GDUI Announcement, October 14, 2019

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,

In our announcement this week, we are sharing several pieces of exciting news. At the same time, we are worrying about all our members and friends who may be coping with wild fires in California, as well as the extraordinary measures implemented by California energy companies in an effort to prevent fires. We want to remind you about our Disaster Assistance and Preparedness Program (DAPP), which can help with any guide-dog-care-related expenses arising from a catastrophe , such as a wild fire. Remember to visit this page on our web site for information and instructions for reaching out to GDUI for assistance: https://guidedogusersinc.org/resources/disaster-assistance-preparedness-program-dapp/. You may also call GDUI’s toll free number to request disaster-related assistance: 866.799.8436. Thank you to Dixie Sanderson, Chair of our DAPP Committee, and her committee members for always being available to help and for all that you do to assist our members and our guide dogs. Please stay safe and know that we care about all of you who may be enduring an over-abundance of smoke, who may need to evacuate, who are overwhelmed or simply concerned about the safety of friends and relatives and members of the community and planet that we all share.

Exciting news: The GDUI Juno Report is back! And, you will love our October program, which debuted last week on ACB Radio Mainstream.

This month’s episode features the luncheon presentation from the 2019 Guide Dog Users Inc. convention. Learn about GDUI Treasurer Lynn Merrill’s lifelong dream to climb Maine’s highest peak, Mount Katahdin and how she did exactly that, with the help of her guide dog, her family, and an instructor from Fidelco Guide Dog foundation. This is a presentation you won’t want to miss even if you can’t envision yourself and your guide dog ever setting forth to conquer a mountain top! Lynn’s presentation, which features a film documenting the adventure she shared with her Fidelco guide dog, Libby, which was aired on her local NBC-affiliated television station,  is just fabulous!

 The Juno Report for October also includes some announcements, and highlights of the GDUI awards presentation from our 2019 convention.

The GDUI Juno Report airs on ACB Radio Mainstream on Thursdays at 4:00 AM, 7:00 AM, 4:00 PM, and 7:00 PM (eastern).

It also plays on Sunday at 9:00 PM and Monday at 12:00 AM, 9:00 AM, and 12:00 PM.

Beginning today, October 13, you can listen to the October GDUI Juno Report as a podcast, and to podcasts of subsequent monthly programs if you subscribe.

A direct link to the podcast feed is: 

http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml

To subscribe in iTunes: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gdui-juno-report/id1107836850

We are excited about the return of our well-received GDUI Juno Report. We encourage everyone to listen, subscribe, and share this good news with friends and family members who are interested in the guide dog life style! Thank you so much to our Second Vice President and all-things-ACB-Radio guru, Deb Lewis for bringing our Juno Report back, and to Jeff Bishop and the ACB Radio team for helping our program to return.

If you would like to help with production of our GDUI Juno Report, by making suggestions, providing content, or simply adding feedback or commentary, we know that Deb would love to hear from you. Contact Deb Lewis atmailto:vp2@guidedogusersinc.org  

An informative program, sponsored by Golden State Guide Dog Users, explores:  Just how well do New Technologies like Accessible GPS and AIRA, mix with guide dog travel? You’re invited!

Steve Hoyt from Pilot Dogs and Greg Steinmetz from Guide Dogs of America will share their professional expertise on mixing new technologies with guide dog travel. Greg Steinmetz, manager of Admissions and Graduate Services at Guide Dogs of America, will share his first-hand experience and talk about how he integrates guide dog travel and technology, and O&M specialist, Steve Hoyt, will provide valuable insight based on what he’s learned and observed over the years.

Date: Monday, November 4

Time: 7 to 8:30PM, Pacific Time

Using Zoom, dial: 408.638.0968/

ID: 158236260

Smartphone or online Zoom:

https://zoom.us/j/158236260

If you have questions for Steve and Greg about guide dog travel and tech, please send your questions by Monday, October 28 via e-mail to GSGDHI Programs Committee chair, Mail George at

maileg921@gmail.com

Speaking of accessible GPS, here’s a new possibility to check out! Google has announced a new detailed voice guidance feature in Google Maps to help people with visual impairments. According to the online description, the feature which is now incorporated into Google Maps, makes frequent announcements similar to what you might hear at crosswalks or on a bus. Right now, it’s available in English in the United States and Japanese in Japan, with support for additional languages and countries on the way. To turn the feature on, go to your Google Maps settings and select “Navigation.” At the bottom of the list you’ll find the option to enable “Detailed voice guidance,” beneath the “Walking options” heading.  Google Maps can be downloaded, free of charge, from the App Store, and the app is available for both IOS and Android.

Visit this link for more information:

https://www.iclarified.com/72810/google-maps-gets-detailed-voice-guidance-to-help-people-with-visual-impairments-video

If you and your guide dog try the app, please review your experience with all of us on our GDUI-Chat list, in PawTracks, or via the GDUI Juno Report! To submit an article to PawTracks, send your article, via e-mail to PawTracks Editor, Andrea Giudice, mailto:editor@guidedogusersinc.org. To share your experiences with GPS – or anything else! – with GDUI Juno Report listeners, contact Deb Lewis at mailto:vp2@guidedogusersinc.org. Let them know in the subject field, the purpose of your e-mail! And don’t forget about GDUI-Chat – where everyone loves to talk about everything guide-dog-related! To subscribe to the GDUI Chat list, visit this link:  gduichatlist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

If you missed our September 21st GDUI board meeting, you can easily access the meeting recording. Date: Sep 21, 2019 12:51 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

 Meeting Recording:

https://zoom.us/recording/share/EXmuSTFQcKv2TJNEceYFB5jw7negp9rvr4QF5B3xuJywIumekTziMw

Thank you to Maria Kristic for managing the Zoom aspects of our meeting and for making the recording available.

It’s almost Blind Americans Equality Day (formerly White Cane Safety Day). However you and your guide dog choose to celebrate, make sure you get out there in public view and strut your stuff! Equality, after all, is what we are all striving for, what we deserve, and, one day, what we will all achieve!

Fall seems to have finally arrived in our mid-Atlantic region of the world, and Willow and I are enjoying the crunch of leaves underfoot and looking forward to all of the holiday events that are coming up quite soon. We wish all of you and all of your guides happiness and safe travels during this season of frosty mornings and shortening days. Thank you for your friendship and support.

Sincerely,

Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog users, Inc.

mailto:President@GuideDogUsersInc.org

Maria Hansen, First Vice President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:vp1@GuideDogUsersInc.org

Visit our web site: https://www.guidedogusersinc.org/

Call us, toll-free, at  866.799.8436

Our Facebook page can be accessed at

https://www.facebook.com/GDUInc/

, our Facebook group can be accessed at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/GDUINC/

, and our Twitter timeline can be accessed at  https://twitter.com/gduinc

Download or subscribe to the GDUI Juno Report pod cast here: http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml

Support GDUI when you use this link to shop at Amazon.com:

http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1871119.

SUPPORT GUIDE DOG USERS, INC GROUP #999969764 when you purchase candles and other decorative items from the Yankee Candle Store here: https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/store.htm.

To join the GDUI-Announce List, visit this link: http://www.acblists.org/mailman/listinfo/gdui-announce

To subscribe to the GDUI Chat list, visit this link: gduichatlist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

To subscribe to the (members only) GDUI Business list, visit this link:

businesslist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

GDUI Announcement, November 18, 2019

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,

Welcome to the season of frosty mornings, pumpkin spiced everything, and holiday preparations! Winter temperatures have arrived here in the mid-Atlantic, I Had to put on another cozy layer before sitting down at my computer to write this announcement! Of course, Willow is loving these freezing temperatures, and that’s a good thing since we still have a number of months of cold weather to look forward to.

While you’re checking items off your Thanksgiving to-do list next Saturday afternoon, we hope you’ll take a break with us and attend our next GDUI Board Meeting! Here’s all the information you’ll need to connect with us via Zoom:

Guide Dog Users, Inc. is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: GDUI Board Meeting

Time: Nov 23, 2019 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/562675137

One tap mobile

+16465588656,,562675137# US (New York)

+17207072699,,562675137# US (Denver)

Dial by your location

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

+1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)

Meeting ID: 562 675 137

Find your local number:

https://zoom.us/u/adkoW2kadE

In GDUI we are proud of all the services we offer to our members and the blindness community in general

Our team of Empathizers, led by Audrey Gunter, can help you solve problems, offer advice, or just lend a listening ear when all you need is someone who can listen without judgment or negativity. Our dogs can bring so much pleasure into our lives, but there are those occasional times when things don’t go well, family members or friends aren’t as understanding or accepting as we would wish, or illness strikes or retirement looms. Please don’t hesitate to call us on our toll-free number, 866.799.8436 when you need someone who has experienced day-to-day life with a guide dog at their side, to talk with and respond with kindness and understanding.

Our mission also includes sharing information with all of you, and GDUI vehicles for doing this include these announcements, PawTracks, which will soon be made available via several exciting new distribution mechanisms, and, of course, the GDUI Juno Report! Welcome back, Juno! Our new PawTracks editor is working hard on her first issue, and we’re looking forward to distributing that in early December. There’s a lot to coordinate when you start a new job – which incidentally involves travel and conference participation – renewing your commitment to serving as GDUI Convention Coordinator, and taking on the responsibilities of PawTracks’ editor, all during a single month! (Just ask Andrea, we’re sure she’ll elaborate … when and if she has a chance to take an extra breath!) Meanwhile, if you have articles, poems, letters, or any other written contributions for upcoming issues of PawTracks, please send them along to: Editor!GuideDogUsersInc.org    

Have you checked out the November GDUI Juno Report yet?

