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<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Joyce
Kane<BR><A
href="http://www.krafterskorner.org/">www.KraftersKorner.org</A><BR>Blindhands@AOL.com
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From: info@michaelhingson.com<BR>To: nagdu@nfbnet.org, cagdu@nfbcal.org,
ebay-class@nfbnet.org, nfb-talk@nfbnet.org<BR>Sent: 6/28/2011 12:55:46 A.M.
Eastern Daylight Time<BR>Subj: [Ebay-class] Roselle -- a sad day<BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000
size=2 face=Arial>GOODBYE TO A HERO<BR><BR>It is strange for me to be writing
this article while I have feelings of<BR>both sadness and joy in my
heart. Nevertheless, it is something which must<BR>be done.<BR><BR>I
have the solemn obligation to inform you that my hero guide dog,
Roselle,<BR>who was with me in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001,
passed away<BR>last evening, Sunday, June 26, 2011 at 8:52 PM. I am sad,
of course,<BR>because I will miss Roselle so very much, more than any of my
other guide<BR>dogs. I write with joy because Roselle is in a better
place, no longer<BR>feeling pain, while I get to have so many fond memories of
her.<BR><BR>Roselle was born on March 12, 1998 at Guide Dogs for the Blind in
San<BR>Rafael, California. I heard right from the start that she was
quite a<BR>mischievous little puppy. She went to Santa Barbara,
California to be<BR>raised by several puppy raising families. Kay and
Ted Stern had the joy and<BR>pleasure of spending the longest amount of raiser
time with her. Kay and<BR>Ted introduced her to airplane flying, New
York, snow, and even the theater.<BR>I must say that I think the culture did
rub off on her.<BR><BR>After her time with puppy raisers she went back to
Guide Dogs for the Blind<BR>for training. I think I first met her on
November 22, 1999. It was obvious<BR>from the very beginning that we
were a perfect match. Roselle was my fifth<BR>guide dog. I could
tell that she would be an excellent guide from our very<BR>first walk
together. What took me a few days to discover was that Roselle<BR>was
also quite a character; I constantly referred to her as a pixie.
Almost<BR>from the first night we spent together I found that Roselle was
great at<BR>stealing socks. She didn't chew them up; she just carried
them around and<BR>then hid them somewhere only to bring them out later just
to taunt me. She<BR>was always willing to give them up undamaged and
ready-to-wear although a<BR>little bit damp. Her tail wagged through the
whole experience. In fact,<BR>her tail hardly stop wagging during the
almost 12 years I knew her. During<BR>my first week with Roselle I also
discovered that she was a loud snorer.<BR>The Stearns told me later that she
could snore with the best of them.<BR><BR>We came home to New Jersey on
December 2, 1999. Later that evening she met<BR>my retired guide,
Linnie. Linnie and Roselle seemed a bit uncomfortable<BR>with each other
that night and into the middle of the next day. I decided<BR>that this
awkwardness had gone on long enough and brought out a rope tug<BR>bone.
I made each of them take an end and I grabbed the middle of the rope.<BR>They
started off by teaming up and tugging against me. After about
20<BR>seconds of this with mouths inching up toward my fingers from both sides
I<BR>release the bone and let them go at it alone. From that moment on
they were<BR>inseparable until Linnie died on July 4, 2002.<BR><BR>On
September 11, 2001 Roselle and I were in our office on the 78th floor
of<BR>Tower One of the World Trade Center when the tower was struck by
American<BR>Airlines flight 11 which had been hijacked and was being
controlled by<BR>terrorists. Our escape from that tower as well as the
collapse of Tower Two<BR>is well known and, in fact, is the subject of Thunder
Dog, a book written by<BR>me and Susy Flory, which will be in bookstores soon
as well as be available<BR>on my website. All I want to say here is that
Roselle did an incredible<BR>job. She remained poised and calm through
the entire day. She gave kisses<BR>and love wherever she could and she
worked when she needed to do so. I<BR>would not be alive today if it
weren't for Roselle. I cannot say enough<BR>about the incredible job she
did. What Roselle did on 9/11 is a testimony<BR>not only to the Stern's
and the others who raised her, but also to her<BR>trainer, Todd Jurek, the
entire GDB training staff, and all the people who<BR>make up the wonderful
organization of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Most of<BR>all, what Roselle
did that day and in fact every day she and I were together<BR>is nothing less
than the strongest possible evidence I can provide of the<BR>value of teamwork
and trust.<BR><BR>After 9/11, in fact in mid-January 2002, after Roselle and I
had spent<BR>countless hours speaking to the media, and at several events
including GDB's<BR>Holiday Luncheon, and even riding on a float in the Rose
Parade on New<BR>Year's Day, Roselle and I were offered a position at Guide
Dogs for the<BR>Blind to serve as the National Public Affairs Director for the
organization.<BR>Over the next 6 1/2 years Roselle and I traveled hundreds of
thousands of<BR>miles throughout the United States and the rest of the world
speaking about<BR>trust and teamwork, guide dogs, and blindness in general in
order to help<BR>people understand that the real handicap of blindness is not
a lack of<BR>eyesight but a lack of proper education about blindness.
