Teal DipD.O.G

Assistance Dog (and Honorary Professor ...)

C236

Tel: 020 7040 4301

Email: P.J.D’Ath@city.ac.uk

 

 

Link to Penny’s professional home page                                    D.O.B. 12th October 2002

Link to Penny’s personal home page                                          Star sign:  Libra

 

 

Background

 

Teal graduated from the School for Assistance Dogs, Dogs for the Disabled, Banbury on 17th Nov 2004 earning himself a blue jacket.  His pre-registration period was completed at City University where he qualified as an Assistant Dog on 15th Dec 2004.    He now sports a yellow jacket (and will earn his black jacket when he learns to kill on command ...) 

Named towards the cooler end of the visible spectrum, Teal absorbs light maximally at 460nm.  His areas of expertise are in fetching and carrying (in particular, Teal’s current specialist interest is in retrieving students).  In his spare time, Teal enjoys sleeping, eating, chasing foxes (only in his dreams though since hunting with hounds was outlawed in February 2005) and tennis balls though seldom manages to remember to bring either trophy back.  He also enjoys long walks, socialising and hunting for squirrels in the park.

 

Teaching

 

Teal assists in the following modules:

 

·  01 Clinical Skills 

·  02 Clinical Skills

§         Investigative techniques

§         Routine

·  03 Paediatric Clinic

·  03 Refraction Clinic

·  03 Final Year Project and Dissertation Supervisor

·    Selected workshops for the taught NON-EEA course

§         Contact Lenses

§         Routine

·    Selected workshops for the taught MSc course

§         Glaucoma module

§         Diabetes module

·    Selected workshops for open days in Optometry

§         Slit lamp

§         Ophthalmoscopy

§         Stereopsis testing

§         Optical illusions

 

 

 

 

Clinical Work

 

      

 

·  Teal assists in the Paediatric Clinic at the Fight For Sight Clinics, City University

 

Research Interests

 

Teal’s areas of expertise are in the following areas:

 

 

 

 

·                  Fetching

·                  Carrying

·                  Collecting the post

·                  Emptying the   

         washing machine

·                  Oh, and … sleeping!                            

 

Selected Publications

 

Give That Dog A Bone

Teal Bonehead

 

Graduation Day

Teal graduated from City University with a yellow jacket:

Prizes

On 5th December 2006, Teal was awarded the ‘most popular member of staff’ award at the recent student prizegiving in the Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre.

Portraits

The following pictures have been hand-painted by Sadia Chaudhry (Optometry graduate, 2006).

Portrait Teal

 

Professional Teal

 

Chilled Teal

Portraits

The following picture was drawn by Zara, aged 8 (March 2010).

 

Photographs – 17 Sept 2009

 

 

Teal’s new stabilizing harness

Photographs – 24 July 2008

 

 

 

 

 

Photographs – June 2007

Who nose what I nose ...?

 

 

 

 

Photographs – Elie, Easter 2006

 

 

 

 

Photographs

Teal currently featured in the online gallery for the Transport for London ‘Year of the Dog’ exhibition. This photo was also a finalist in last year’s The Kennel Club Dog Photographer of the Year 2005 competition.

Transport for London ‘Year of the Dog’ exhibition

Teal, Assistance Dog © P J D’Ath, 2006

Other photographs

 

Other information

Dogs for the Disabled is a non government funded organisation. Each dog costs around £25,000 to train. There are currently approximately 150 partnerships in the UK.  If you would like to find out more information or would like to know how you can help, then please visit:    

www.dogsforthedisabled.org

 

 

 

Fundraising

OpSoc – September, 2009

On 18th September 2009, Niral Charadva, Keval Sejpar and Ajay Shah (Optometry graduates, 2009) of OpSoc at City University, London raised £174.50 for Dogs for the Disabled through their Valentine’s Day Candygrams and the infamous Boat Party.  Teal says thank you and wishes them well with their pre-registration year.

 

 

 

    Ajay Shah    Keval Sejpar  Niral Charadva

 

James d’Ath – October, 2008

 

 

 

 

On the 26th October 2008, my brother James is took part in the 4 Deserts Sahara Race.  Like the Marathon des Sables, it is a six-day, 250 km run through the Sahara.  He raised 5,615.00 for Dogs for the Disabled and 4,630.01 for Epilepsy Research UK. 

www.racingtheplanet.com/sahararace

GRAND TOTAL RAISED

£10,245.01

1st Nov 2008: James has successfully completed the Sahara Race 2008. Check below to track James’ progress.

 

Rank

No.

 

Age

 

 

 

 

 

21.9 miles

26.1 miles

23.4 miles

23.1 miles

50-60 miles

3-6 miles

Total

Status

73

34

D’ath James F.

36

M

 

 

05:32:00

06:10:03

07:01:03

07:16:09

20:22:28

00:31:54

46:53:37

A

 

Day

 

Race details

 

Ranking

1

Beginning around the oasis of Farafra, competitors begin Stage 1 in an area surrounded by white rocks in the heart of the White Desert. The first stage is moderate with a total of 35 kilometers (21.9 miles). There are four checkpoints with mainly flat, rocky and sandy ground. The fast competitors are expected to take 3 hours, while the slower competitors will take up to 12 hours to complete the stage.