Yes, it’s already there, waiting for your enjoyment, on ACB Radio and as an ACB Radio podcast! Thanks again to GDUI Juno Report host extraordinaire, Deb Cook Lewis, we love the November program! November’s issue features a replay of one of our most informative GDUI convention program sessions, “Stop, Look, and Listen: Pedestrian Safety!” If you couldn’t attend our convention, we know you will find the presentation so useful, and even if you were there, you may want to have another listen, to refresh your memory and to learn about all of the innovative steps our guide dog schools are taking to assure the competence of our dogs and our teams, to remind drivers of our likely presence in crosswalks and at bus stops, TO ADVOCATE WITH TRAFFIC ENGINEERS AND OTHER COMMUNITY PLANNERS, and to investigate other ways of making us visible and safe. Certainly, all of us are aware of continually changing circumstances that seem to conspire to make even familiar pedestrian environments far more challenging than they used to be, and sometimes completely unsafe for those of us who rely on guide dogs for independence and safety. Topics that were addressed by attendees and our panelists included shared spaces where traffic and pedestrians travel on surfaces that offer no delineation between streets and sidewalks, an increasing presence of bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters in our pedestrian environments, more silent vehicles and new cars which, despite being powered by combustion engines,  stop making noise when a driver is waiting for the traffic light to change. Thanks again to Andrea and Vicki and the GDUI convention committee for planning this extremely useful convention session, to all of our presenters, to the ACB Radio guys who made the recording available for us, and to Deb for converting the recording for our November GDUI Juno Report.

The GDUI Juno Report airs on ACB Radio Mainstream on Thursdays at 4:00 AM, 7:00 AM, 4:00 PM, and 7:00 PM (eastern). It also plays on Sunday at 9:00 PM and Monday at 12:00 AM, 9:00 AM, and 12:00 PM. A direct link to the podcast feed is: 

http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml

To subscribe in iTunes: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gdui-juno-report/id1107836850.

Is Accessible Transportation one of your passions?

As guide dog users and people who are blind, we are in good hands, just knowing that Sheila Styron, a past GDUI president and long-time guide dog user, was recently appointed to chair the ACB Transportation Committee. ACB’s committee structure is changing. Moving forward, with familiar committees now operating as part of 9 broader but related categories, the Transportation Committee now falls under the umbrella of advocacy services, which is overseen by former ACB Transportation Committee Chair, Ron Brooks. To help assemble a strong committee with an appropriate balance of qualifications, knowledge  and experience, whose members can devote a substantial amount of time and effort to the work of the committee, ACB created a questionnaire which all who may want to volunteer for the Transportation Committee need to complete. 

Please copy the questions below into an e-mail, respond to them, and then submit the completed survey to Sheila as soon as possible. The questions follow:

Please briefly describe why you wish to serve on the ACB Transportation Committee.

What transportation-related knowledge, qualifications and/or experience will you bring to the work of this committee?

Please describe any experience you have serving on local, regional, state or national transportation-related advisory groups, committees or Boards. List the name of the group, summarize its purpose or work, and specify the length of time you spent as a member.

Please describe any other experience you have serving on working groups, committees, Boards or other organizations–either inside or outside ACB. List the name of the group, summarize its purpose or work, and specify the length of time you have spent as a member.

Finally, As a member of ACB’s transportation committee, what would you be most interested in working on, and where do you see yourself being most effective? — For example but not limited to  bus, light rail, paratransit, the new mobility paradigm, regs, providing training and advocacy support. We will be forming subcommittees which will operate between our monthly meetings, allowing the committee as a whole to benefit from your particular interests and expertise.    

Submit the completed questionnaire to Sheila Styron here:

sstyron@thewholeperson.org

If you have questions, contact Sheila, Ron (ronbrooks67@gmail.com), or ACB President, Dan Spoone (danspoone@cfl.rr.com).

Are you interested in working on other blindness-related issues?

The ACB Advocacy Committee will host a call open to all ACB members and friends on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, 8:00 – 9:30 pm, ET, or 5:00 – 6:30 pm, PT. The purpose of this call is to share the work of the ACB Advocacy Program with the ACB membership, and provide members with a forum to raise additional issues. The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom Meeting platform. To join, please follow the conference instructions below:

 Zoom meeting.

Topic: Advocacy Committee Open Call

Time: Nov 20, 2019 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/362461956?pwd=OHVxeFNrNzVpd3dVMFg0QUxXbTBpdz09

Meeting ID: 362 461 956

Password: 081422

One tap mobile

+16465588656,,362461956# US (New York)

+17207072699,,362461956# US (Denver)

Dial by your location

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

+1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)

Meeting ID: 362 461 956

Find your local number:

https://zoom.us/u/aeoEcmZn3J

Do you and your guide dog sometimes travel in the companionship of AIRA?

If so, you need to be aware of AIRA’s Revised Street-Crossing Policy. Here’s an explanatory message from AIRA, which can also be downloaded at this link: https://aira.io/new-street-crossing

Background

In the past, the Street-Crossing Policy for Aira agents was to provide descriptions of intersections and then to remain absolutely silent while the Explorer crossed the street, regardless of whether the Explorer asked for information or assistance while crossing, or if they started to veer. 

The policy was created through a joint effort between Aira, Orientation & Mobility (O&M) Specialists, and organizational leaders from the likes of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the American Council of the Blind (ACB). To ensure that Explorers were free to use their O&M skills without any distractions, it was decided that agents would remain absolutely silent to avoid any kind of negative impact from situational awareness. 

After collecting over 4 years’ feedback, learning from it, and speaking with O&M specialists and industry leaders, Aira has updated its long-standing policy.

The New Street-Crossing Policy

Aira agents will now provide minimal, relevant information to Explorers who are actively crossing an intersection when prompted by an Explorer and when circumstances change during the crossing.

So, what exactly does this mean? Agents will continue to provide full descriptions of an intersection as an Explorer approaches it. Once the Explorer reaches the corner and the agent has finished describing the intersection, instead of saying, “I will remain silent until you have finished crossing,” the agent will stay silent to give the Explorer the opportunity to ask for any additional details or to begin listening to their surroundings. 

At this point, if an Explorer asks an agent to provide specific information relevant to the intersection (like, “Let me know if I start to veer,”) they will do so. If an Explorer requests information while actively crossing an intersection, or if circumstances change during the crossing, then the agent must provide this information while the Explorer crosses the street. 

If circumstances change while an Explorer is crossing the street, an agent is allowed to speak and share relevant information such as, but not limited to:

If an Explorer is veering out of the crosswalk;

If an Explorer is veering toward traffic or an active roadway;

If an Explorer or their Guide Dog is crossing an intersection diagonally;

If a new obstacle (something not seen during the description of the intersection provided prior to crossing) has entered the Explorer’s path.

Please remember that agents can provide information only on what can be clearly seen through their dashboard video feed. If an agent cannot see the information requested, they will say so.

If an Explorer would prefer to have the agent remain completely silent while crossing a street, simply inform the agent and they will not provide any additional information.

The information Explorers will receive while crossing an intersection will be brief and descriptive and only about the task at hand. Once on the curb on the other side of the street, regular conversation may resume.

We encourage all who can to attend The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and Travelers with Disabilities Webinar,

Tuesday, December 10, 2019, at  2:00 PM Eastern Time Zone.

Description: The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA) prohibits discrimination based on disability in air travel and requires air carriers to accommodate the needs of passengers with disabilities. Join the Great Lakes ADA Center as their speaker from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) discusses the final statement of enforcement priorities for service animals under the ACAA. The session will also address the role the Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings has in enforcing the ACAA. Following the presentation participants will have an opportunity to ask the presenter questions about the ACAA requirements.

Speaker: Robert M Gorman,

Senior Trial Attorney, 

Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, C-70, U.S. Department of Transportation

Link to Register:

 https://dev.accessibilityonline.org/ADA-Audio/session/?id=110754

Volunteers Needed for an Online Research Survey regarding crossing streets!

Are you blind or having severe visual impairment? If so, your input is needed for a survey on street crossing techniques. You will need approximately an hour to complete the survey, and, if you complete the survey, you will be compensated with a $25 VISA gift card. Participants must be 18 years of age or older.

Contact Dr. Gluer Arsal for more information:

Guler.Arsal@envisionus.com

Telephone:

316.440.1528 (office);

316.730.0384 (mobile)

Access the survey here: https://tinyurl.com/BVIsurvey

The research is funded by Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired (https://ibvi.org/

Are you interested in a career in acting?

Here’s an exciting opportunity from the Access Acting Academy, which recently   announced that they are now accepting applications for their flagship, 1st-of-its-kind, 5-week Professional Actor Training Program specifically for blind, low vision and visually impaired actors and future artistic change-makers. They are offering this 5-week training program tuition free. Friend of ACB and actress Marilee Talkington is the founder and Executive Director of the academy.

This program is for beginners, early to mid-career professionals and those that may have acted then experienced vision loss and are eager to integrate their new perception and reclaim their artistic agency.  

Actor training of this master-level caliber and level of accessibility has never been available before. Now is the time for this profoundly rich and untapped talent to be cultivated, collaborated with, and realized.

Program Dates: January 6 – February  7, 2020

Location: LOS ANGELES, CA

Tuition: FREE (housing and travel not included)

Class Size: 12

Deadline to Apply: November 30, 2019

To find out more about the program and how to apply go to:

 WWW.ACCESSACTING.COM

Attention, College Students and Entering Freshmen!

The American Council of the Blind has a great opportunity for students who are legally blind to earn a scholarship, whether you are ATTENDING a technical college, OR IF YOU’RE AN entering freshman, undergraduate or a graduate student. More than $55,000 in scholarships is awarded to students each year. To be eligible, you need to be legally blind, maintain a 3.0 GPA, and be involved in your school AND local community.

As a scholarship winner, you will experience firsthand ACB’s national conference and convention in July, where you will meet other students who share the same life experiences, create lasting friendships, and network with individuals who understand what you are going through and can help you ALONG your journey.

Applications for the 2020-2021 school year can be submitted online from Friday, November 1, 2019, to Friday, February 14, 2020 11:59pm (CST). 

All interested candidates must register for a new ACB account prior to submitting a scholarship application online.

Visit this link to register: https://members.acb.org/

After your account request has been approved you WILL receive an email containing a link to complete the scholarship application. 

Please note, the approval process can take up to three business days. 

For more information, please contact Nancy Feela in the ACB National Office at 612.332.3242 or toll-free, 800.866.3242.  We look forward to receiving your application materials.

Can you help a graduate student with his thesis research on smart-phone use?

