[nagdu] Fw: Article: From the Boston Globe

Mark J. Cadigan kramc11 at gmail.com
Thu Feb 23 02:02:06 UTC 2012


I was there. The news article makes it sound far more interesting than it 
was.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Natalie" <nrorrell at qwest.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 7:34 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Fw: Article: From the Boston Globe


> 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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