Rhodie (Oct 15, 1995 - Oct 26, 2009)

Just after 12:30 this afternoon, at his home in Sauble Beach, guidedog.org graduate Rhodie passed on peaceably from this world to the place where all good doggies go. Rhodie was 14 years old

A thoughtful tribute

Our many thanks to Ms.B.Alderson of Campbellville Ontario!  Received a note today from the Guide Dog Foundation of "A Thoughful Tribute to Honor Paul 'Tagalong' Stewart & Peanut", an expression of best wishes in a contribution sent on to the foundation after the Georgetown show. Thanks so much!

Anyone else wanting to support Paul and partner in his Road of Life fundraiser is welcome to contact The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind Inc in Smithtown New York and make a pledge!

Rocky road for Tagalong

Mike Strobel | Toronto Sun:

"Ahh, guitar in hand, prairie wind in his hair, salt spray in his face, northern forests murmuring in his ear. A glorious adventure. A bounty of material for his next CD.

No such luck. The Road of Life ends in Cornerbrook. 'I was real discouraged, Mike,' he tells me yesterday at his regular haunt, Joe's Pastizzi Plus on Dundas St. W.

'It was a strange feeling, standing in a strange city, not knowing anyone, not knowing where I was going.'

So he and Peanut hop a flight home to their usual busking doorway on Bloor St. near Windermere. 'I thought you were going across Canada,' the first local says.

'I tried,' says Paul.

But hold the phone, cowboy. The dream is not moribund. Just morphed ..."

Fwd: Letter to the editor

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ken Baker
Date: Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 10:12 AM
To: "McGhie, John" http://independentfreepress.com, Jamie Smith http://haltonhills.ca

Thank You

A small, but appreciative audience attended the "Gone To The Dogs" fundraiser in support of visually-impaired musician Paul Stewart and his guide dog Peanut, held on September 30^th. At the Halton Hills Cultural Centre. To those that attended, a heart-felt thank you on behalf of myself, Paul and Peanut. You made him feel welcome in Georgetown and you have made his cross-Canada Road of Life Tour a little less bumpy. Special thanks also go out to Jamie Smith, manager of the Halton Hills Cultural Centre www.haltonhills.ca/theatre,  musician Nonie Crete www.nonie.ca and her daughter Kathleen, as well as Toronto Sun columnist Mike Strobel, for your willingness participate.

To follow Paul and Peanut on their odyssey to raise awareness and funds for The Guide Dog Foundation For The Blind visit: www.paulstewart.blogspot.com

Once again……Thank You, one and all. Ken Baker

Thunder Bay Interview

Songwriter and busker Paul Stewart and his Guide Dog in Thunder Bay - interviewed by Gareth Evens:

Off to Thunder Bay

Hear 'Thunder Bay' and 'The TTC Song' at CBC Radio3!

Paul Stewart and Partner are setting out tomorrow on a return to Thunder Bay, taking their cross-Canada busking fundraiser tour for the guide dogs to one of the best places to busk in all of Northern Ontario -- by the way, if Sudbury or Timmins thinks otherwise about that claim, they can invite the tour up over there to test it out!

In other news, the Guidedog.org fundraising has now topped $500!

Back at the tour schedule, touchdown should be sometime after noon Wednesday so you can watch for Paul and Partner on the streets of the twin cities for the next 10 days or so, and be sure to ask about the souvenier edition Thunder Bay Song EP/CD with Paul's Toronto Transit (TTC) 'Better Way' Song.

Dream On Dreamer

Dream on dreamer.
Dream on and on.
If you do not dream,
All hope will be gone.

Dream on dreamer,
Dream of success that will be yours to-morrow.
Forget the years of heartache and sorrow.

Dream on dreamer.
Dream of happy years that lie ahead.
Forget the memories that you dread.

Dream on dreamer.
Dream of lending a helping hand,
To a needy child, woman,
Or a needy man.

Dream on dreamer.
Dream on and on what ever you do.
Dreams at least give you hope.
Hope that someday your dreams will come true.

Blind busker helping dog guides

Owen Sound Sun Times Denis Langlois writes:

"Blind busker Paul Stewart often gets lost.

The thing is, he enjoys it. The 55-year-old Torontonian,

who spent yesterday afternoon playing his guitar for spare change on a bench in downtown Owen Sound, is touring cities across Canada to raise money for the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides. (sic) [ Note: Paul is actually raising funds for Guidedog.org, not the Lions - gm ]

With nary a map nor directions, Stewart said he and his guide dog Partner frequently get lost as they travel alone on unfamiliar city streets.

'I like getting lost. It's a good way to meet people,' he said in an interview.He said he often relies on friendly townsfolk to point him to the right location, which could be a busy downtown street corner, a bus station or hotel.