70th

5 hrs 32 min 0 secs

45 degrees

2

Stage 2 traverses some of the most beautiful rock formations in the White Desert with animals, birds and mushroom formations dotting the landscape and the rough country where competitors will traverse. The stage begins with a difficult section followed by more moderate terrain. Competitors will cover almost a marathon distance of 41.8 kilometers (26.1 miles). The terrain is sandy and rocky throughout the stage, however, a small spring is located close to the second checkpoint. The leaders will complete the section in three hours while the back of pack will again take nearly 12 hours.

 

61st

6 hrs 10 min 3 secs

3

Stage 3 is the beginning of what is called “Hamada” in the Bedouin language or “flat out” in English. Competitors will be in an area where only sand is in sight, leading to a dune section known for its harsh and unforgiving winds.  The area resembles a paradise with no water.  The distance is 37.5 kilometers (23.4 miles).  The leaders are again expected to complete the section in three hours while the slower ones will take 12 hours.

63rd

7 hrs 1 min 3 secs

4

With camp situated in the middle of a dune field, competitors will not find respite from the sand on Stage 4.  Running through the Qarawin dunes competitors will find heaven in a small oasis brimming with water.  Ancient roman ruins can be found everywhere, and a mummy is hidden just to the left of the oasis as a reminder of just how unforgiving the terrain can be.  The total distance is 37 kilometers (23.1 miles) which can be described as simply “sandy.”  The times are expected to be around 3:30 minutes for the fast ones and thirteen hours for the slower field.

67th

7 hrs 16 mins 9 secs

40 degrees

5

At long last, competitors who are still in the competition will face the 95 – 100 kilometer (50 – 60 miles) “Stage 5” which takes competitors from the White Desert to the heart of the Black Desert.  The terrain is lunar like, with many plateaus to traverse.  A strong mind and limitless endurance will be the key to survival on this stage which is simply flat out and stony for most of the way.  The last section is sandy taking competitors to the ridge of a small village around Bahariya.  Competitors will be welcomed by the children of El Ris Village before resting for the final stage.  The leaders should be able to complete the section in eight hours, while those selecting to take a moderate pace can take as long as 31 hours.

  69th

20 hrs 22 mins 28 secs

 

6

Stage 6 will take competitors into the famous Pyramids of Giza, with a short five – ten kilometer sprint (three – six miles).

73rd

31 mins 54 secs

 

To put it into perspective, James had to eat 3,000 calories worth of food per day but used up 7,000 caleries with the effort of running in 45 degree heat.

 

Click the link to watch the video:

food at camp
What competitors eat out on these races, and how they felt about it.

 

http://www.4deserts.com/multimediagallery/index.php?videoid=ez9Ggm4ktwY&mediaTypeID=1&categoryID=18

 

 

Click the link to watch the video (look out for the silly hat as featured in this photo and check out what he had to run with):

Stage two checkpoint one
Stage two checkpoint one

http://www.4deserts.com/multimediagallery/index.php?mediaTypeID=1&categoryID=18&currentPageNum=1&stageNum=2

 

 

Photos of the Sahara Race

 

 

 

 

 

James had just run approx 36 miles when this photo was taken.

“Travis D. Wilkinson (S. Africa) , James F. D’ath (UK) and Mark Dahl (South Africa) stuck together for the whole stage too. “The scenery was lacking, which was a good thing in a way because I have already used all the superlatives I can think of to describe the amazing terrain we have encountered out here in the Sahara,” said Wilkinson, “I didn’t know that the desert was so deep, but they really brought us to the bottom of it.” Raucous laughter and what they called, “abuse” flowed freely out of these three men on the course, which according to D’ath, was a good sign that they were all feeling ok”.

 

Mon 1st Dec 2008 - James’ fundraising efforts purchased a male black Labrador puppy [product of one of Dogs for the Disabled brood bitches, Willow (black lab) and Guide Dogs stud dog, Munro (black lab)] who arrived at the centre today.  James has named the puppy ‘Jengo’.

      

       Fundraising – December, 2006

 

On Tuesday 5th December 2006, the Dept of Optometry, students, friends and relatives raised £150 for Dogs for the Disabled at the student prize giving evening in the Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre, City University.  Thank you to all those that contributed.

Fundraising – September, 2005

 

On Saturday 24th September 2005, the Bath Street Beauties (Tina Romanay, Clinic Director; Charlotte McAllister, MSc Module Co-ordinator and Priya Dabasia, Visiting Clinician) ran 8K to raise money for Dogs for the Disabled.  They managed to complete the 8K in less than an hour (which, if you’ve ever seen them run, was a great achievement).  They raised a total of £500 for this worthy cause so many congratulations and a very big thank you from Teal and his colleagues at Dogs for the Disabled.

 

 

Access Rights

As Teal is a registered assistance dog and, therefore, a member of Assistance Dogs UK, he has full legal rights to enter restaurants, food shops and other food premises.  In fact, all public places.  In addition, he is permitted to travel in the cabin on aeroplanes, trains, taxis and other forms of public transport.  He is also exempt from any ‘No Dogs’ policies such as those that might exist for parks and gardens.

 

 

 

The translation is ‘Friend of the Human Race’  (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health)

 

Thank you for visiting Teal’s website.

Last updated: 2nd Nov 2010