[NAGDU] Disappointed in Guiding Eyes for the Blind's Response
Sonja O
sohldag at hotmail.com
Thu Jan 25 06:56:00 UTC 2018
I’d like to share the link to the guiding eyes page on which the statement is posted.
Here’s the link:
https://www.guidingeyes.org/33497/access-hotline-for-our-graduates/
Here’s the text:
“[...]
On January 19, 2018, Delta Airlines announced the requirement of a health certificate for service animals on all domestic flights. Guiding Eyes is communicating with Delta to understand how to help our graduates navigate these new procedures.
Guiding Eyes currently provides health certificates to all graduates that are valid up to one year (depending on date of vaccinations.) After the initial certificate expires, we can provide an updated health certificate to graduates who bring their guides to the Guiding Eyes Training Center in Yorktown Heights, NY, for a check-up by a staff veterinarian.
We continue to issue I.D. cards and letters to all graduates certifying that each Guiding Eyes guide dog has been formally trained as a service dog and has been taught to be well behaved in public. While not required by law, these can be helpful in resolving access challenges.
The entire Guiding Eyes community works hard to make sure our dogs are bred, socialized and trained to be well behaved in public. Guiding Eyes remains committed to assisting our graduates and are pleased to add this enhancement to our comprehensive follow up services. If you have any questions about this announcement please contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Ben Cawley
Director of Admissions
Guiding Eyes for the Blind
914-243-2227<tel:914-243-2227>
800-942-0149<tel:800-942-0149>
bcawley at guidingeyes.org<mailto:bcawley at guidingeyes.org>”
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On Jan 24, 2018, at 10:16 PM, Milissa Garside via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
Wow, I just saw the statement on the guiding eyes website that this response refers to. Pretty darn disappointing.
Milissa
Sent from my iPad
On Jan 25, 2018, at 12:12 AM, Sonja O via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
Very disappointing, indeed.
Thanks for sharing.
Best wishes to you, sonja
Check us out
@chief - a service dog
on Facebook
On Jan 24, 2018, at 8:59 PM, NAGDU President via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org<mailto:nagdu at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
Dear NAGDU Members & Supporters,
I am writing to share with you my comments to Guiding Eyes for the Blind
regarding their comments on Delta's proposed service animal policy.
Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala their statement
January 24, 2018
Dear Mr. Cawley,
Via Email: bcawley at guidingeyes.org<mailto:bcawley at guidingeyes.org>
I want to express my extreme disappointment with the
response by Guiding eyes for the Blind to the issue we are facing with delta
Airlines. The National Association of Guide Dog Users, a strong and proud
division of the National Federation of the Blind, is committed to
advocating for all guide dog users, whether they receive their guide dogs
from a formal training program or choose to owner-train their dogs. We are
also aware that, when we advocate for policies that affect us as guide dog
users, we have a more global responsibility to the entire service dog
industry. We take this responsibility seriously and reject any attempt to
weaken our civil rights. This being said, we oppose any measures that have
the effect of discriminating against disabled individuals who use service
dogs, including the imposition of an unequal benefit, something Guiding Eyes
for the Blind seems to condone in their recent statement.
Though it is true that consumers of Guiding Eyes for the Blind and other
guide dog training programs are issued identification cards, these cards are
not and should not be required as a precondition for access under the Air
Carrier Access Act or a covered entity under the Americans with Disabilities
Act. Though it is equally true that all responsible animal owners, including
guide and service dog users, must accept the responsibility of maintaining
the health of their dogs, it is paternalistic to require us to demonstrate
that we are doing so just because we are blind or otherwise disabled and use
a service dog! The requirement to present a health record as a precondition
to travel is discriminatory and imposes an undue burden for those of us who
use service dogs. Likewise, the inability to book on-demand travel and
check-in online, curbside, or by means of a kiosk is a discriminatory
unequal benefit.
By issuing their statement, Guiding Eyes for the Blind has
done a disservice to their consumers and the entire service dog using
public. Such an ill-informed position compromises the progress made by the
National Federation of the Blind and the National Association of Guide Dog
Users to ensure that service dog users have the right to full participation
in society on terms of full equality and to travel freely without harassment
or the imposition of unnecessary, burdensome requirements.
The National Association of Guide Dog Users strongly urges
Guiding Eyes for the Blind to rescind their statement and take a stand with
us to demand that those of us who choose to use service dogs have the
ability to travel freely and on equal terms with our nondisabled peers. We
further urge
all guide and service dog training programs to stand with the National
Federation of the blind and its National Association of Guide Dog Users to
ensure that their consumers are well-informed about their civil rights under
the law and take an active role in advocating for those rights.
For more information about the National Association of Guide
Dog Users, please visit our website
http://nagdu.org
Follow us on Twitter - @nagdu
Join the discussion on our Facebook page by searching for NAGDU.
Live the life you want; nobody can stop you!
Respectfully yours,
Marion Gwizdala
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc. (NAGDU)
National Federation of the Blind
(813) 626-2789
President at NAGDU.ORG<mailto:President at NAGDU.ORG>
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise
expectations because low expectations create barriers between blind people
and our dreams. You can live the life you want! Blindness is not what holds
you back.
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