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<p>Yeah and I've heard it said that you have to be a good cane user
first off. The reason people hav said this by the way is cause
when they have it was around people that seemed to think that at
some point you could just tell the dog take me to Justin's place
and it would know where that is and just take you. Yeah I kid you
not. There are people that think that. I know that's not curently
true. But hmmmmmm I do wander if dogs are even smart enough for
that and we don't take advantage maybe?<br>
</p>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 9/18/2017 2:26 PM, Justin Salisbury
via CT-NFB wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
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<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">I
know that guide dog schools and their proponents benefit
from negative portrayals of white cane usage, but it must be
recognized that better cane travel instruction could also
empower her for greater independence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Justin
M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Legislative
Committee Chair<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Honolulu
Chapter<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">National
Federation of the Blind of Hawaii<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Email: <a
href="mailto:President@Alumni.ECU.edu"
moz-do-not-send="true">President@Alumni.ECU.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">LinkedIn: </span><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"
lang="EN"><a
href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span style="color:blue">https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury</span></a>
</span><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"
lang="EN"> </span><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">“Education
is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">William
Butler Yeats</span><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><br>
<br>
</span><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">
CT-NFB [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:ct-nfb-bounces@nfbnet.org">mailto:ct-nfb-bounces@nfbnet.org</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Elizabeth Rival via CT-NFB<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, September 18, 2017 7:09 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> 'NFB of Connecticut Mailing List'
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:ct-nfb@nfbnet.org"><ct-nfb@nfbnet.org></a><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Elizabeth Rival <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:erival@comcast.net"><erival@comcast.net></a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Ct-nfb] I liked the sentence she said
about stupid questions people ask her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><b><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Sonja
Gunn: Finding the Joy</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Raising
kids is hard. Raising three kids is harder. Raising triplets
and navigating the world with a white mobility cane – well,
that was just life for Oregon native Sonja Gunn.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">“It
has its challenges,” she laughs. “I think people look at our
situation and think, ‘Thank God that’s not me.’”
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Gunn
laughs easily and often and exudes a sense of calm and
delight. This is a woman who finds the joys in life.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">“I’ve
always had an easy-going personality,” she says, even after
her vision loss was first diagnosed at age 7, with what her
doctor described as “macular degeneration.” (Since then, her
vision impairment has been categorized as retinitis
pigmentosa, specifically, cone-rod dystrophy.)
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">She
pauses a moment when asked what it was like growing up
visually impaired. “That’s a hard one to answer,” she
finally says. “My parents told me my vision loss was
dramatic, but for me it was not.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Gunn
went to school in the days before the Americans with
Disabilities Act, but her parents were able to arrange the
accommodations she needed to do her schoolwork – at first,
large print, but by high school, books on tape. “I had two
older siblings, so my parents were already familiar with the
teachers.”
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">In
junior high school, she could no longer participate in gym
class, which consisted primarily of ball sports. “I had to
convince the principal to let me do activities outside the
school, like swimming,” she says. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">And
art. “I was a cartoonist, the blind girl who could draw,”
she laughs. “It gave me some respect from the other kids.”
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Gunn
enjoyed drawing and thought about going to art school, but,
she says, “I had to be practical.” She attended Oregon State
University and majored in dietetics and nutrition.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">In
college, Gunn befriended a woman who was also visually
impaired. “We memorized everything,” she says, because they
didn’t want their fellow students to know they were blind.
“We were young women [who wanted] to blend into the sighted
world.” They made sure, however, that their professors and
advisors were aware of their vision impairment.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">She
and her friend refused to use white mobility canes, but
eventually, the need was too great. “You want to live on
your own, but living in a bustling city, you need the help,”
Gunn says. But it also brought exasperation. “Having a cane
is like holding up a big sign: ‘Ask me stupid questions.’”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Although
Gunn received her bachelor’s in dietetics and nutrition, she
did not become a registered dietician. Instead, after
college, she went to massage school, thinking, “I could do
this to make money.” This prompts another laugh: “It is a
cliché that blind people become massage therapists, but I
found it so fun and rewarding. For me, it was a way to be
clinical but in a nicer setting.”
