[Nyagdu] Phoney guide dogs a worrisome trend

Sat Dec 7 16:55:57 UTC 2013

Thank you Marion:
I was just posting the information, and I agree with you about all that was said.
Happy Holidays.
Cheryl Echevarria, Board MemberNYAGDU

Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY StateLeading the Way in Independent Travel!
Cheryl Echevarria, Ownerwww.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations at echevarriatravel.com
 Take the stress out of this year’s holiday shopping with NFB’s Bid for Equality national online auction: Black Friday, Nov. 29, to Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3. View our must-have donations and register to make your Bid for Equality. The future is in your bid! Echevarria Travel has partnered with Braille Smith. www.braillesmith.com for all her braille needs.  Gail Smith is the Secretary of the NFB of Alabama

> From: blind411 at verizon.net
> To: nyagdu at nfbnet.org
> Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2013 11:35:37 -0500
> Subject: Re: [Nyagdu] Phoney guide dogs a worrisome trend
> 
> 	Though this seems to have been written by a Canadian consumer and
> the laws of Canada may be different than those in the U.S., the assertion by
> the writer that there is no need for an individual to purchase a harness is
> not necessarily true. I have harnesses not issued by the program that
> trained my dog. One is a nylon harness that is lightweight and perfect for
> days at the beach or rainy weather. Since all guide dog training programs
> reserve the right to repossess their issued  harness, I think it is a good
> idea to have a harness one owns that the program cannot remove should they
> invoke this right arbitrarily, which some have done.
> 
> 	The National Association of Guide dog Users opposes any effort to
> restrict the sale of service animal gear over the internet. We do support
> better education of places of public accommodation as it pertains to their
> rights to require the credible assurance of those claiming protections under
> state and federal laws and their right to refuse access to those whose dogs
> pose a direct threat or are out of control. NAGDU believes such education is
> more equitable than banning the sale of gear over the internet.
> 
> 
> Marion Gwizdala, President
> National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc.
> National Federation of the Blind
> (813) 626-2789 (Office)
> 888-NAGDU411 (Hotline
> President at nagdu.org
> www.nagdu.org
> 
>   
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nyagdu [mailto:nyagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of cheryl
> echevarria
> Sent: Friday, December 06, 2013 4:26 PM
> To: nyagdu
> Subject: [Nyagdu] Phoney guide dogs a worrisome trend
> 
> Even thought this is happening in Canada. It is also happening here in the
> US.
> Thought I would post this, it was on the GDF List.
> 
> Phoney guide dogs a worrisome trend
> By Alan Conway, Calgary Herald December 2, 2013 Reader says people who buy
> phoney guide dog IDs can threaten the safety oflegitimate working dogs.
> The work of guide dogs is well known and an increasing number of people
> areusing other assistance dogs to deal legitimately with disabilities, but
> theproliferation of fake equipment and identification is causing a problem.
> If people have a negative experience with a dog that was not trained as
> aguide dog, it creates a bad precedent for the next person to come along.
> Thesafety of legitimate working dogs can also be threatened when untrained
> dogsattack them.
> Easy Internet access now means that people are purchasing fake
> vests,harnesses and identification to allow them to take their pets into
> publicplaces where they would not otherwise be able to go. Some have even
> tried totravel internationally with their pets or to obtain discounts from
> theirveterinarians by making such false claims.
> Guide Dog Users of Canada, a nationally registered charity that assistsguide
> dog users and educates the public on the benefits of guide dog use,deplores
> this situation because of the threat it creates to the legitimateaccess
> rights of blind and partially sighted guide dog teams.
> There are more than a dozen guide dog training facilities across
> NorthAmerica, each of which provides its own harnesses, identification cards
> andequipment. There is never a need for a handler to purchase harnesses
> oridentification from anyone else.
> Alan Conway
> Gatineau, Que.
> Alan Conway is an investigator for Guide Dog Users of Canada.
> The Calgary Herald
> 
> 
> Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY StateLeading the Way in
> Independent Travel!
> Cheryl Echevarria,
> Ownerwww.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations at echevarriatravel.com
>  Take the stress out of this year's holiday shopping with NFB's Bid for
> Equality national online auction: Black Friday, Nov. 29, to Giving Tuesday,
> Dec. 3. View our must-have donations and register to make your Bid for
> Equality. The future is in your bid! Echevarria Travel has partnered with
> Braille Smith. www.braillesmith.com for all her braille needs.  Gail Smith
> is the Secretary of the NFB of Alabama 		 	   		  
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