Remember, lots of the innovative assistive products we enjoy today had their genesis inside graduate school classrooms and labs and the imaginations of clever graduate students! Here’s his message:

Hello,

My name is Gonçalo, and I’m developing a thesis in the field of smartphones accessibility. I’m developing an application which is meant to provide a “bridge” between a sighted user and a blind user, to assist with doing some tasks with the smartphone.

One of the phases of my research is characterization of the current state of remote assistance. If you could help me by filling out a questionnaire, it would be very useful to my data collection. It shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes to complete the survey.

The link to the questionnaire is

https://forms.gle/Qx4fvLveYEyjLcyi7

Thank you very much for your help.

Phfew! If you’ve made it this far, thinking about crossing streets, boarding planes, attending webinars and meetings, changing careers, joining committees, going to college, and helping grad students, … like me, you are probably thinking about taking a break and cuddling up with your pup and reading a good book! What? You don’t know what to read or where to find it? We have just the solution for you! Here’s a message from our good friend, Will Burley:

Dear all,

SAVE THE Date!  Blind LGBT Pride international is inviting you to its scheduled Fall BPI Book Share event!

Start pulling out the best books you’ve read this year,

And prepare to tell us why you loved them  so much!  Whether it’s romance, thriller, biography, mystery or anything in-between, we want to hear from you!

We just ask that your choice be found on the National Library Service, (NLS), Audible, iBooks, Book Share or Kindle platform, so that other bookworms like you can access the books for themselves.

For any questions about this event, please reach out to BPI’s Membership Committee at membership@blindlgbtpride.org or call 713.614.3322 and speak to Will Burley.

How to participate

Topic: BPI Fall Book Share

Time: Dec 11, 2019 8:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM CT, 6:PM MT and 5:00 PM PT (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/130405554

Meeting ID: 130 405 554

One tap mobile

+16699006833,,130405554# US (San Jose)

+16465588656,,130405554# US (New York)

Dial by your location

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 130 405 554

Find your local number: 

https://zoom.us/u/aWKeROkhH

See you there!

Will Burley

Now I just have to figure out which out of all the books I read this year was my favorite! Was it “Where the Crawdads Sing,” or “The World that we Knew,” “Summer of 69,””A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World,” or “Save Me the Plums?” Maybe it will turn out to be the dystopian novel I’m reading right now,” The Lightest Object in the Universe.” Which titles will you bring to the December gathering?

No matter where you seek your pleasures in coming weeks, on frosty morning walks, or cuddled up with your guide dog and a good book, or cooking and enjoying the Thanksgiving feast, or sharing time with family and friends – or all of the above! – stay safe, keep warm, and thank you for your friendship and support.

Sincerely,

Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog users, Inc.

mailto:President@GuideDogUsersInc.org

Maria Hansen, First Vice President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:vp1@GuideDogUsersInc.org

Visit our web site: https://www.guidedogusersinc.org/

Call us, toll-free, at  866.799.8436

Our Facebook page can be accessed at

https://www.facebook.com/GDUInc/

our Facebook group can be accessed at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/GDUINC/

and our Twitter timeline can be accessed at  https://twitter.com/gduinc

Download or subscribe to the GDUI Juno Report pod cast here: http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml

Support GDUI when you use this link to shop at Amazon.com:

http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1871119.

SUPPORT GUIDE DOG USERS, INC GROUP #999969764 when you purchase candles and other decorative items from the Yankee Candle Store here: https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/store.htm.

To join the GDUI-Announce List, visit this link: http://www.acblists.org/mailman/listinfo/gdui-announce

To subscribe to the GDUI Chat list, visit this link: gduichatlist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

To subscribe to the (members only) GDUI Business list, visit this link:

businesslist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

GDUI Announcement, December 5, 2019

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,

Hi to everyone!

The Juno Report for December includes some important announcements from GDUI and another fascinating presentation from the 2019 GDUI convention. This presentation is called “When Us and Them becomes We and They.” It is all about service dogs and their handlers with disabilities.

The Juno report airs on ACB Radio Mainstream as follows. Thursday 4 and 7 AM/PM. Sunday at 9PM and Monday at 12AM, 9AM, and 12PM. (All times Eastern)

We upload the podcast two weeks after the initial airing. A direct link to the podcast feed is:

http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml

To subscribe in iTunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gdui-juno-report/id1107836850

Thank you. 

Deb Cook Lewis

Host of the GDUI Juno Report and

GDUI 2nd Vice President

2018 Paw Tracks Holiday Edition

The Paw Tracks Magazine

A quarterly publication of Guide Dog users, Inc., (GDUI)

Advocating for guide dog teams since 1972

President – penny Reeder

Editor – Will Burley

Audio Recording by Deb Lewis

Paw Tracks is available for Word document and MP3 download for members at https://guidedogusersinc.org/pawtracks  or by phone at (773) 572-6301 and entering option 1.  The passcode is 1971.

Holiday Edition

Volume 46 – November 2018 – Issue 04

 

Table of Contents

From the Editor’s Kennel 1

President’s Message: A Season for Giving Thanks. 2

2019 Membership Renewal 5

A Call to Action. 8

THE EASTER BUNNY CAME AFTER ALL. 9

Planning for Rochester! 11

A Guide Dog Holiday Tradition! 13

Help GDUI Support the ACB 2018 Holiday Auction. 14

Holiday Safety Tips for Your Pets. 15

Avoiding Winter Hazards. 17

Paw Tracks Article Submissions. 18

Executive Board of Directors. 19

Contacting Board and Committee chairs. 19

 

From the Editor’s Kennel

By:  Will Burley

Welcome to the holiday edition of your Paw Tracks magazine!

As the calendar year hastens towards its conclusion, this  is a time that many of us enjoy family and friends, wonderful music, boisterous laughter and sips of warm cider as we nestle in our favorite cozy place thinking about the adventures that we had with our present and past guides.

With the normal hustle and bustle of life, it can be extremely easy to forget all the good that has happened in our lives – sometimes through painful experiences.  It’s my hope that this edition of Paw Tracks will not only inform you as to what’s going on in your organization through Penny Reeder’s President’s Message, the Membership Renewal article by Dixie Sanderson or the call for volunteers to assist in planning next year’s convention, but that it will also be a source of information as you navigate your journey proudly towards 2019.

Before you move further along in this issue, I wanted to share my personal thoughts on this season of thanks. 

Recently, I made the decision to retire my first guide, Gypsy. Being that this was my first experience performing this sacrifice, I tried to spend  as much time with her as possible.  I’m not a very emotive person but on the day my journey’s partner and I returned to the school and I released the handle for the last time – I thought I had made a mistake in coming to training without giving myself enough time to process what it would be like to not have this dog standing on my left side.  Even though I knew I was making the correct decision in letting Gypsy retire and enjoy a healthy goalden age, I wondered if I could love this yet to be named new dog as much.  I felt as though I would be cheating on Gypsy.  Silly, I know…

The staff were great and they took extra care when I finally met my new guide, Holly – or as I love to call her, Holly berry.  Holly pranced into the room, walked to my feet and promptly rolled over and said through a Vulcan mind-meld, “Okay, rub my belly…)  I found this to be so hilarious, it eased my feelings of guilt and showed that this dog definitely had a different personality than Gypsy.

You may be asking, “Will, why the heck did you just write about this?”  Well, I’m glad you did.  Through the simple yet profound gesture of thinking of one of God’s creatures and their well-being, I was able to have the act of love retaught to me.

In life, we make new friends, gain new co-workers, lose family and have a host of endless changes – and yet we take another step ahead into our future.  Even though life is not static, the people and things we loved before are not less important just because we are experiencing new things.  They only add to the richness of life by helping us learn how to love even better than before.

So, dear reader, as you experience this time of year, just know that whether it’s been a stellar one or one not so great – do what you do daily with your guide – pick up that harness, straighten your back, hold your head high and say, “Forward…we’ve got a world to explore…”

 

President’s Message: A Season for Giving Thanks

By:  Penny Reeder

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. This is the perfect time to be thinking about gratitude and remembering all of the people in GDUI whom I want to thank for making ours an effective organization that responds to our members’ needs and advocates so successfully for the civil rights protections that we count on.

First, I want to thank those long-time members of GDUI who worked so hard to make it possible for us to visit beautiful Hawaii with our guide dogs! Hawaii is the paradise you have always imagined it to be, and if you can go – with your guide dog in the lead! – I highly recommend the trip!) Carl and I, with Seeing Eye Dog, Willow, in the lead, just returned home after spending a glorious week on Maui – with a stop-over for a night in Honolulu where we met an authorized vet at the airport so that Willow could be cleared for work anywhere in the islands.  During the whole trip, I was very well aware that our trip wouldn’t have been possible had GDUI not taken the state to court and argued successfully to keep guide dogs out of quarantine! Thank you all of you who worked so hard to make this happen!

Thank you to Sheila Styron and the GDUI board at the time for assuring that every member of GDUI can vote, independently and accessibly, in every GDUI election! I am pretty sure that GDUI was the very first blindness organization to make this happen! I know we were the first ACB affiliate to offer universally accessible private voting to our members – and we are still one of only a few ACB affiliates who are supporting democracy in this way.

Thank you to Jane Sheehan, who was the first person in ACB to tell me about GDUI, introduce me to PawTracks, and spend all kinds of time offering advice and support when I was deciding whether or not a guide dog would be the right mobility choice for me! I know that Jane provided this kind of supportive outreach for many of us in GDUI – and she kept the GDUI office efficiently humming for more than two decades! Jane still serves on our Membership Committee, and we appreciate her reliable willingness to stay involved and help!

I want to thank the members of our current board! Each makes a unique and indispensable contribution to what we accomplish in GDUI! Can you imagine calling us for one reason or another and finding Sarah Calhoun absent on the other end of the toll-free phoneline? What a dreary day that would be! Sarah handles everything for us –She keeps records, helps us schedule what needs to be done and reminds us when  we forget; she helps guide dog users purchase our products and join or renew their memberships; she’s an empathetic friend for people experiencing difficult situations with their dogs, or needing emergency assistance because of a disaster, or just wanting to ask a question about how a dog can become a guide for a person who is blind. Sarah handles it all with friendship and grace, and if she can’t answer your question, she’ll know just whom you should call!