Roselle took every<BR>trip with poise and confidence whether it was to Kansas
or Korea. She was<BR>an incredible traveler and once even traveled from
San Francisco to New<BR>Zealand, a 23.5 hour trip, without needing to go to
the bathroom once. I<BR>did not fare so well.<BR><BR>In 2004, Roselle
was diagnosed with immune mediated thrombocytopenia, a<BR>condition which
caused her body to attack her blood platelets. Through<BR>medications we
were able to control the disease and Roselle was able to<BR>continue
guiding. As usual, she worked like a trooper and never once<BR>exhibited
pain nor discomfort.<BR><BR>When Linnie died in 2002 Roselle lost her major
tug companion. For the next<BR>four years I mainly had to take up the
slack as it were. We did care for<BR>some foster dogs from GDB, and in
2003 we adopted Panama, a 12 1/2-year-old<BR>career change dog from Guide
Dogs. Panama wasn't a great tugging partner<BR>because she didn't have
the strength to keep up with Roselle. In 2006,<BR>however, when Panama
died at the age of 15 we decided to become a breeder<BR>keeper for GDB.
Fantasia came to live with us. She was just two years old<BR>and was
quite able to give as well as she got from Roselle. Again,
Roselle<BR>found an inseparable friend and made the most of it. She
still swiped the<BR>occasional pair of socks, but Fantasia was her main
interest. Roselle<BR>taught Fantasia how to bark every time the doorbell
rang and how to beg for<BR>treats, although I must admit treat begging came
natural to both dogs<BR>especially when 8:00 PM rolled around.<BR><BR>In
February 2007 during a normal checkup we learned that some of
Roselle's<BR>kidney values were changing for the worse. It was decided
that the<BR>medication regimen on which Roselle had been placed as well as the
stress of<BR>guiding were the causes for her kidney value changes.
Roselle retired from<BR>guide work in March of 2007. It was a sad day
for all of us, but Roselle<BR>took it in stride and soon made it very clear
that retirement suited her<BR>well. After retirement Roselle loved to
take walks most of the time, she<BR>loved her meals, her treats, playing
Battle of the Bone with Fantasia and<BR>later with my current guide dog
Africa, and of course barking at the ringing<BR>of the doorbell. Roselle
was the loudest barker of the bunch. I have fond<BR>memories of Roselle,
Fantasia, and Africa all tugging on the same rope, all<BR>battling each other
across our living room giving no care to whatever was in<BR>their
way.<BR><BR>In 2010, Roselle began exhibiting some chronic back pain. In
March of 2010,<BR>while attending and speaking at the annual convention of the
American Animal<BR>Hospital Association Roselle met Doctor Robin Downing, an
expert in dog pain<BR>management. Robin noticed Roselle's pain and while
I gave three consecutive<BR>workshops she spent time with Roselle. I
think they got to know each other<BR>pretty well that day because right after
the workshops Doctor Downing, right<BR>there on the floor in the front of the
conference room, gave Roselle a back<BR>adjustment which clearly helped
Roselle and made her back feel somewhat<BR>better. We immediately upon
our return home took Roselle to her vet and<BR>started her on a treatment of
acupuncture, some other back adjustments, and<BR>herbs which altogether mostly
eliminated her chronic back pain.<BR><BR>Earlier this year we noticed that
Roselle was beginning to have a harder<BR>time standing up on her own,
although once she was standing she loved to<BR>continue her daily walks.
