Victoria-based Paralympian follows instinct for K9 training – Saanich News

Jessica Tuomela, right with current guide dog Brandy, will be joined in a professional capacity next month by Lucy the golden retriever.

Interior, where women and girls are at a disproportionately greater risk of going missing, is another area Tuomela is looking into.

and across Canada looking for someone willing to teach her to train animals for scent trailing, but no one was able to take her on due to her blindness, she said.

He has worn a blindfold while training Lucy, Tuomela said, to better understand the challenges she’d come up against in her own training endeavours.

“I’ll need a handler to run with me , but I’m still the dog’s primary handler.

Balancing athletics, work and animal training is a tricky balance, the Paralympian added.

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