Puppy Appeal

Last summer (which is January here) we went to a church camp in Waikanae for a long weekend and while there we met a blind man with a seeing-eye dog. Dugald and I talked with him awhile and found out that it costs $25,000 to train one dog. We also have sweet friends - our neighbors from Campbell Street - that have been involved with The Society for the Blind for awhile now and have participated in the society's annual fundraiser. Here in New Zealand charities are allowed a particular time of year to solicit funds on the street, and now is the time to raise money for the dogs (so to speak). Meggie and Katie were eager to participate when we told them how much it costs to train a dog, so on Saturday we headed down to Karori Mall to help.

In New Zealand you aren't allowed to actually ask for donations, or shake your bucket, you are just to stand politely and wait for people to notice you. The girls were told that only one out of every ten people would actually donate and so they shouldn't be discouraged. I watched them for awhile and then did some shopping , got a coffee, etc and checked in on them every now and again and I would say without a doubt that they beat the one out of every ten people donating by a mile - I was so proud of them. They were near an entrance and they would just smile and say "Good Morning" and people would donate - their cuteness beat the odds!! After an hour and a half when our time commitment was completed they wanted to stay longer! 

Later that evening we had fish and chips and watched "Planet Earth"  - it was a great day!