She stopped playing tug bone with Fantasia and<BR>Africa, but she still
enjoyed lying in the sun, eating, kissing everybody in<BR>sight, and barking
at the doorbell. Her ability to stand on her own grew<BR>worse
throughout the first half of this year.<BR><BR>Last week she began exhibiting
some other signs of distress and pain. On<BR>Friday, June 24, 2011 she
had to be taken to her vet as she had begun<BR>vomiting blood. It is
suspected that somehow she had developed a stomach<BR>ulcer. Also, it
was discovered that her red blood cell count had
dropped<BR>significantly. Friday evening she was taken to the Pet
Emergency and<BR>Specialty Center where she was well known and would receive
over night care.<BR>She had spent many hours with Doctor Harb and the other
staff working<BR>through her IMT issues. They had also helped her in
January 2009 when she<BR>developed gastric torsion and had to undergo
emergency surgery to untwist<BR>her stomach.<BR><BR>Yesterday, Sunday, June
26, we visited her in the evening only to see her<BR>condition continuing to
deteriorate. She was in a lot of pain and<BR>discomfort. There was
no one cause for her discomfort, but Doctor Bowie of<BR>the PESC felt that
some of her immune mediated related conditions had<BR>returned in addition to
the possible stomach ulcer. After much consultation<BR>and discussion we
all came to agreement that the best thing we could do to<BR>help Roselle was
to assist her in crossing the Rainbow Bridge and go to her<BR>friends Linnie
and Panama. At 8:52 last evening she crossed the bridge and,<BR>I am
sure, is now more comfortable and has all the doorbells she wants to<BR>bark
at.<BR><BR>How can I possibly say goodbye to a dog who is done all Roselle has
done and<BR>who lived life to the fullest? How can I ever do justice to
her life, work,<BR>and memory? Roselle has been one of the greatest
blessings and gifts I have<BR>ever had the joy to let into my life. God
surely broke the mold when she<BR>came into the world. Including Africa
I have had seven guide dogs and also<BR>I have had the opportunity to see
thousands of them at work. Roselle is<BR>unique without a doubt.
She worked through the most trying time in our<BR>nation’s history, and she
was right there unflinching for all of it. Her<BR>spirit never
diminished and, in fact, grew stronger through the years after<BR>9-11 which
helps me be a better person today.<BR><BR>I thank God for the time Karen and I
were allowed to have the wonderful<BR>creature which was Roselle with
us. She touched everyone whom she met and<BR>I'm sure everyone’s path
she crossed is better for knowing her. She kissed<BR>firefighters in the
World Trade Center as we descended the stairs. She gave<BR>unconditional
love to so many people wherever she went. She inspired us all<BR>and
will continue to do so.<BR><BR>We are about to form the Roselle's Dream
Foundation. This has been in the<BR>works for several months. The
purposes of the foundation include educating<BR>people about blindness, and as
donations permit we shall assist blind<BR>children and later blind adults in
obtaining some of the technologies which<BR>will assist them in learning and
working in the world. Shortly the website<BR>www.rosellefoundation.org
will be up and running. I hope people will honor<BR>Roselle by making
donations in her memory to the Roselle's Dream Foundation<BR>to help us in our
work.<BR><BR>Roselle, your memory will always be with us and I know your
spirit will<BR>continue to touch us all. I know you're watching and
you’re nearby us.<BR>Help us all to be better people and dogs, but most of all
be yourself<BR>wherever you are. I hope you're feeling better now.
You have set a high<BR>bar of love for all of us. Be at peace and know
that we shall try to love<BR>each other as much as you loved each of us on
this earth.<BR><BR>The Michael Hingson Group, INC.<BR>“Speaking with
Vision”<BR>Michael Hingson, President<BR>(415)
827-4084<BR>info@michaelhingson.com<BR>To learn more about my upcoming book,
speaking topics and speaking<BR>availability please visit
www.michaelhingson.com<BR>Thunder Dog is now available for early ordering on
Amazon!!!<BR>http://www.amazon.com/Thunder-Dog-Blind-Triumph-Ground/dp/140020304X/ref=sr_<BR>1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289090352&sr=1-3<BR><BR><BR>for
info on the new KNFB Reader Mobile,
visit:<BR>http://knfbreader.michaelhingson.com<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Ebay-class
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