[nfb-talk] Another perspective on guide dogs

Wed Feb 25 14:39:12 UTC 2009

I had to leave for a trip last Saturday morning in the middle of a snow 
storm with 8 inches of snow. Yeah, I could have done it with a cane but it 
would have been way, way harder. there was the 8 inches of snow to trudge 
through, huge piles of snow in my path, snow blowers all over the place, and 
just general confusion.   It would have been so hard to get to the bus 
station without a guide dog.

A guide dog provides a pair of eyes and an extra brain. I don't know how 
anyone could think that wouldn't help.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Milissa Garside" <milissa.g79 at gmail.com>
To: <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:59 PM
Subject: [nfb-talk] Another perspective on guide dogs

>
> Given the discussions of late on this list, I thought the following 
> article
> might be good food for thought. Janet Labreck is an NFB member and is the
> commissioner for the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. Very
> interesting how she portrays cane use. While the intersection referenced 
> in
> this article is confusing, there are audible traffic signals along with
> heavy pedestrian traffic which offer plenty of sound cues for crossing
> safely.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Janet LaBreck and "Osbourne:" Filling Big Shoes
>
> Stand at the corner of Boston's Tremont and Boylston streets, near Boston
> Common, and you'll be amazed at the chaos. Tourists, shoppers, office
> workers and street vendors mill about. Crowds of people gather to cross 
> the
> intersection.
>
> When the light turns-and sometimes even when it doesn't (this is Boston
> after all) - the pedestrians cross the street, dodging cars which totally
> ignore the signals. It is bedlam.
> "This is why I need Osbourne," says Janet LaBreck. "This corner is
> unbelievable. It's hard to cross when you're sighted, never mind when 
> you're
> blind."
>
> Janet LaBreck is the commissioner of the Massachusetts Commission for the
> Blind (MCB). Osbourne is the Fidelco guide dog with whom she was partnered
> last summer. As Commissioner, LaBreck attends plenty of meetings at the
> Massachusetts State House and other governmental offices which require
> frequent treks across the Boston Common. With Osbourne beside her, LaBreck
> makes the trip in fifteen minutes. Without Osbourne, it took nearly double
> the time and with no assurance that an errant car wouldn't barrel into 
> her.
>
>
> Given that the first MCB Commissioner was Helen Keller, Commissioner 
> LaBreck
> fills some big shoes. After working for the MCB for more than twenty 
> years,
> LaBreck was tapped by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in 2007 to
> oversee the agency which provides services to 36,000 Massachusetts 
> residents
> who are blind. LaBreck's passion is to increase
> employment opportunities in the blind community. She has successfully
> partnered with
> businesses in the Commonwealth to develop a nationally recognized 
> internship
> program that each year places dozens of individuals who are blind in a
> variety of industries.
>
> Her mantra is "maximize independence" and Osbourne helps her to do just
> that. "Having a Fidelco guide dog has given me an increased feeling of
> independence. He definitely has
> increased my confidence." To watch LaBreck, dressed in a black tweed suit
> and sporting a red trench coat, stride quickly across the Common with
> Osbourne beside her is to see
> the very definition of confidence. Together, the Commissioner and Osbourne
> do a lot of traveling. Each day requires a 54-mile commute from her 
> central
> Massachusetts home to
> her office in downtown Boston. Within her workday, she frequently travels
> across the city and, often, across the state to fulfill her duties as
> commissioner. When she applied to Fidelco, she told us that she needed a
> fast dog, as well as one who could hold his own in high level meetings and
> patiently endure her many public speeches without so much as a whine or
> whimper.
>
> Osbourne hasn't let her down. On the contrary, he's garnered fans iin high
> places. Martha Coakley, the Attorney General of Massachusetts, adores
> Osbourne. Her office has decided to spearhead a public awareness campaign
> about service dogs. State legislators and high
> ranking officials also fawn over Osbourne.
>
>
> So does LaBreck's husband, Russell. To hear them talk about Osbourne is 
> like
> listening to new parents gush about their baby. They are amazed at his
> athleticism and his intelligence.
> They swear that he's more clever than they are. Russell says, "We're not
> teaching him, he's teaching us." Commissioner LaBreck marvels at how
> Osbourne anticipates her commands often before she has given them. "For
> instance, I don't give many commands going through
> the Common. Osbourne is able to anticipate our destination."
>
>
> LaBreck's office hums with activity. She gracefully fields calls from a
> reporter from the Boston Globe and multiple questions from staffers. While
> she works, Osbourne rests close beside her with his eyes closed. Don't let
> his quietness fool you though. Russell calls this his "watchful waiting" 
> and
> likens it to firefighters at a fire station. As soon as the alarm goes 
> off,
> they are ready to work. Sure enough, when a staffer comes to ask
> Commissioner LaBreck for some assistance, Osbourne is up, attentive and
> ready for his harness.
>
> Perhaps because she walks in Helen Keller's footsteps, it's not surprising
> that Commissioner
> LaBreck looks to Keller for inspiration. When addressing the New England
> College of Optometry as commencement speaker in 2008, she searched through
> Keller's quotes
> to find one that spoke to her and chose this one: "One cannot consent to
> creep when one feels the impulse to soar."
>
> Commissioner LaBreck loves the quote. She says, "It conveys the sense of
> opportunity and
> the desire to move forward, to accomplish and succeed that I see among our
> clients." She explains it further, "You can't hold people back. That quote
> says it all. That's what we try to do here. We help to foster that drive 
> and
> initiative."
>
> The Keller quote is appropriate to describe Janet LaBreck as well. She has
> never consented to creep. And with Osbourne beside her, she is soaring.
>
>
> (Editor's note: "Osbourne" was raised by the Terry family.)
>
>
>
>
> <http://www.fidelco.org/newsletters/2009/winter/www.fidelco.org/2009/winter/
> newsletter/bigshoes/html> Janet LaBreck and Osbourne sit in her Boston
> office.
>
> | Newsletter
> <http://www.fidelco.org/newsletters/2009/winter/newsletterindex.html> 
> Main
> Page |
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Click To Change The Text Size On This Site:
> <http://www.fidelco.org/newsletters/2009/winter/JanetLaBreckandOsbourneFilli
> ngBigShoes.html> A
> <http://www.fidelco.org/newsletters/2009/winter/JanetLaBreckandOsbourneFilli
> ngBigShoes.html> A
> <http://www.fidelco.org/newsletters/2009/winter/JanetLaBreckandOsbourneFilli
> ngBigShoes.html> A
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