Lynn Merrill pays all our bills, and Maria – and Dixie and Sarah and others who work on our Budget and Finance Committee – make sure we have the funds to pay them!

Dixie Sanderson and Maria Kristic keep our web site and our lists humming! So does our web master, Steve Zelaya! And, Dixie handles all of our membership activities and paperwork – and that would be an intimidatingly daunting task for me, for sure. I’m so grateful to Dixie for making everything related to membership happen so smoothly.

Brianna Murray and Minh Ha enliven our social networking and outreach, and Will Burley and Deb Lewis help with that too!

And, speaking of our recently-elected Second Vice President, is there anything that Deb Lewis can’t do? Or isn’t willing to help us with? She and Peter Altschul stepped up right away to take on the responsibilities of our Publications Committee, Deb is bringing our GDUI Juno Report back online, probably as soon as November, and she and Peter are enthusiastic about beginning the preliminary research for our GDUI History Project!

When you think of advocacy and GDUI, just whose name comes to mind? Charlie Crawford, of course! If there’s a legislative issue that requires our attention, we can rest assured that Charlie will be on top of it! If there’s a member who experiences a denial of service because of their guide dog, Charlie is the person who can help resolve the problem. If you wish you could learn more about how to advocate for your civil rights effectively and productively, join the Advocacy Committee that Charlie chairs. There’s not a better advocacy mentor in the disability community!

Do you need advice about just about any guide dog-related situation or problem? Then, we can all highly recommend that you get in touch with our recently retired First Vice President, Deanna Noriega! Deanna recently celebrated 50 years as a guide dog user, and if she can’t answer your questions, then she will know where to send you for help! We so appreciated Deanna’s willingness to serve on our board. We could – and still can – always count on her for thoughtful contributions to any discussion! 

If you were lucky enough to attend our 2018 GDUI convention, you already know what a treasure our Andrea Giudice is! She’s fun! She’s creative! She’s undaunted! And, we are so lucky to have her planning our 2019 GDUI convention in Rochester!

If your connection to GDUI national begins with your local GDUI affiliate, be grateful for all of the hard work Pauline Lamontagne does to facilitate communication among our GDUI affiliates and to help solve any problems that crop up at the local level. And, speaking of GDUI affiliates, we can hardly wait to thank Audrey Gunter and everyone in Dixiland Guide Dog Users in person, for Top Dog, which is right around the corner – as well as everything else you do for us! It’s almost here! Carl and I, and Willow, can hardly wait for the 18th of January, 2019, when Top Dog will be here again!

Lina Coral is providing an interface between GDUI and all of the schools, and, knowing how busy she is coping with her first year of grad. School, we are grateful. Speaking of guide dog schools, what would we do without them? And, especially at our GDUI conventions, where their trainers go way above and beyond the call of duty to help us in so many ways and through so many complicated way-finding and picking-up-poop situations! Thank you!

There’s such a long list of people who have helped us with all kinds of issues and goals: Nolan Crabb, who took on the assignment of rejuvenating PawTracks; Dan Kaiser, who had the initial brilliant idea of creating the GDUI Juno Report – and picked up the ball and ran with it! Vickie Curley, who served on our board from the very beginning, until just this past May – and who promises to return to our board when her life settles down enough to make that a possibility! Pat Hill, who stepped into a board vacancy and served so effectively on our board – and she’s still involved, working hard on our Advocacy Committee. Jenine Stanley and Becky Davidson are always available for consultation and advice, as is Sheila Styron, who helped us write last summer’s GDUI Resolution concerning air travel and our access to it – and which ACB adopted unanimously.

Speaking of ACB, Tony Stephens is always available to offer advice, provide explanations, or just to make sure that when guide dogs are the topic under discussion, GDUI is included! Kim Charlson and Pat Sheehan are two additional ACB members we can count on for support and involvement – as is Jeff Bishop, who served as our first ACB Board liaison.

There are those tried and true members, like Lillian Scaife, who dedicated so much time and energy to our first several GDUI conventions. Our Louisville Ladies, Jane and Connie, who were joined last summer by Kitty – What would we ever do without them? Bob Acosta has always been ready to step up to help with virtually anything we need, and wow, what a great fund-raiser!

I know that there’s danger in attempting to do just what I am doing – remembering how many people there are to thank and appreciate! I hope I haven’t left out any one of you whose help and support I have been fortunate to count on over these last several years. Since I’m writing this as Will’s publication deadline looms, however, I know that it’s entirely possible that I could be leaving out some of your names or failing to mention several of the important things you do for us –So many people in GDUI wear multiple hats and work on diverse projects simultaneously!

As Thanksgiving nears, I want all of the people to whom GDUI owes so much to realize how much you are appreciated, and every single member, too! So many of you are here for us whenever we ask you to join a committee, write a letter, contact a legislator, tell your friends about who we are and what we do. Each of you who is a member of GDUI deserves our thanks and our sincere appreciation! Thank you, all, and happy Thanksgiving! When you are enjoying your turkey and gravy, or nibbling on that last piece of pie (That’s my standard – and favorite – breakfast on the morning after Thanksgiving!), I hope you’ll remember just how much we appreciate all of you, and how important your contributions are to the success of Guide Dog Users, Inc.!

 

2019 Membership Renewal

Submitted by:  Membership Committee

Dear GDUI Member,

 We are writing to thank you for your continued support of GDUI and to let you know that the time has arrived once again for you to renew your GDUI membership. We truly appreciate your involvement in GDUI and your gifts of time and money.

Because of your support, GDUI has achieved a number of important goals in recent months: 

  • Early this year, several airlines had seemingly had more than enough of various out-of-control animals boarding their planes with owners who did not know how to manage their pets, and to address resulting safety implications for passengers and crew members, they proposed new policies which would have restricted our right to fly, unencumbered, with our guide dogs. Proposed policy changes would have required additional paperwork and advance notice of our intention to fly, among other restrictions. GDUI’s responses to these restrictive policies were immediate, and widely disseminated to the U. S. Department of Transportation as well as the airlines who had proposed making changes, and the airlines rescinded all of the specific burdensome requirements which they had planned to impose on guide dog users.
  • When the U. S. Department of Transportation released an Announced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) for the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA), GDUI responded with recommendations for regulations which will, if adopted, assure our civil right to fly with our guide dogs, while keeping us and our dogs safer and allowing us to be treated with the same kind of dignity that passengers who are not disabled can routinely expect. We provided guidance for our members who also submitted written comments on the ANPRM, and GDUI will be following up during coming months when the Department unveils revised regulations for the ACAA.
  • GDUI continues to work with our affiliates and individuals, as well as with the U. S. Department of Transportation, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,  and other federal, state and local governmental entities, to support legislation and regulations to deal effectively and fairly with people whose untrained pets or emotional support animals can interfere with our safety and that of our dogs. We are committed to helping  our members to develop self-advocacy skills via interactions with our Advocacy Committee and GDUI empathizers, and educating pet owners and other members of the public about the hazards that untrained or ill-behaved pets, masquerading as service animals, can pose to our legitimate guide dogs and the safety of our guide dog teams.
  • In July, our “Handbook for Prospective Guide Dog Users became available for purchase and downloading. The handbook provides guidance to help people who are blind or visually impaired decide whether or not a guide dog will be likely to provide a good match for their lifestyle and mobility needs. The publication, which is a comprehensive update of an earlier GDUI manual called “Making Impressions,” includes useful information on current guide dog schools and training programs, application processes, modern training practices, and realistic expectations for new guide dog users. The book has been well received, and we are gratified to learn that our Handbook has been approved for publication in alternate formats by the National Library Service (NLS) during 2019.
  • The editor of our quarterly magazine, PawTracks, is excited about expanding topics and organizational coverage, and we are pleased to have converted from the outdated audiocassette format to downloadable audio files which members can access from our web site or an interactive telephonic file retrieval system. Our monthly GDUI Juno Report will be coming online again with plans for making the live stream more interactive and ACB Radio’s expanded assistance in making the audience for our archived GDUI Juno Report podcasts even wider.
  • GDUI’s social media presence continues to evolve and expand, and our new Friends of Guide Dog Users Facebook Group is growing and fostering lively discussions among graduates from virtually every guide dog training program and owners of many breeds.
  • Our Advocacy and Legislative Committee continues to evaluate the likely impact that proposed legislation on local, state and national levels could have on our hard won civil rights, while fostering a nurturing environment where guide dog users can seek personalized help for resolving denial of service situations and other kinds of discrimination.
  • We continued to work hard to restore and preserve the traditional democratic values that have guided GDUI since its beginning, including keeping our members informed about issues that are important to guide dog users and involving our members as much as possible in all board-level decision making. During elections in May of 2018, our members once again utilized a universally accessible online and telephonic voting system to elect two new board members. Members are welcomed guests at every GDUI Board meeting, and there’s always an opportunity for members to voice their opinions and offer suggestions. As a board, and at all levels of our organization, we continue to be committed to the rule of law and the principles of democracy.
  • With 2019 fast approaching, it is once again time to renew your membership in Guide Dog Users, Inc. Your 2019 membership will help us expand benefits for guide dog users, including:Improving our member outreach by updating brochures and other publications;
  • Embarking on a project to learn about and remember our history in order to acknowledge the many contributions of GDUI’s founding members, to assure that their achievements are recognized and appreciated, and that the principles which have guided GDUI since the 1970s continue to guide us on, into the future.
  • Presenting educational seminars, and holding a spectacular convention next summer in Rochester, NY;
  • Strengthening relationships with GDUI affiliates in ways that will be mutually beneficial to our individual affiliates and to the national organization as well.

 A membership in GDUI costs just $25.00 per person per year, and includes an annual subscription to PawTracks, our quarterly magazine.  The magazine is available in the following formats: As a downloadable MP3 audio file, in . MSWord formats via e-mail, and by telephone, by dialing (773) 572-6301 and pressing Option 1 and entering  the passcode 1971 for the latest issue of 2018.

All memberships begin on January 1 and extend through December 31, 2019.