Stewart has raised $300 so far on his busking tour, after stops in Newfoundland and Ontario. Half the money is donated to the Guide Dog Foundation.

"I've always maintained what goes around comes around," he said.

The remainder is used to pay his travel expenses.

Stewart said while he likes to hit cities where he has a free place to stay, he sometimes has to sleep in hotels.

While in the Owen Sound area, Stewart is staying with friends Gary and May Murphy of Sauble Beach, who have his former guide dog, Rhodie."

Gone To The Dogs (Sept 30,2009)

September 30^th. 7pm.-9pm.

The Halton Hills Cultural Centre / Gallery

9 Church St., Georgetown, On., L7G 2A3

A benefit musical performance in support Paul Stewart and his cross-Canada odyssey to raise funds for The Guide Dog Foundation For The Blind Inc. Also performing in support of Paul will be popular singer/songwriter Nonie Crete. www.nonie.ca

A minimum donation of $10 will be accepted at the door, with seating limited to 100.

For more information, visit:www.haltonhills.ca/culturalcentre

 

$400 raised so far!

A short stop at the Owen Sound Scotiabank to deposit the proceeds from this trip, $100 bringing the grand total to $400 raised for guidedog.org!

Summer reunion

One last goodbye to my old pal Rhodie for another summer's season; Partner and I are off on the morning bus back to Toronto today.

Interviewed by Denis Langlois

Paul and Partner have taken their Guidedog.org busking tour back to Owen Sound today; here they are being interviewed by Denis Langlois of the Owen Sound Sun-Times!

Sundown at Sauble

End of a pretty good day's busking.

Busking sauble beach!

What better way to spend a hot summer's day? Paul and Partner are set up today on the Lakeshore by Sauble Beach, Ontario!

Road of Life on SoundClick

Hear the mp3 edition On The Road of Life on SoundClick!

"Travelling as he does with his trusty dog leading the way It is not hard to see where the song Tag Along Paul comes from. Going Home and Newfoundland For Me are songs of the east coast of our country, an area Paul holds close to his heart. An educated Mouse shows Paul's sense of humour.

"Harmony is not only a song but also a vision Paul would like to see our world become.The gospel number On The Road Of Life is a moving example of Paul's faith that we can all do whatever needs to get done with a little help from the Man upstairs"

On the Road ... in Owen Sound!

Paul and guidedog Partner had to cut short the East Coast leg of their Cross-Canada Busking tour, but still managed to raise $300 for the Guidedog.org before heading back to Toronto to refuel and plan their next step.

This weekend the two are busking in Owen Sound, Ontario; you can find Paul out by the City Hall building along side the Farmer's Market today and again on Monday. From there they plan to head out to visit some friends near Oshawa before heading to the weekend Eaglewood Folk Festival near Pfefferlaw, and from there off across the northshores en route to a return to Thunder Bay.

A St.John's Story: The Bus Driver

Now here is a good one: Paul Stewart and Partner start to board a Metro bus in St. John's Newfoundland and they're stopped at the step by the driver.  "You need papers for that guide dog." she demands.  Papers?  Papers? says Paul, a little in shock really.  "Otherwise," says the Metro driver, "How do I know he's a guide dog?"

Isn't Partner very clearly a guide dog? He's a big black dog in a harness held by a blind man.  Does St. John's have a problem of blind people slyly smuggling non-guidedogs across the city in Metro buses? "The harness is supposed to be blue," says the driver, and she after some discussion she adds, "I will let you on this time, but you should call Metro and get your proper papers."

Paul is calling Metro,  but he doesn't intend to get any papers.  I said he should have told her that he thought the harness was blue! :)

"I don't like the feel of this town," says Tagalong Paul, "I'm heading for Corner Brook on Monday."  That's why they call them buskers, from the Spanish 'buscar' which means "to search".   Woody Guthrie wrote, "The musicians play a little while and then say 'It's getting a little dead around here, let's go busking.  Find a livelier joint.'"

Day 8: St.John's, Newfoundland

St.John's:
Paul and Partner have set up a base-camp at the Extended Stay in St.John's, Newfoundland; the two arrived yesterday from Mount Pearl and spent today busking in the streets of St.John's.


"The Gander news interview should come out in the paper tomorrow morning," Paul tells us from his hotel, "the weather is a bit cold and cloudy, but there are many buskers"; the pair plan to stay in St.John's until early next week, then head out for Corner Brook.

A Message from Newfoundland

Paul is in Newfoundland -- after a few days in Grand  Falls and then in Gander for three days, tonight he is is in Mount Pearl, the twin city of St.John's.

