing the lives of the blind, leader dogs often visit state penitentiaries where they are walked by and sometimes looked after by select inmates.
Kirkbride said she has seen correctional officers also bring their dogs to the prison on those days and they give their dogs to an offender for a period of time.
“Those officers may not be friends with the offenders, but they begin to talk to each other and respect each other,” Kirkbride said.
Kidsight
Another loyal partnership with the Lion’s Club is the organization Kidsight, which works to safeguard vision for children 6 months old to 6 years old.
Kidsight partners with Lion’s Clubs nationwide to participate in hassle-free eye screenings of children.
Lori Short from Kidsight in Iowa City said children who are 6 or younger usually don’t know if they are far or nearsighted.
“They can’t tell what’s going on because they don’t have any other point of reference, that’s all they’ve known,” Short said. “Children who can’t see clearly may have trouble reading — leading them to act out in school.”
Short said she has seen many Lion’s Clubs that have wanted to get involved in their communities. Members have a training session to learn how to take the images, and the images are transmitted to the University of Iowa.
Then some children may need referred to a local optometrist or they may need a retake. That’s when club members often visit preschools and daycares to take and retake images. Kidsight is also present during the Iowa State Fair for screenings.
Short said one of the best feelings was when Kidsight received a letter from a parent who said Kidsight saved their child’s life. One boy was screened and it was found that he had Marfan Syndrome, which causes heart aneurysms.
“The family had no idea the child had this medical condition and the way his eyes looked was a sign,” Short said. “Kidsight just saved this boy’s life.”
Lion’s Clubs members were in attendance from Newton, Altoona, Bondurant, Pella, Urbandale and other surrounding areas.
Zone Chair Jeanine Luetters said the first combined meeting in Newton went really well and they are planning to have more speakers attend in the future.
Contact Kayla Langmaid at
641-792-3121 ext. 6513 or
klangmaid@newtondailynews.com