science

National Guide Dog Month

National Guide Dog Month is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand National Guide Dog Month rather than just read about it. In short: National Guide Dog Month is a celebration of the work of guide dogs in the United States as a way to raise awareness, appreciation and support for guide dog schools across the United States. It was established in 2008, as a fundraising drive to benefit non-profit guide dog organizations accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation.

Key takeaways

National Guide Dog Month belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect National Guide Dog Month to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of National Guide Dog Month from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

National Guide Dog Month is a celebration of the work of guide dogs in the United States as a way to raise awareness, appreciation and support for guide dog schools across the United States. It was established in 2008, as a fundraising drive to benefit non-profit guide dog organizations accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation. It is observed during the month of September.

History National Guide Dog Month was first inspired by Dick Van Patten, who was impressed by the intelligence and training of guide dogs. During a visit to the campus of the Guide Dogs of the Desert in Palm Springs, California, Van Patten was blindfolded to experience how guide dogs provide assistance and mobility to blind people. After learning that the costs to raise and train a guide dog exceed $40,000 and can take up to two years, Van Patten was inspired to help raise awareness and money for guide dog schools. Van Patten served as an honorary Board Member for the Guide Dogs of the Desert. Through his pet food company, Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods, he has underwritten all costs for the promotion of National Guide Dog Month to ensure that all money raised would directly benefit non-profit, accredited guide dog schools in the United States. In 2008, Van Patten enlisted the support of the Petco Foundation, to organize a fundraising campaign through their retail stores. The San Diego–based retailer piloted the first guide dog fundraiser in the Southern California area to benefit the Guide Dogs of the Desert, based in Palm Springs, California. In 2009 National Guide Dog Month was established to benefit the non-profit guide dogs schools accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF). In 2009, National Guide Dog Month was established for the month of May; however, in 2010, it was moved to September due to conflicts with other national fundraising drives.

Beneficiaries In 2011, the non-profit guide dog schools in the United States listed by IGDF were listed as beneficiaries of National Guide Dog Month. 100% proceeds will be donated to the following guide dog training facilities: Guide Dogs for the Blind, Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Guide Dogs of Texas, Inc., Guide Dogs of the Desert, Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, Inc., Southeastern Guide Dogs, Leader Dogs for the Blind, The Seeing Eye, Inc., Freedom Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

Use of registered charity Fundraising for National Guide Dog Month is collected from donors and disbursed by the Petco Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation (#33-0845930) that supports other IRS (Internal Revenue Service) designated non-profit pet related groups. The Petco Foundation is listed and rated by Charity Navigator.

Celebrity spokespersons The use of celebrity spokespersons to attract media interest has helped National Guide Dog Month gain awareness with American consumers. In 2009, while Paula Abdul appeared as a judge on American Idol, blind contestant Scott MacIntyre was presented with a guide dog to represent National Guide Dog Month. In 2010, as spokesperson, Nicollette Sheridan helped raise awareness through various interviews and appearances. In 2010, actress Katrina Bowden made promotional appearances in support of National Guide Dog Month. In 2011, spokespersons Omar Miller and Eva LaRue appeared at a graduation ceremony at the Guide Dogs for the Blind campus in San Rafael, California, to honor Dr Cecilia von Beroldingen with the first annual Change A Life Award. Von Beroldingen is a blind scientist who, with her guide dog Neoki, given to her through the program, has been able to continue her work for the California Department of Justice Criminalistics Institute Forensic Training Facility in Sacramento. Miller and La Rue, who portray CSI investigator characters Natalia Boa Vista and Walter Simmons on the television series CSI: Miami, presented von Beroldingen with the inaugural National Guide Dog Change A Life Award.

Proclamations In May 2009, Governors of multiple states issued proclamations in recognition of National Guide Dog Month, including California, Florida, Arizona, Mississippi, Nebraska and Illinois.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with National Guide Dog Month

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what National Guide Dog Month claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to National Guide Dog Month before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about National Guide Dog Month ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of National Guide Dog Month

In research: National Guide Dog Month appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses National Guide Dog Month in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: National Guide Dog Month is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Blindness in the United States, Guide dogs, Human–animal interaction, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for National Guide Dog Month outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study National Guide Dog Month in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what National Guide Dog Month means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain National Guide Dog Month out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is National Guide Dog Month in simple terms?

Why does National Guide Dog Month matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study National Guide Dog Month?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on National Guide Dog Month.