The Busking Tour has so far made writeups in the Gander and Grand Falls newspapers and Paul had a radio interview on CBC Grand Falls; Rogers cell phone coverage isn't all through Newfoundland yet, no coverage in Gander or Grand Falls, so it's a little hard to stay in touch.

off to see Canada, so to speak

"Tagalong Paul and dog Peanut off to see Canada, so to speak" :

Mike Strobel (Toronto Sun) writes:

Tagalong Paul is off to see Canada.

Or at least hear, smell, taste and touch it.

Tagalong Paul Stewart is blind as a bat.

'I need a change of scenery,' he tells me.

Why bother? I ask him.

Don't the Rockies, the prairies, the oceans and Dundas St. W. look pretty much the same to a blind guy?

'I can see it, Mike,' he says. 'In my own way.

'I'll see it when I meet people, when I spend a little time in a new place. I can smell the ocean and the fresh air, I can hear the quiet.

'And I'll see it all through the dog's eyes.'

Peanut, a black lab cross, perks his ears. Paul usually calls him 'partner.'

Against a wall is Gerie, Paul's faithful guitar. There's not much cherry left in her wild cherry finish.

Tagalong Paul, Peanut and Gerie. Three amigos. Untold adventures await them.

'Travelling across Canada is my life's dream,' says Paul, 55. 'I wrote a song about it.'

Country song, of course, on his CD, On The Road of Life."

The Journey Begins!

Paul and Partner are packed and ready and off to the airport!  Heading out on the 1pm flight to Newfoundland where they will being their epic cross-Canada busking tour in support of the Guide Dog Foundation.

Rhodie is FOUND!

Prayers do get answered! Rhodie is home!

He's a little weak and too hoarse to bark, but he's well and he's home.  Our neighbour's dogs heard him and the dogs lead them down by the river where they found Rhodie alive and well, tangled in the riverside brush.  They brought him to our yard and checked on him until we got home.

Rhodie probably hadn't been in the river long or the dogs would have noticed, and he is still quite clean despite being wet from river; they fed him and gave him fresh drink, and he's resting now with his paw on May's lap.  We had left for the evening and had closed our gate, so he had been returned to the neighbourhood and found his own way home, but he would not have been able to get into the yard; the river at the end of the street would be the nearest fresh water, or perhaps he followed the river in search of the banks by our street to find his way home. We may never know.

He seems in good shape, and his rescuers must have thought so too or they would not have walked him over and let him into the yard. We have made an appointment for a good hot bath and grooming for him tomorrow after the veterinary checks him out and gives the OK.  Rhodie's back legs are quite stiff which could be from the lack of medication for the week, but he does not appear to be in any pain.  Rhodies has already spoken to Paul  on the telephone, which is the most excellent news Paul could have to launch him on his tour!

Rhodie is Missing!

Rhodie, a 14-year-old golden retriever x yellow lab has been missing from his Sauble Beach home since Sunday July 5th. At the time of the occurrence, between 5:30 and 6:45pm, Rhodie and his younger guide dog successor Partner were in a fenced yard. We believe that Rhodie has been taken as only a human could open the gate ... and close it again. Many concerned neighbours and friends have been coming forth with valuable information. We suspect that Rhodie may be somewhere within 100km radius from Sauble Beach, Ontario.

Please call 519-422-2723 if you see Rhodie

Identifications:

* Short blonde coat
* Wavy retriever coating on upper back
* Standing on all 4s, about 2 ft in height
* From tip of nose to root of tail measures about 4 ft
* A patch of black skin on the joint of left front leg
* Similar patch of skin on the joint of right front leg
* Left ear thicker than right ear
* Stitches/marking of stitches inside bottom part of left ear
* Likely still have chain around neck
* May still have Guide Dog Foundation tag on chain
* Serial number 3197 on tag
* Tatto of serial number on inner right thigh(may only look like ink marking)
* May be limping because of arthritis
* Trouble going up stairs and getting in vehicles due to arthritis
* Answers to his name "Rhodie"

We will be posting updates at SBP.teledyn.com -- if you have any inforation about the whereabouts of Rhodie, please leave a comment on that webpage or call us at the number above.

C.W. Post

C.W. Post was the best friend I ever had
He didn't complain, he was always glad
He'd work day or night
He'd never put up a fight
All he asked for payment
Was love and affection and his food at night.
There was times I felt like losing my temper
When he'd misbehave
But then I'd stop and think
"No one's perfect"
And I felt ashamed.

I loved his big black nose
His sleepy brown eyes
And his big floppy ears
And when he wagged his tail
I felt his heart was full of cheer

C.W. was loyal till the day he died;
When that day came my heart broke
And tears filled my eyes

I'm sure dogs have a soul
And God has a Heaven for them to go;
I'm sure C.W. has his place
Because he was the best friend I'll ever know.

