Month: February 2000

The decades-old fight to calm traffic in Centretown might be going in a new direction.

The wheels are in motion to build a second tower at the World Exchange Plaza and local politicians say the new office space will be a boost to the downtown economy.

By Mike Hinds Please, leave the dogs alone. That’s all Sue Hawkins wants you to do if you see her with a guide dog. It’s okay to talk to Hawkins but chances are the dog is being trained and needs to concentrate on the job at hand. “If you see a dog working, please don’t distract them, and don’t feed them,” says Hawkins, head guide dog instructor for the Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind. “It’s extremely important,” she says, because distractions can hinder its progress. Much time is spent by the organization training future guide dogs and potential clients throughout the city. Centretown is a significant part of this training ground, with trainers often using the Byward Market, Sparks Street and Parliament Hill. “Centretown is an integral part of the dog’s training, no doubt about it,” says guide dog instructor Tim Morin. “We couldn’t prepare them without it.” Centretown is advantageous, adds Hawkins, because it has a lot of people and vehicular traffic which teaches the dog how to operate in busier conditions. The area is laid out in block systems allowing for straight-line travel, which she says is an important aspect of the dog’s training. Not knowing where the dog will eventually end up, Hawkins says exposure to a wide range of conditions is a must. Of the average six-month training period, roughly a month is spent in Centretown. The actual amount of time the guide dog spends in training depends on how well suited it is to the area, and does not tend to be served successively. Sparks Street, and the Sparks Street Mall in particular, is a good testing ground for dogs. The mall, says Hawkins, is good for training because of its layout, with its elevators, stairs, and differing types of flooring. Guide dogs must become acquainted with all these so they can meet the needs of their future owners, wherever they happen to live. Rose Keefe can see why the mall would be a good place for this sort of training. A manager at Timothy’s World Coffees on the mall for the past seven years, Keefe has often seen the trainers in there with their dogs. “It’s (the mall) a good place to train a dog,” she says. “It’s very hectic.” The dogs seem generally well behaved to Keefe, but she says “they’re quite easily spoiled” and succumb easily to temptation. She tells the story of a visually impaired man who came frequently to Timothy’s for coffee with his guide dog. Employees always offered cookies to the dog, which the canine never refused. When the man then tried walking past the coffee shop in the future with no intention of stopping there, the dog turned in anyway because it had become conditioned to receiving its cookie. And that’s why, says Hawkins emphatically, it’s best to just let the dog work. “The public thinks that because it’s a guide dog, it’s a perfect animal,” she says. “Of course, it’s not.