 Please take a few moments to complete the included renewal application and return it to us, along with your check made payable to GDUI.  For your convenience, if you’re receiving this as a paper mailing, we include a self-addressed envelope which you may use to return your application and payment.  If you prefer, dues or stand-alone PawTracks subscriptions may be paid online by going to https://guidedogusersinc.org/join/, or by credit card by calling 1-866-799-8436.

 If you plan to join GDUI in 2019 through one of our affiliates, you need not send us any money directly, since part of your payment to that affiliate will be sent to GDUI on your behalf.  However, we would appreciate your completing the included membership application, so that we will have all of your up-to-date information. For a current list of GDUI’s state affiliates, visit this link: https://guidedogusersinc.org/resources/affiliates-of-gdui/, or if you prefer, call us, and we will send a printed list, or provide contact information by phone..

 GDUI must supply the national office of the American Council of the Blind with a list of our current members by March 15, 2019. Therefore, in order for your name to be included on that list, as well as for you to be eligible to vote in GDUI’s next election held in May, please return your membership application to us, along with the appropriate payment, before March 1, 2019.

GDUI is a rapidly growing and vital organization dedicated to serving the needs of guide dog users. We thank you for your continued support and promise to continue supporting all of you with information and empathy, advocating for the civil rights of all guide dog users, and educating the general public regarding our guide dogs and the many ways they enhance the quality of our lives.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments at 1-866-799-8436.

 Sincerely,

 Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

 Sarah Calhoun, Secretary

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

 

A Call to Action

By:  Peter Altschul, MS

“Good afternoon, fellow service dogs and human slaves,” rumbled Ace, the president of Service Dogs of America from a sumptuous dog house surrounded by big trees and a large lake.  “Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to hear me speak.”

“Just keep it short,” grumbled black Lab Guide dog Heath from a house he shared with Hunter, a multicolored standard poodle. 

“Lots of food to steal.”

“As we enter the constellation of end-of-year human holidays,”

Ace continued, “our Snoop Dogs have reported an outbreak of human anxiety over their recent election.  Furthermore, we are well aware of the political catfights that take place when human families get together.”

“Cats!” snorted Hunter as he leapt onto a kingsized bed to snuggle next to Heath.  “Annoying.  Fun to chase.”

“We have some advice to give you humans,” Ace said “based on our recent election troubles.  “Much of this advice comes from my lovely wife Tanya and the leadership of the Shaggy Dog Partnership.”

“That’s us!” Hunter said, springing onto the hardwood floor with a clatter.  “We’re famous!”

Heath yawned from the bed.  “Chill, dude.  And hurry up!” he barked at the TV screen.  “There’s a pecan pie on the counter.”

-“Ignore the advice of left-wing and right-wing columnists, as much of it is self-serving poop,” Ace continued.

“Secondly, remember that the purpose of this human season is to thank Dog for His blessings and to celebrate the birth of His son-“

“Sexist cur!” yelped Tanya

Ace sighed.  “Yes, dear; may I continue?”

Tanya nuzzled him affectionately.

“And to all you human pack leaders …  the ones hosting these get-togethers,” Ace purred, “don’t start these right wing-left wing conversations unless you are confident that the fur won’t fly.”

“Wings are quite tasty,” Heath observed, slithering off of the bed and slouching into the kitchen.  “And those rolls look awesome.”

“But if these political conversations do take place,” Ace said, “keep cool.  Don’t go where you don’t feel comfortable.  Don’t expect to change anyone’s mind, even though you think you won the debate.”

“Now he’s going to parrot our advice,” Hunter whined.

“Just hurry up; I’m hungry!” Heath barked at the TV.

“As Heath and Hunter always remind us,” Ace continued, “these conversations between the wings go best if stories are told instead of debating facts.  Look for common ground.  And try to end on a positive howl.”

“And a little gravy always helps,” Heath added.

“And now a special message to all you service dogs,” Ace barked.

Startled, Heath and Hunter turned towards the TV.

“If the humans surrounding you start yowling like cats about those wings, take some creative action.”

“Horray!” howled Heath and Hunter, dashing together throughout the house.

“Let’s chase those human cats up a tree?” Hunter suggested.

“Just give them some catnip,” Heath said.

“Nonviolent creative action,” Tanya’s voice yelped from the TV.

Heath and Hunter stood still, panting.

“Just do what you can to stop the yowling,” Tanya continued. 

“Proceed calmly to the noise.  Wag your tail energetically.  Put your head in someone’s lap.  Glare.  Beg for food.  Roll over. 

Bark as if someone’s at the door-“

Hunter clicked off the TV.

“We’re good at creative action,” Heath said, and they hurried into the kitchen, surrounded by smells of artichoke soup, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, fresh rolls, salad, green beans with bacon, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and pecan pie.

But all the visible surfaces were empty.

“Thwarted again!” Hunter said, tossing his head.  “But we’ve learned patience.”

Editor’s Note:  You can read more by Peter Altschul by visiting his website.

 

THE EASTER BUNNY CAME AFTER ALL

By:  PATTY L. FLETCHER

I have been asked over the years what my favorite Easter memory is. While I have many, and most of them are centered round my daughter and her growing up years the one I write of today happened while I was at The Seeing Eye training for my first dog guide.

Now let me tell you spending a holiday away from home is hard for me and that year was no exception. I was missing my grandchildren, my pets, and my then Fiancé, Donnie. We had no trips scheduled. It was of course Easter Sunday morning and the instructors were busy taking people to church, running errands and getting ready for a great Easter lunch.

I was in my room and was simply so home sick I could do nothing but lie curled in my bed and cry. As I lie there feeling miserable and trying to think of something I could do to help myself feel better, I heard a soft knocking at my door. Not wishing to have anyone see me crying like a child away from home for the first time. I tried to ignore the one knocking in hopes they would simply think me out or asleep. That, however was not to be. Instead of going away whoever was knocking grew more persistent adding voice to their knock. I heard my instructor Drew’s voice from the other side of the door.

“Hey, I know you’re in there. Open up in the name of The Seeing Eye.”

I had to laugh despite myself. Throwing off the covers I’d been wrapped in I went to the door, trying to rub away the tears as I did so.

When I opened the door, Drew seemed to hop in to the room.

“OK Young Lady! Enough lying about like you’ve nothing to do! I have errands to run, and you need an extra trip to make sure you know all you need to know before I send you home with this big dog.”

I started to protest, we didn’t normally do trips on Sundays. but that would’ve only been a half truth. Drew and I had done several Sunday trips for just the reason he’d given. So, rather than argue with him, and risk a twenty-minute lecture while trapped in the van, I put on my shoes, washed my face, and harnessed up my pup. Soon we were riding down the road with the windows open and music blasting, and I had to admit I felt better.

As it turned out Drew had some errands to run for students at the school, one of them being his own. Devin, the other first timer in our little group, was going to play a trick on Sue another instructor. The two of them had been going back and forth playing tricks on each other all through class. I knew some of the details but had decided to refrain from helping.

Once in the store my home sickness returned. As we walked through the aisles picking up the items on Drew’s list. I could literally smell the chocolate bunnies as we passed them. Something must’ve shown on my face because Drew asked me.

“What’s the sad face about? I thought we left that on the side of the road.”

I sighed.

“Sounds stupid I know, but I always get an Easter bunny and I didn’t this year. I thought for sure Donnie would’ve sent me one, but he didn’t even call today.”

“AWW Well, maybe the mail is just behind. Who knows? A package might come tomorrow.”

He began to talk to me about other things, but my sadness remained. When we stopped by the flowers later in another store on our route, so he could pick out gifts for his wife Peggy, and his mother I was envious of the obvious love he had for both. It showed in the way he went about choosing their flowers. Once all our errands were done we headed back to the school.

“Thanks Drew.” I said. “I appreciate your taking me with you today. I needed to get out.”

“It was my pleasure. I couldn’t have you moping about all day on Easter. That’s no way to get the Easter Bunny to visit.”

“I don’t believe in the Easter Bunny anymore.” I said, giving another sigh.

“Don’t believe in the Easter Bunny?”

I had to laugh. The way he said it made it sound like I’d said Campbell didn’t exist.

“Nope. Not anymore.” I couldn’t help it.  The feelings of sadness just wouldn’t let go.

“Now listen here! Young Lady! The Easter Bunny most assuredly does exist. He is like Santa, in every single one of us. So, you just dry your eyes and get rid of that pouty face, else he is gonna hop right on by you.”

I smiled. “Um? Drew? The Easter Bunny would’ve already come if he were going to. He’s supposed to come on Easter Eve. You know? Like Santa comes on Christmas Eve.”

Drew just laughed and for a few minutes neither of us spoke.

Later that day as we settled in to our places round the tables set up for lunch I found a miniature Easter basket sitting by my plate. The server standing there explained that John Keane had played Easter Bunny and had made the baskets. I cannot tell you how that warmed my heart. Lots of people had spoken of Mr. Keane as being a man who was strict. Some even used the word militant, and while he could be that way at times I’d found him to be kind and caring. This act of kindness only strengthened my belief.

When Drew came round to say happy Easter to all of his students, and to let us know he was leaving for the day I said, “Look, baskets!”

He reached out and pulled a strand of my hair.

“See, the Easter Bunny.”

“No, Mr. Keane.” I said, while eating jelly beans.

“Hey! Save that candy for after lunch, you’re gonna spoil your appetite.” He tried to move my basket away from me, but I held fast.

“Leave! It! Gibbon!” I said reproachfully, and he laughed again.

“So, you still don’t believe in the Easter Bunny huh?”

“Nope, but I do believe in kind people.”

“OK, good enough. Have a good day and behave yourself. The Easter Bunny might still be watching.” I sighed and began to work on the shrimp Cocktail the server had just placed in front of me. “Classy appetizers.” I said round a mouth full of shrimp.

“Save room, there is steak too.”

“O! I don’t eat steak in public.”

“Why?”

“Because I do a crappy job of cutting meat.”

“How do you like your steak?”

“Medium rare, but…”

He was gone before I could say anymore, and when he returned he said,

“They’re cooking your steak and will bring it to you cut. You can’t not have some, it’ll be awesome, now have a good day, ok?”

