[CT-NFB] International guide dog week celebration

[Isabel Rosario]

Happy International Guide Dog Week! The Ct Association of Guide Dog Users
want to take a moment to celebrate and recognize the amazing work of guide
dogs and their handlers. These loyal and intelligent animals serve as the
eyes for their blind and visually impaired owners, helping them navigate
the world with independence and confidence. We’ll be showing our
appreciation for these incredible animals and their trainers by sharing our
favorite guide dog stories throughout the week!
We’ll be starting off with stories from Beth Rival -  My first guide dog
was Sierra from the Seeing eye. A golden retriever and lab mix. I learned
that letting the public pet her wasn’t benefiting me or my dog. My
independence was 100 per cent increased by getting a guide dog. It has
given me the best   years of my life and it gave me a   wonderful
experience and it gave me all the independence I  could ever ask for. Betty
and Bruce babysat for her once in a while when she was retired and one time
they brought her from their home in Wethersfield to our office then in East
Hartford and she took a big dump when she got to the office. They all
laughed…  One of my first discrimination stories was when I went to Disney
and at the airport you would get on a bus to go to the Disney hotels. Well
they boarded the entire bus and made me wait forever. Then the lady asked
passengers if it was okay if a dog came on the bus. Then I had to parade by
everyone to the very back of the bus and was embarrassed, but I said
nothing because it was my first dog and I didn’t want to make waves… That
would not be the case with any of my other 2 dogs. Sierra was at Washington
seminar every February and we proceeded into a taxi to go to the meetings,
before Ubers etc. I got in the front of the taxi and brought my guide dog
in and before I could blink, she was slurping the drivers soup in between
the front seats. That ride cost me a large tip and the price of a  large
hot new soup for the driver. Luckily, he was a good guy about the incident.
My 2 nd guide dog would always walk out of  stores like Target with a
stuffed animal in his mouth  or walk away with one in his mouth from the
Berlin fair and a police officer shook his hand cuffs behind me and said
your dog is under arrest, with lots of humor.  I have been asked at least 4
times from strangers… How can I get one of your harnesses. My response is
always.. well you first have to be blind. It is very annoying. Many times
shopping with my girlfriend and her guide dog we are asked why don’t we
share a guide dog? Also, can I help put your packages in the trunk of your
car? Don’t they see we can’t drive? The public can be very cute at times.
I have always owned pets since I was little. There is a great benefit to
loving a fur baby, but especially when you trust and love a guide dog with
your life. I wouldn’t change anything  and have loved having my freedom.
Attached are pictures of Beth's guides mentioned in her stories:Sierra, a
yellow dog, Barkley a big black lab, and Harlow a smaller lab
-- 
Best regards,
Isabel Rosario
Co-chair|NABS Membership Committee
President| Connecticut Association of Blind Students
President| Connecticut Association of Guide Dog Users
A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut
www.nfbct.org
Check out my podcast:https://anchor.fm/brizzys-perspective
203-993-3045
insertion point between Committee and President|, at the 81st position
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