[nagdu] Fw: Article: From the Boston Globe
Larry D. Keeler
lkeeler at comcast.net
Fri Feb 10 22:26:30 UTC 2012
My post office was out of them but should have them soon!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Julie J." <julielj at neb.rr.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 4:27 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Fw: Article: From the Boston Globe
>I forgot to update you guys on the stamps. I was able to purchase them at
>my regular post office. If they have them here in the middle of nowhere,
>I'm guessing you can purchase them anywhere.
>
> Julie
>
>
> On 2/10/2012 10:59 AM, Nicole B. Torcolini at Home wrote:
>> At Perkins, applause for stamps honoring service dogs
>> By Cindy Cantrell bar Globe Correspondent
>> February 09, 2012
>> Suzanne Kreiterst Globe Staff
>>
>> Anne DeFeo, 73, with "the love of my life," her guide dog, Viv. "She's
>> the love of my life, and she loves me. We're joined at the hip," DeFeo
>> said of her 4 1/2-year-old yellow Labrador
>> retriever, Viv.
>> On Valentine's Day, DeFeo and Viv will participate with other guide
>> dogs and their owners in a ceremony at Perkins honoring the US Postal
>> Service for its new 65-cent "Dogs at Work" series of stamps. The series
>> depicts a guide dog, therapy dog, military tracking dog, and
>> search-and-rescue dog, and celebrates the "enduring partnership between
>> dogs and people."
>> Designed by Postal Service art director Howard E.
>> Paine, the four stamps feature original paintings by John M.
>> Thompson, an illustration professor at Syracuse University.
>> Television newscaster Randy Price will emcee the 1:30 p.m. ceremony
>> Tuesday in the historic Howe Building on the Perkins campus, 175 North
>> Beacon St.
>> The event will include speakers on the importance of guide and service
>> dogs in their lives, and a presentation by Perkins Elder Book Club
>> members on "Thunder Dog," a true story recounted by Michael Hingson about
>> a guide dog's heroics on Sept. 11, 2001.
>> There will be gift bags of dog biscuits made by Perkins students, and
>> the presentation of a plaque to Boston's postmaster, James Holland, in
>> honor of the Postal Service's longtime commitment to the blind and
>> visually impaired.
>> DeFeo will be there as a person with first-hand knowledge of the bond
>> between guide dogs and their owners.
>> "She's meant a whole new life of independence for me," said DeFeo,
>> describing the confidence she feels from Vivbs presence, guiding her
>> almost imperceptibly.
>> "I'm a people person, and now I'm never alone. My pal is always right
>> by my side. She's just the best."
>> Watertown resident Kim Charlson, director of the Braille and Talking
>> Book Library at Perkins, coordinated the event after learning about the
>> stamps. Through the Postal Service's free delivery of reading material
>> and sound recordings for the blind, the library serves 25,000 people
>> across Massachusetts who cannot read ordinary printed material due to
>> visual impairment, reading disability, or physical disability.
>> "We wouldn't be able to do what we do without the post office," said
>> Charlson, who will attend the event with her 3 1/2-year-old guide dog,
>> Dolly, a 44-pound German shepherd who accompanies her to conferences
>> nationwide.
>> Charlson said she estimates that there are 100,000 residents who would
>> qualify to use the library's free services and materials such as large
>> print, Braille, and digital audio books and magazines, but aren't aware
>> of its existence.
>> "Events like this help get the word outbb that the library is here and
>> we can help," she added. "So many borrowers say they don't know what
>> they'd do without access to books and reading. It makes such a difference
>> to their quality of life."
>> Canton resident Dave Lynn, the Blinded Veterans Association
>> representative to the Braille and Talking Book Library, will be
>> accompanied Tuesday by his 6-year-old guide dog, Blazer, a red Doberman
>> pinscher.
>> Lynn, whose degenerative retinitis pigmentosa forced him to medically
>> retire from his 14-year Air Force career in 2003, will share the steps
>> involved in being matched in need and personality with a service animal,
>> and how Blazer has improved his life. While he previously used a white
>> cane to navigate public transportation, Lynn said, Blazer helps him find
>> doors, escalators, and elevators more quickly.
>> At times, however, Blazer has become too smart for his own good, Lynn
>> said. He emphasizes the importance of dog handling and directional
>> skills, particularly when long-practiced routes suddenly change -- such
>> as when he gets a new class schedule at the University of Massachusetts
>> Boston, where he is majoring in history.
>> "Blazer gives me the ability to navigate the world much more
>> efficiently," said Lynn, who describes the 94-pound canine as a
>> "terrific" guide dog, but also "the biggest goof on the planet" who
>> resumes his fun-loving, attention-seeking ways the second that his
>> harness is removed.
>> In addition to posting a sign on the harness alerting strangers that
>> Blazer is working, Lynn said, he looks for opportunities to educate the
>> public that guide dogs are service animals, not pets. As such, he is
>> serious about his responsibility of properly controlling his dog in
>> public places. In return, he wishes people would ask before petting
>> Blazer -- a distraction that can be compared to pulling on a driver's
>> steering wheel.
>> "I understand people like dogs, but it's so nice when I walk into a
>> place and they don't acknowledge the dog is there," he said. "They treat
>> me like everybody else, which is what should happen."
>> Brighton resident Carl Richardson, president of Guide Dog Users of
>> Massachusetts, will speak about "these amazing dogs who dedicate their
>> entire lives to uea"b and the assistance they provide for a wide range of
>> disabilities: safely navigating around obstacles, retrieving items,
>> helping with balance, alerting people to everything from a ringing
>> doorbell to an oncoming seizure.
>> Richardson, who is visually impaired and hard of hearing, emphasizes
>> that the use of a service dog versus a white cane is strictly a personal
>> choice. And while he agrees that people should ask permission before
>> approaching guide dogs, he credits his first guide dog, Kiva, with
>> helping to court his wife, Megan Sullivan, a Boston University associate
>> professor.
>> Richardson credits his current guide dog, Kinley, a 7
>> 1/2-year-old black Lab, with reducing his reliance on his wife, and
>> providing an extra set of eyes and ears throughout his daily commute on
>> the bus and subway.
>> "She doesn't have to worry about me because that's Kinleybs job," said
>> Richardson, who is the Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator at the
>> State House.
>> Richardson said he is fortunate to still have Kiva, a
>> 14-year-old yellow Lab whom he retired as his service dog due to her
>> arthritis at age 9. Because 70 percent of the blind community are
>> unemployed, he said, many guide-dog owners can't afford to care for
>> multiple animals.
>> "I'm so glad the US Postal Service is honoring these magnificent dogs,
>> because I can't imagine my life without one," he added. "I also hope the
>> stamps bring more recognition and awareness so when we bring our dogs
>> into public places, people know it's not a big deal."
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