I tried to give him my best smile, but despite all the happiness round me, and great things being done for me that darn sadness was still creeping round. He gave my hair one last tug wished us all a happy day and was gone. As soon as his presence was gone from the room my sadness deepened, but I worked hard not to show it.

Back in my room after lunch I closed the door, and after letting Campbell out of his harness and loving on him a bit, I went to my bed to lie down. There on my pillow was a miniature chocolate Easter Bunny. I sat down on my bed and cried. Not with sadness though, with joy. The Easter Bunny had come after all.

Editor’s note:  Patty Fletcher is an author of two books.  You can read more at her website, Campbell’s World.

 

Planning for Rochester!

By:  Andrea Leigh Giudice, Program Committee Chair

I hope this issue of Paw tracks finds you well, prepared for the holidays and striding along with a loose leash and a firm grip on the harness handle.

I would like to take this opportunity to say again what I told the board earlier this year, “Thanks to  everyone for your support of me as the 2018 Convention Coordinator.  This was my first time coordinating a national convention and I sure did learn heaps!!  I had a superb team and they made me look very good!  Any short comings or problems were all on me!”

Now it is time to start planning for GDUI 2019.  The 2019 American Council of the Blind Conference and Convention will be held in Rochester, New York from Friday, July 5 through Friday, July 12.  GDUI programming will be from Sunday, July 7 to Wednesday, July 10.  It is exciting to have the 2019 convention darn near in my own neighborhood and hope this draws lots of attendees from the east coast.

I am seeking motivated and creative people to join me in planning the best GDUI convention yet.  Whether you have lots of time to give, ideas to share, or items to donate; please contact me by Calling me at 860-573-2198 or sending an e-mail to dawgmawm@gmail.com.

Here is some general hotel information.  I have been working with the ACB conference chair to insure that anyone  registering as a GDUI member, or as being partnered with a guide dog, be given preference for rooms in the Rochester Riverside Hotel.  Of course lodging is a free choice matter so check out the hotel information below and make your reservations early so as to get the hotel you want!  I also suggest subscribing to the convention e-mail list.  It has lots of great information.

 Hotel Information:

Make sure to mention you are with the American Council of the Blind 2019; rooms must be booked by June 7, 2019 to guarantee the convention rate.

There are guide dog relief areas at each hotel. If your dog prefers grass, the Riverside has a large grassy area just outside the front door.

Although we will be using two hotels and the convention center, walking will not be an issue since the spaces are compact, with no historical stairways.  The two hotels are across the street from each other. For safe and easy crossing, there is an audible pedestrian signal at the corner. You can also go between hotels via a walkway through the convention center where general sessions and exhibits will be held. Other activities will be held in both hotels.

First hotel: The Rochester Riverside Hotel.

(585) 546-6400

Rochester Riverside Hotel – American Council of the Blind Convention 2019 page.

Room rates are $89 per night (single or double occupancy, with an additional $10 per person for up to four people). This room rate does not include tax, which is currently 14%.

The Riverside has a grab-and-go counter, and their restaurant is Rocburger, featuring build your own burgers, wings and decadent milkshakes!

Second hotel: The Hyatt Regency Rochester

800-233-1234

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/new-york/hyatt-regency-rochester/roche?corp_id=G-ACBL

Room rates are $89 per night (single or double occupancy, with an additional $10 per person for up to four people). This room rate does not include tax, which is currently 14%.

At the Hyatt you will find Starbucks, Morton’s The Steakhouse (fine dining), and the Hyatt’s restaurant The Street Craft Kitchen and Bar, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Once again this year, the conference and convention announce list will be filled with information! To subscribe to the list, send a blank email to acbconvention-subscribe@acblists.org. If you received updates for the 2018 convention, you do not need to re-subscribe.

For ACB convention-related questions, please contact Janet Dickelman, convention chair, at (651) 428-5059 or via email, janet.dickelman@gmail.com

I know Anders and I are already getting all jazzed for GDUI 2019 and we hope you and your guides are too!

 

A Guide Dog Holiday Tradition!

By:  Penny Reeder

GDUI e-mail discussion lists have buzzed over the years with recipes and recommendations for tempting treats! When it came time for my first guide dog, Glory, to celebrate her third birthday, I looked through my accumulated files of homemade biscuit recipes, gathered the ingredients, struggled to roll out the far-too-stiff dough, and presented them to her – along with a toy or two – to show her just how much I loved her!

Glory loved the toys. She sniffed the first biscuit inquisitively … — and left it near her food bowl, while looking longingly toward the counter where the box of Scooby-Doo dog treats (with all of those chemically labeled ingredients and that artificial food coloring I had been so determined to eliminate from her comestibles sat!

I think hers was a lesson I needed to learn! Like many more she taught me during the relatively short working life we shared together! (Patience being a very important attitude that she taught me to cultivate!)

Not every guide dog works out in exactly the way we believed they would! Not every foray into natural or food coloring-free cooking will be greeted in the way we anticipated! But, there is so much to love about every dog that shares our lives with us, and I will always be grateful to Fidelco Guide Dog Glory – and to her trainers who worked so hard with us to make the relationship work – and to her wonderful puppy raisers, who loved her as much as our family did, and who gave her a long and happy life with their family after Glory and I parted ways and she returned to Connecticut.

Here’s a recipe for a doggie treat that will make any canine happy during any celebration you choose to celebrate together! (And, I know of guide dog users who enjoy eating these frozen treats just as much as the dogs for whom they retrieve them from their freezers!)

Home—Made Frostee Paws

Ingredients:

32 fluid ounces vanilla yogurt

1 banana, ripe, mashed or 1 (5 ounce) jar baby food

2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons honey

Makes 13 servings, 13 doggie desserts

Preparation Time: 3  hours

Preparation:

  1. Blend all ingredients together and freeze in 3-ounce paper cups. Or, pour into ice trays. Freeze for approximately 3 hours.

 

  1. Microwave just a few seconds before serving. (Optional)

 

Enjoy! Make every day a celebration with your guide dog!

 

Help GDUI Support the ACB 2018 Holiday Auction

By:  Maria Hansen

Are you a fan of The Juno Report and ACB Radio?  Then help Guide Dog Users, Inc.  make the 2018 ACB Radio Holiday Auction a huge success.   With enthusiastic and spirited bidding on our donation to this event. 

This year, GDUI has assembled a holiday gift bundle that your dog will love. 

We start with Genie Dog Wipes and a Gripsoft, Soft Slicker Brush for Sensitive Skin by JW Pet so that your pampered pup will look fabulous.

Then the fun begins!  The Empire Dog Toy Bin by Harry Barkerhas many different dogs printed around the sturdy blue canvas and is filled with the following goodies:

Challenge your dog with an interactive dog puzzle.  The Triple Treater Totter by Outward Hound is a treat dispensing toy. 

The Kong Genius Toy is a large, hard rubber bottle  and you can hide treats on the side or bottom of the toy.

An Elk Antler (size medium)- (Rudolph and the other reindeer need their antlers for navigation and stabilization so requested that we include elk antlers instead of deer.)

The Funzies Zebra by Outback Jack and the Simply Fido Lamb are softer, squeaky toys. 

Finally, there is a large (23” by 36”) self-warning, thermal dog bed by PetTherapeutics.  This bed keeps your dog toasty warm by reflecting  back its own body heat. 

The seventh annual ACB Radio Holiday Auction will be broadcast live on Sunday, December 2, from 7:00 PM to midnight Eastern Time (4:00 PM to 9:00 PM Pacific), or until all items are sold.  Mark your calendar and tune in on Sunday, December 2, between 7:00 PM and midnight Eastern at http://acbradio.org, on the ACB Link iPhone and Android app, on TuneIn Radio on your mobile phone or Alexa device, or by calling 605.475.8130 from any telephone.  e phone or Alexa device, or by calling 605-475-8130 from any telephone. 

Thank you for your generous support of ACB Radio and The Juno Report! 

 

Holiday Safety Tips for Your Pets

By:  The Animal Medical Center

Reprented with permission

The winter holidays should be a joyous time for people and pets alike. In the midst of your revelries and big family dinners, don’t let your home become

a hazardous place for your dog or cat. Here are 10 tips on how to keep your pets safe this holiday season:

  1. Fatty Foods Aren’t Good for Sparky Either Who can resist gravy on roast beef or a cup of egg nog? Spills on the kitchen floor or overturned glasses

and gravy boats are what your dog is wishing for this year. Lapping up these high fat treats puts him at risk for severe gastrointestinal upset. Delicious,

but oily potato pancakes will do the same.

  1. Other Holiday Foods on the Naughty List Chocolate contains a caffeine-like substance which is toxic in animals, known to cause hyperactivity, seizures

and heart arrhythmias (dry cocoa powder is the most dangerous). Onions can cause anemia in dogs and cats. Raisins are often found in many holiday baked

goods and for an unknown reason, raisins and their hydrated relative, grapes, can cause kidney failure in dogs.

  1. Trash Cans Become Holiday Buffets for Pets Don’t forget about the trash can in your kitchen as you whiz about making final preparations for guests –

it can become a dangerous buffet for your pet. If eaten, the string used to tie the meat and the discarded bones can lodge themselves in the digestive

tract and require a surgical procedure to remove. Bones lodged in the esophagus can be fatal if it is severely damaged.

  1. Raise Your Glasses! Not to propose a toast, but do ask guests not to set glasses down on the floor or on a low coffee table where pets get easy access

to those sweet, tasty, alcoholic holiday drinks. Pets will keep slurping and can become intoxicated and ill quickly. 

  1. Wrapping Risks The festive bows, twine, paper and tags of the holiday season can wrap your pet up in a heap of trouble if they’re ingested. Cats and

puppies love to play with puffy bows and balled up wrapping, and may in fact swallow them. All animals will be tempted to eat through the pretty packaging

surrounding gifts of food, so make sure to put them out of pets’ reach. The ingested wrapping can get stuck in the intestine and cause a blockage as well as damage the intestinal wall.

