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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, A ug us t 9, 20 18 | 12 With BBQ season in full swing, back yard parties, cook outs and picnics are things that we look forward to enjoying with our family and friends. But for 18,000 people in Oakville, the struggle is to put food on the table, let alone think about affording a special meal. At KSM, we work hard through our food market and community meal programs to help ensure that our neighbours are able to provide basic necessities for their themselves and their families. Did you know? • Approximately 450 individuals and families shop at KSM's food market each month. • KSM food market distributes over $600,000 of food annually. As we know that hunger doesn't take a vacation - and we cannot either. We rely on the support of the community to help keep our shelves of our food market stocked with nutritious and healthy food. Our shelves need your help! Our most needed items are: • Healthy Whole Grain Cereal • Peanut Butter • Whole Grain Pasta • Rice We NEED your help to keep our shelves stocked. Food or financial gifts can be dropped off at Kerr Street Mission. Please visit our website for contact information and hours. To learn more call 905-845-7485 or visit www.kerrstreet.com. Kerr Street Mission 485 Kerr Street, Oakville P: 905.845.7485 Charitable Reg. No. 897106845RR0001 The fur was flying at Metroland's Halton divi- sion recently as staff en- joyed a visit from five four- legged friends. Therapeutic Paws of Canada, (TPOC) with team leaders from Halton com- munities, brought five dogs and their owners in for some stress relief, and to speak about their program. TPOC is a non-profit or- ganization of volunteers providing dogs - paws with love to share - for human needs. Whether it's visiting university students stressed out and needing emotional support at exam time, or seniors in a retire- ment home, TPOC visitors bring delight to so many people. They regularly visit hospitals, residences, schools and businesses. Brian Ferri, team leader in Milton, said the program spreads across the prov- ince and all of Canada. To- tally volunteer, visiting owners and their dogs use their own time and gas to get to their various visiting spots. Almost all of the vol- unteers hold full-time jobs as well. All the handlers are all carefully screened volun- teers who work with their family pet on the therapy visits. The dogs receive cer- tification based on visits with qualified handlers. Once they are through the visits, they can be certified IWC - to interact with chil- dren. Miltonian, and winter Olympian Travis Gerrits is one of the newest members of the team along with his dog Tia, a five-year-old old chocolate Old English bull- dog. Tia was soaking up the love as more than 30 staff- ers made the rounds to vis- it the happy canines. She sat down on her hunches while people cooed and cawed about how cute she was. Meanwhile Ferri's dog Josie, a big barbet was also a big hit with her long black fur, softened after a grooming session the day prior. "As handlers, we are here for the people," he said, showing how his dog listens to his commands. Because they travel to long-term care facilities, he said they could potentially ingest pills that could have fallen on the floor or else- where. Josie won't eat any- thing, even treats that he provides, until Ferri gives her the okay. He recalled one of his most touching moments was when a young student at a school who suffered from Muscular Dystrophy placed his hand on Josie's head. "Every time he felt her fur, he burst into hilarious laughter," Ferri said. Another time, visiting Allandale Long Term Care ABOVE: Tim Whitnell got some doggy kisses from Henry. BELOW AND NEXT PAGE: Therapeutic Paws of Canada, a non-profit organization of volunteers providing animal resources for human needs (physical, mental, educational, motivational, socialization) visited the Metroland office bringing five of their dogs. Karma is the centre of attention for (L-R) Allie Murray, Julie Slack, Brian Roberts and Emily Trotta. Graham Paine/Metroland GOING TO THE DOGS JULIE SLACK jslack@metroland.com NEWS THERAPEUTIC PAWS OF CANADA VISIT WITH DOGS TO MAKE LIFE MORE ENJOYABLE