[nagdu] Fw: Article: From the Boston Globe

Thu Feb 23 00:34:40 UTC 2012

This is right on.  It creates a better connection between all communities 
that may not otherwise exist.
Best,
Nat and Liam Joshua

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nicole B. Torcolini at Home" <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
To: "NAGDU" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 9:59 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Fw: Article: From the Boston Globe

> 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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