  1. Christmas Tree Safety 101 The water in your Christmas tree stand is mighty inviting to a thirsty pet. Keep it covered so they can’t lap up water that

has been tainted by pinesap and tree preservatives. Anchor your tree well and display it in a secure location to prevent pets from knocking it over. String

the lights tightly and put the all dangling cords behind furniture to limit your pet’s interest in playing with, and possibly chewing on them. Severe electrical

burns and electrocution can result. Cats especially have been known to nibble on the tree branches and sample the tinsel, both of which can be dangerous

to their digestive tracts. Lastly, choose your ornaments carefully. Glass ornaments that shatter easily if knocked off the tree leave shards for your pet

to step on and ingest. The best bet is to not let animals into the room where the tree is standing without human supervision. 

  1. Let There Be Light (as long as your pets can’t get near it!) Candles and lamps are a part of many holiday celebrations like Hanukah, Christmas, Divali

and Kwanzaa. Your Menorah or Kinara should be in a place that is inaccessible to your pets and should not burn unattended. Your cat can easily light itself

on fire by brushing its tail up against a burning candle or start a house fire by tipping it over.

  1. Mistle-no’s Colorful houseplants abound at holiday time but many are poisonous if nibbled on by your pets. Poinsettia, mistletoe, holly and Cyclamen’s

tuberous roots are toxic to pets and lilies and amaryllis will cause kidney failure if eaten by your cat. It is best to be safe and not have these plants

in your home if you share it with a pet.

  1. Break out Star With so many holiday guests coming and going, it is easy for pets to get agitated or escape out the door. Be sure your pets are crated

or leashed when you expect guests to prevent them from running away. And with all of the new voices, music and loud noises holiday festivities often bring,

even the calmest pet can get spooked. Keeping pets in a closed room will help minimize the anxiety.

  1. Not a Good Surprise Present Remember that a pet of any type does not make a good gift. No matter how much your neighbor or family member covets your

beloved Fido or Whiskers, other families need to be prepared for the time and financial commitment a pet requires. A pet should never be a surprise gift

anytime of the year. If your pet has ingested any foods or materials that may be toxic, contact your veterinarian immediately or call Animal Poison Control

at (888) 426-4435, 24 hours a day. The Animal Medical Center is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergency, routine and specialty care: (212) 838-8100.

 

Avoiding Winter Hazards

By:  Maria Hansen, 1st Vice President

Here are some tips to keep your guide safe and comfortable in winter weather:

Rock salt and some ice melts contain chloride which is irritating to  dog paws and stomachs if they lick the salt off their feet.  This is particularly troublesome for city dogs walked on salt-treated sidewalks. The salt dries and cracks the paw pads.

Once your dog comes inside, wash the feet to remove any chemical residue. 

Protect your dog’s pads with paw wax such as Mushers Secret. These products help protect the pads against snow and ice. Paw wax also helps to prevent iceball formation if applied between your dog’s toes. Paw wax often contains lanolin which helps to keep the pads soft and moist.

Boots can afford added protection.  My dog wears PAWZ which look like balloons and come in packages of 12 boots.  Don’t leave the boots on indoors as moisture will accumulate in the boot as your dog sweats from his paws and this environment could  promote infection.   

If you have your own sidewalks and driveway, consider pet friendly ice melt products (salt and chloride free) or use sand or kitty litter to provide traction on slippery areas.

Don’t allow your dog to drink from puddles. Puddles may contain dissolved ice melt, which will give your dog an upset stomach and diarrhea. Even worse, if the puddle contains antifreeze, a couple of sips of antifreeze laced water can be lethal.  Automotive anti-freeze contains ethylene glycol which is a potent toxin to the kidneys.  If you think your dog drank even a small amount of antifreeze, go immediately to the closest animal ER and have him checked out.

The combination of salt, water and stray voltage from poorly insulated wiring on light posts or street and sidewalk electric boxes can pose a shock hazard.  Here in New York City, stray voltage on wet streets has even resulted in human and canine fatalities.  Report any possible sources of stray voltage to the police or electric company.  If your dog is zapped by stray voltage (they usually cry in pain or collapse while walking near a light post or electric box on a wet or slushy day), get them to a veterinarian as quickly as possible.

One of my previous guides, Beau, was zapped twice.  The first time it happened, I had no idea what was going on because I was wearing rubber boots. He was screaming and thrashing on the ground.  I tried to help him up and he kept falling over.  We were standing on a metal grating and a passerby told me that it was electricity.

The second time it happened, we were crossing the street on a rainy day.  As soon as we stepped off the curb into a big puddle, he screamed and, this time, I knew immediately what it was.

I know a few other handlers whose guides have been the victims of stray voltage.

On very cold days, my guide wears a coat.  If there is a weather advisory against humans staying out for too long, I also limit my dog’s exposure outdoors.

Space heaters and heat lamps can  start fires and result in injury.  Heat lamps can cause a serious thermal burn and should never be directly aimed at a pet.

If your home or apartment is a bit chilly, let your dog cuddle up in a self-warming bed.  These beds reflect back the dog’s own body heat and eliminate concern about chewing on electric cords.

 

Paw Tracks Article Submissions

Would you like to submit an article for upcoming editions of the Paw Tracks magazine? 

GDUI members would love to hear from you!  Share your personal story, local guide dog news, affiliate work or anything that would be of interest to fellow guide dog handlers.  Make your submissions, with a Word attachment, to editor@guidedogusersinc.org today!

 

Executive Board of Directors

President

Penny Reeder

Email:  president@guidedogusersinc.org

 

1st Vice President

Maria Hansen

Email:  vp1@guidedogusersinc.org

 

2nd Vice President

Deb Lewis

Email:  vp2@guidedogusersinc.org

 

Secretary

Sarah Calhoun

Email:  secretary@guidedogusersinc.org

 

Treasurer

Lynn Merill

Email:  treasurer@guidedogusersinc.org

 

Contacting Board and Committee chairs

It’s easy to contact your Board of Directors and Committee chairs!  Visit https://guidedogusersinc.org/contact to send an email today.

Download Word Document Link: 2018 PawTracks Holiday Edition

Download MP3 Link: 2018 PawTracks Holiday Edition

GDUI Announcement, May 30, 2018

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,

If you haven’t already, it’s time to vote! We are now in the middle of the week which  GDUI has set aside to provide our members the opportunity to vote in our 2018 elections. If you haven’t cast your ballot yet, we are hoping we can persuade you to do so, either today, or during the rest of this voting week, which will end at 11:59 EDT on Sunday, June 3.

Your unique individual Voter I.D. Number arrived in your e-mail in box, or on a post card in your postal mailbox late last week. You can locate the e-mail message by searching for, “GDUI Ballot.” If you’ve been a member of GDUI since April 5, you should have received that initial e-mail message, and if you haven’t voted yet, it’s likely that you received another e-mail message yesterday, reminding you to vote, and including, once again, your individual voter identification number, as well as the link for voting online, the phone number to call for casting your ballot via touch tone, and an additional number to call if you would like to dictate your votes to a live VoteNow assistant

Do you need a reminder about our candidates or the positions which they are seeking to fill? Visit our 2018 Elections Information Page here: https://guidedogusersinc.org/gdui-2018-elections-news/.

GDUI is pleased to make our election process universally available to all members who joined or renewed by the Date of Record (required by the DC Not-for-Profit Code). We are proud that our system is accessible for all our members, and, like you, we look forward to a successful conclusion to election week for 2018!

Vote today! It’s easy! It’s quick! It’s accessible! And, it’s essential!

Thank you again to Pauline Lamontagne, Chair of our GDUI 2018 Nominations Committee, and to the committee members, and to all of you for participating in our democracy by casting your votes.

The May 19, 2018 GDUI Board Meeting recording is available here:

Drop Box:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kxstewgrtfn6ggj/Recording%20of%20the%20GDUI%20Board%20Meeting%2C%20May%2019%2C%202018.mp3?dl=0

Send Space:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/0vq503

Play back number:

712-432-1085

Access code: 919245 followed by the pound (#) key.

We were so pleased and appreciative of the time that Tony Stephens, ACB’s Director of Advocacy and Governmental Relations, spent at the beginning of our board meeting to talk about the U. S. Department of Transportation’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM),for the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), which had been released earlier that week, as well as proposed legislation in the House, where a bill has already passed, and the Senate, which has yet to bring a bill up for voting, regarding access for guide dogs, service animals, and so-called emotional support animals on transportation and in other public venues. If you missed Tony’s informative remarks and the discussion which ensued, we urge you to take advantage of the available meeting recording to listen and learn. Thanks again, Tony! We are so pleased to be working closely with ACB and others to make sure that revised regulations meet our needs and reinforce our hard-won civil rights.

More about the ANPRM:

The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on Traveling By Air with Service Animals can be found HERE: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOT-OST-2018-0068-0001.

 In this ANPRM, the Department solicits comment on:

 * Treating psychiatric service animals similar to other service animals;

 * Distinguishing between emotional support animals and other service animals;

 * Requiring emotional support animals to travel in pet carriers for the duration of the flight;

 * Limiting the species of service animals and emotional support animals that airlines are required to transport;

 * Limiting the number of service animals/emotional support animals required to be transported per passenger;

 * Requiring service animal and emotional support animal users confirm that their animal has been trained to behave in a public setting;

  * Requiring service animals and emotional support animals have a harness, leash, or other tether with narrow exceptions;

 * Limiting the size of emotional support animals or other service animals that travel in the cabin and the potential impact of such a limitation;

 * Prohibiting airlines from requiring a veterinary health form or immunization record from service animal users without an individualized assessment that the animal would pose a direct threat  to the health or safety of others or would cause a significant disruption in the aircraft cabin; and

 * No longer holding U.S. airlines responsible if a passenger traveling under the U.S. carrier’s code is only allowed to travel with a service dog on a flight operated by its foreign code share partner.

 You may download the ANPRM here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOT-OST-2018-0068-0001.

The U.S Department of Transportation stated the ANPRM “is intended to address the significant concerns raised by individuals with disabilities, other members of the public, airlines, flight attendants, airports and other stakeholders regarding service animals on aircraft.  The Department recognizes the integral role that service animals play in the lives of many individuals with disabilities and wants to ensure seamless access to air transportation for individuals with disabilities while also helping to deter the fraudulent use of animals not qualified as service animals.”

