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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Annie,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>This was charming, well written and very informative for those of us who have not had a guide dog.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Though I qualified for the training and was about to schedule it, surgery removing the cochlea of my left ear due to Meniere’s syndrome, knocked out my hearing and balance so much that I could not consider a guide dog again.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Some of my friends could not envision their lives without their dogs. This thought provoking article explains why.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>thank you for sharing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>Jacqueline Williams<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'>Clarity is just questioning having eaten its fill.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'> Jenny Xie<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces@nfbnet.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Ann Chiappetta via Stylist<br><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, April 25, 2020 4:10 PM<br><b>To:</b> 'Writers' Division Mailing List' <stylist@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> anniecms64@gmail.com<br><b>Subject:</b> [Stylist] blog post 394 words<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.thought-wheel.com/happy-birthday-bailey/">http://www.thought-00000wheel.com/happy-birthday-bailey/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>An Essay for Bailey<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>By Ann Chiappetta<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Who is Bailey? My guide dog, of course, a goofy and sometimes dignified seven-year-old male yellow lab bred and trained from Guiding Eyes for the Blind. He’s the right dog even though his cream-colored fur infiltrates almost every fabric, even the bathroom towels.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Here are some of the things he is done since we met in March 2015: Helped me be a better handler, a faster walker, a more patient person.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Here are some things I believe I have helped him achieve: better manners, tolerance to cats, and doing better with food scavenging. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Today he is 7 years old and it is significant because I know he will be my working dog for another 2 years; his projected retirement age is 9. Until then, Bailey and I will travel a little more once the covid19 pandemic has subsided. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Finally, I want to convey to folks reading this why handlers like me go on about our dogs, why a working dog deserves respect and the best care possible. I personally believe every pet deserves the best care possible, no matter the species but working dogs, especially guide dogs even more so. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I hope I am not overstating the obvious. Every time we go out and walk a route, I feel blessed, free of some invisible restraint. Bailey knows his job and his desire to perform is infectious. He picks up a new route or task quickly once he knows a treat will mark it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There was one time I thought he wouldn’t walk onto the lift platform beside the jet. The jetway was being used and I could not walk down the stairs. When the flight attendant said I would need to ride down from the plane to the tarmac, I panicked, not knowing if Bailey had ever been on an open-air lift. He took me on, sat and cocked his head as if to say, wow, this is different, waited for the lift to complete the ride, and guided me off like he’d done it just yesterday. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>He only showed fear once. We were at an old-time farm and the chickens and rooster were in the street. He refused to walk past, in fact, tried to turn around and go back the way we came. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Happy birthday to Bailey, ever-curious, affectionate, and full of big-boy sweetness.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Ann Chiappetta, Author<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>` Making meaningful connections with others through writing `<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.annchiappetta.com/">www.annchiappetta.com</a> or <a href="http://www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/">www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Blog: <a href="http://www.thought-wheel.com/">www.thought-wheel.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Facebook Annie Chiappetta<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>