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Gunn
opened her own practice, but after she got married and her
triplets came along – two boys and a girl – she “retired” to
become a stay-at-home mom. “I had the babies, and I didn’t
want to go anywhere,” she says. “I was home all the time.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#941200">Three
kids and a cane</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Gunn
has been a proficient cane user for more than 20 years, but
when her kids started kindergarten, cane travel was no
longer as helpful as it used to be. “I got busy, busy,
busy,” she says, as she started volunteering at their
school. “I was spending so much time maneuvering through the
campus and fields and doorways.” She found she was bumping
into poles and other things on the school grounds. Just when
she needed to speed up, she was slowing down. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Although
the thought of a guide dog had been in her mind since her
college days, Gunn began to seriously consider a dog about
five years before she took up the harness.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">She
had experienced some rapid changes in her vision during that
time – “I’ve had sudden loss, then you get used to that for
a while, and it suddenly changes again,” she says. Still,
she wanted to wait until her children were in the third
grade. When they reached that milestone, she told herself:
“This is the time, Sonja.”
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Gunn
was already familiar with guide dogs. “I had lots of
girlfriends who have guide dogs, so I had background with
their experiences.”
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">She
began her search in April 2014, making calls and
interviewing different schools to find the one that suited
her best. When she did her research on the Guide Dog
Foundation, “I had a really good feeling about this school.”
Everyone she dealt with “was welcoming and encouraging,” and
she liked our training methods.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Gunn
also appreciated that the on-campus class was two weeks
only. “When you have little kids, it’s hard to get away for
a month,” she says. “When I put all the things together, I
said, ‘I’d like to go to New York. I’d really like to get my
dog from the Foundation.’”
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">In
August, she was invited to join the September class. It
could not have come at a worse time. Gunn’s husband works
for a local utility and is responsible for maintaining its
substations. During the summer, they hire between six and 10
contractors to make necessary repairs at each station.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">At
first he asked her not to go, but then, she says, “He
rearranged all the contractors and their schedules. It was
very sweet.”
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#941200">Ready.
Set. Go!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">The
day students arrive for class, they begin their training,
with orientation to the building and a lecture. The next
day, they meet their new guide dogs, and training begins in
earnest. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Gunn
could not have been more pleased with the match the
instructors made for her. “I was slowing down with a cane,
so I was hoping a guide dog would move me forward. They
matched me with a dog who’s got a calm nature but a fast
walker.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">She
really liked, she adds, “that we were on the move, with lots
and lots of work. I didn’t want too much sitting and
waiting. It was fast-paced, which is who I am.”
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">After
the first day on campus, guide dog training primarily takes
place in the real world: in parks and malls, on suburban
streets, and even in New York City, with its crowded subways
and frenetic streets. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">At
the end of the two-week class, Gunn was ready to return home
with her dog and put into action all she had learned during
training. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#941200">New
confidence</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Gunn
and her guide dog have been partners for almost three years,
and she makes sure to keep up with his training.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">“Just
being at the side of a guide dog and having them move you
through things without even knowing they’re there is just
wonderful for me,” she says. “I can move fast, I can hold my
head up and have good posture. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">“All
those things are important because now I feel much better
about going places on my own,” she adds.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">The
upcoming school year will mean more changes to the Gunn
household. The triplets are almost 12 and will be starting
middle school, Gunn reports. “They’re excited, and it will
bring new challenges to our family. We’ll be busier than
before.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">And
by her side will be her guide dog, keeping her calm and
focused and ready to go.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Photos:
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">(1)
A woman dressed in a red sleeveless blouse and gray shorts
walks along the side of a road, holding the harness of a
black Labrador Retriever. The caption reads: Sonja and her
guide dog taking a walk around her neighborhood. <i>Photo
courtesy Sonja Gunn</i></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">(2)
Sonja, dressed in a pink T-shirt, blue jeans, and wearing a
blue visor navigates around an obstacle on the Foundation
campus. The caption reads: Learning to go around obstacles
as a team. <i>Photo by Rebecca Eden</i></span><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
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