My old guide dog, and my young guide dog

paul stewart writes:

I'm visiting my old guide dog Rhodie (Rhody) at his retirement home in the country. Rhodie was my road manager for 12 years; he has been giving my new guide dog Partner (Peanut) lots advice on how to be a good guide dog. Partner is my fifth guide dog from the Guide Dog Foundation over the past 32 years.

Partner is going to be my road manager when I set out on my journey to find my way across Canada, fundraising for the Guide Dog Foundation and to promote my music. We are going on the road of life, setting out July 15th for Deer Lake, Newfoundland and heading west from there.

Why am I here

Paul wrote this on his 21st birthday

it's may 3, 1975
something compells me to stop
and ask myself
why the heavenly father has kept me alive.
why am I here?
what is my goal?
I hear a little voice
chattering in my mind:
I know my goal,
I just know it--
i was brought in the world to be a poet
the voice tells me
some day some way
by the means of a song or a poem
I'll make someone cry or be happy;
I'll make this world a happier home.

change the world
I can never do,
there is only one thing we all can do,
which is wait
for the great glorious day
where we all meet our fate,
when we meet the heavenly father
at the heavenly gate.

Busker's guiding light

Busker's guiding light: Mike Strobel (Toronto Sun, Feb 5 2009)

"All those new sights, sounds, smells. How is a black lab cross to bear it? So different than the guide dog school in New York.

And a new human. Tagalong Paul Stewart, 54.

'He's been dragging me around ever since I got him home on Monday,' says Tagalong Paul.

Suddenly, a hairy Chihuahua pops up in a furniture store window. Yappy little bugger. Paul and I hate hairy Chihuahuas.

Not so, Peanut. He's off like a shot, tail wagging, Tagalong Paul in tow.

'This is gonna be a challenge,' says Paul, catching his breath, clutching his guitar.

'Gawd I miss Roadie. Gawd I miss my old dog.'"

You never call me darlin'
You never got drunk or died or ran away
Like those country songs all say
It sure is gonna break my heart
When we have to call it a day

Well, that day came. Roadie is pushing 14, old for a seeing eye dog.

So, a few days after New Year's, he and Tagalong Paul took a Greyhound up to Sauble Beach, to Roadie's retirement at a friend's place. Then Paul sends me a postcard from the Guide Dog Foundation school in Smithtown, N.Y.

"I didn't want to work Roadie into the ground," Tagalong Paul tells me later. "It's time for a new road manager."

To keep him from bonking into things. To keep hoodlums from stealing coins from his busking tin. To listen to his country songs with no howling or covering of ears. A kindred spirit on the road.

Well, there's our furry hero schmoozing with the hairy Chihuahua.

Tagalong Paul cuts him some slack.

"Maybe he's nervous because he's a southern dog and never saw so much snow. When I say 'find the curb, Peanut,' he just can't find it.

"And this is a bad time to show him around. The snow deadens echoes and takes away my sense of direction. I can't hear where I'm going."

No problem when Roadie, a yellow lab cross, was in harness. When Paul said "Coffee Time," Roadie led him there.

"Gawd, I love that dog. I like Peanut, but I don't love him."

Not yet.

"I think I'm gonna bring Roadie down to meet him," Paul tells me. "Give him a few pointers.

"Never had any problems with Roadie. He settled in right away."

Those two were fixtures at Bloor and Windermere for a dozen years. Paul plucked his guitar and crooned in his usual doorway and Roadie watched the coins trickle in.

Before that it was Post (as in cereal), another graduate of the Smithtown school.

Paul lost his sight to a brain tumour at age 6, back in New Brunswick. Half a lifetime later, he earned his nickname in a Toronto elevator, Roadie by his side.

"Hello, handsome," a lady purred.
"Hello, yourself," answered Paul, who knows a hot dame when he hears one.
"I was talking to the dog," said the dame.

Ouch, Tagalong Paul.

If it weren't for that dog, I'd have no love at all.

Well, Peanut is a chick magnet, too. Friendly, floppy ears. A gal could do a backflip in those big, brown eyes.

For now, Paul's just happy if the dog doesn't lead him into a lamppost.

And off they go, training finally trumping the charms of the hairy Chihuahua. Down the Sidewalk of Death they stride, street signs to the left of them, parking meters to the right. They dodge the January Pillow Sale placard, but graze a woman gabbing on her cell. Peanut finds every curb.

"We'll work it out," says Tagalong Paul. "They say it might take six months.

"I haven't even heard a sound out of him yet.

"But if he barks like a Chihuahua, I'm sending him back."