GDUI will be working closely with ACB and other disability advocacy organizations to evaluate the proposed regulations and assure that any proposed changes will protect our rights to travel, unburdened by excess bureaucracy or obtrusive requirements, with our guide dogs. Please stay in touch and remain informed about this important issue. We will be letting all of you know how you can participate in this important advocacy during coming weeks. 

GDUI/ACB Convention News! It’s time to register!

Convention registration opened on Tuesday, May 15th. You can register online at https://acbconvention.org/ or by telephone by calling 800.866.3242. When you call, you will be asked to provide your name, telephone number, time zone, and the best time to reach you. ACB’s telephone registration cadre does make phone calls evenings and weekends.

 For the first time this year, professionals can earn Continuing Education Credits when attending certain specific seminars and presentations.

During the 2018 American Council of the Blind Conference and Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, rehabilitation teachers and counselors, teachers of the visually impaired, low vision therapists, orientation and mobility specialists, and other professionals have opportunities to earn continuing education credits (CECs).

 CEC eligible sessions are held June 30 through July 4. Credits are available for a wide range of specialized programs, workshops, seminars, and other events presented by ACB committees, special-interest affiliates, and representatives from government agencies and private industry. Subjects addressed include technology, transition, vocational goals, health issues, orientation and mobility, self-advocacy, braille, low vision issues, and more.

For details on the 50 sessions and events offering continuing education credits visit:  https://acbconvention.org/?p=30.   

Will you need a Wheelchair or a scooter while visiting the ACB/GDUI Convention? Contact

Provider Plus, Inc.

7748 Watson

St. Louis, MO 63119

 314.961.8500

https://www.providerplus.com/

 Weekly rate for scooters is $125.00,

 Manual wheelchairs are $60.00 per week.

 There is an additional $50 delivery and pick-up fee.

Hotel Accommodations for Convention Week

Many who are still firming up their plans for attending convention were dismayed to learn earlier this week that the Union Station (convention) Hotel has already booked every single room for convention week. Fortunately, ACB Convention Coordinator, Janet Dickelman announced that another close-by hotel is available for convention attendees. Here is Janet’s message:

“The Drewery Inn (a block from Union Station hotel) has rooms available for $109 per night.  I know this is higher than Union Station however the room includes complimentary breakfast and happy hours.  Also for those of you who are driving parking at Drewery Inn is $9.00 per day.  Unfortunately they do not have rooms available until Sunday, July 1st. Please let me know if you are interested.

I need your name, phone number and arrival and departure dates.  If you have an existing reservation with Union Station do not cancel it with the hotel.  Let me know and I’ll assign the room to someone else. Again please please, please do not cancel or make any changes to existing Union Station reservations.”

Janet’s e-mail address is:mailto:janet.dickelman@gmail.com  .

It sounds like we’re going to have a huge group of people and dogs attending our convention! Don’t miss the fun! Make your plans to attend the GDUI convention, beginning on July1 and concluding with our fabulous annual awards luncheon on Independence Day, July 4! For more information on the GDUI Convention, visit our web site here: https://guidedogusersinc.org/2018-gdui-convention/.

And, don’t forget about Moe! He’s still looking for a post-convention home! Call GDUI’s toll free number 866.799.8436 and purchase raffle tickets from Sarah, or go online and use PayPal to buy your tickets here: https://guidedogusersinc.org/shop/.Raffle tickets are 3 for $5.00 or 7 for $10. All of the dollars that tickets for Moe bring in will assist GDUI in covering convention costs and advocating on behalf of guide dog users in coming months. Please be generous and thank you for joining the growing number of our members and friends who purchase raffle tickets in the hope of bringing home our beautiful nearly life-size plush yellow labbie named Moe, wearing his own harness, and just waiting to join you and your own guide dog at home!

Thank you all for your friendship and support.

Sincerely,

Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:President@GuideDogUsersInc.org

Deanna Noriega, First Vice President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:vp1@GuideDogUsersInc.org

GDUI: https://www.guidedogusersinc.org/

Call us, toll-free, at  866.799.8436

Like, visit us, and join our Facebook Group : https://www.facebook.com/GDUInc

Follow us at Twitter: @GDUInc

Enjoy the GDUI Juno Report on ACB Radio Mainstream, at8:00 p.m., EDT, every Friday of every month, here: http://www.acbradio.org/mainstream.

Download or subscribe to the GDUI Juno Report pod cast here: http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml

Or search for the GDUI Juno Report on ITunes or ACBLink. .

Support GDUI when you use this link to shop at Amazon.com: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1871119.

SUPPORT GUIDE DOG USERS, INC GROUP #999969764 when you purchase candles and other decorative items from the Yankee Candle Store here: https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/store.htm.

To join the GDUI-Announce List, visit this link: http://www.acblists.org/mailman/listinfo/gdui-announce

To subscribe to the GDUI Chat list, visit this link: gduichatlist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

To subscribe to the (members only) GDUI Business list, visit this link:

businesslist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

A recording of each GDUI announcement is available here: 773.572.6301. Enter the password, 1972. The recording will remain available until it is replaced by a recording of the next GDUI Announcement. Please share this information with friends who may not have access to the internet. Thank you. We look forward to sharing information with all of our GDUI members and friends.

GDUI Announcement, April 25, 2018

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,

Willow and I have a few announcements to share with you on this International Guide Dogs Day. What a good idea it is to name a day for a worldwide celebration of  guide dogs and all of the independence and exuberance they bring to our lives! At our house, we have a stash of doggie treats all ready to go!

GDUI whole-heartedly concurs with the World Blind Union’s statement celebrating International Guide Dogs Day and encouraging airlines, worldwide, to treat all people who are blind, including guide dog users, with the dignity, respect, and courtesy they extend to all their customers. Read the WBU statement on the occasion of International Guide Dogs Day here: http://www.worldblindunion.org/English/news/Pages/World-Blind-Union-Statement-for-International-Guide-Dogs-day-25-April-2018.aspx  

The first GDUI Candidates’ Forum is coming up this coming Saturday, April 28, at 1:00 p.m. on this phone line: 712.432.0075, Conference ID 919245-Pound! Thank you to those of you who submitted questions for the candidates. We all look forward to the opportunity to respond on Saturday, and again at the second candidates’ forum, scheduled for Thursday evening, May 10. .

Remember, The 2018 GDUI Elections will begin at 12:00 AM EDT on Saturday, May 26,  2018 and end at 11:59 PM EDT on Sunday, June 3, 2018. All GDUI members eligible to vote will receive their individual voting identification numbers shortly before our election week commences, either by e-mail or postal mail.

For everything you need to know about this year’s election and the candidates running for office, visit the GDUI Elections 2018 page here: https://guidedogusersinc.org/gdui-2018-elections-news/.

Down to the Wire! The GDUI Awards Committee will accept your nominations for GDUI awards until the close of business on Monday, April 30! Here’s a message from GDUI Awards Committee Chair, Charlie Crawford:

Hi GDUI (members and friends),

It’s that time of year again: and it is running short for you to Help GDUI Honor the People Who Make a Positive Difference in the Lives of Guide Dog Handlers!

Guide Dog Users, Inc. has a long tradition of honoring the people who have assisted us as guide dog handlers and improved our communities in positive ways.  

Again this year, we are seeking candidates for our Ethel Bender and Moffitt-Gleitz awards.  In addition, we will honor the writers and communicators who make our quarterly magazine, PawTracks, and other productions such as the GDUI Juno Report, the informative and entertaining publications they are.

 We encourage you to think about all the PawTracks and GDUI Juno Reports  contributors whose stories, articles, and poems have informed and entertained you in the last year. If someone moved you or made you smile or taught you something new about yourself or your dog or your experience as a person who is blind, we hope you will nominate that person for the GDUI Writers/Media Award.

 Our Ethel Bender award honors a sighted person who has made a significant contribution to the guide dog community.  Past winners included Ted Zubrzycki, Lukas Frank  and Michael Lilly.

Our third award, the Moffitt-Gleitz Award honors a person who is blind and who has significantly improved the lives of guide dog users.

Awards will be presented at this year’s annual GDUI luncheon on July 4, 2018,  in Saint Louis. Send your nominations to Charlie Crawford at this address: mailto:CCrawford@RCN.com and Put the words, “2018 GDUI AWARD Nomination(s)” in your subject field.

No access to e-mail?  Call GDUI’s office manager, Sarah Calhoun at 866-799-8436. 

 Please submit your nominations by April 30, 2018, and thank you for helping us honor the people who make life for guide dog teams better every day. I thank you in advance for assisting our committee in our selection of well deserving persons to receive these distinguished awards from our very own Guide Dog Users Inc.

Charlie Crawford: Chair, GDUI Awards Committee.

Speaking of the GDUI Convention, our national Convention offers A time and a place for you and your guide dogs to meet and catch up with guide dog users from across the country and the world.  Mingle, meet, share experiences, ask questions, learn and play together

Where: At the Union Station Hotel, 1820 Market Street, St Louis, Missouri 63103

 When: Sunday, July 1-Wednesday, July 4, 2018 

And, you should know that GDUI members are already visiting our GDUI online shopping page and calling Sarah to purchase raffle tickets for our beautiful plush yellow labbie guide dog in harness named Moe! Someone has to get that winning ticket – It might as well be you!

Purchase tickets, 3 for $5 or 7 for $10 and pay with PayPal online toward the bottom of GDUI’s Products Page: https://guidedogusersinc.org/shop/ or call Sarah Calhoun on the toll-free GDUI number to order tickets and pay by check: 866.799.8436. Tickets will also be available in the GDUI Suite during the GDUI convention, July 1 – July 4, 2018.

Just a few more days to schedule an appointment for a Free Eye Exam for Your Guide Dog! Board-certified veterinary ophthalmologists across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico are prepared to provide more than 7,500 service and working animals with free eye exams during the month of May as part of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO®)’s 11th annual ACVO/StokesRx National Service Animal Eye Exam event.

 Online registration for owners/agents for the animal(s) opened April 1 at www.ACVOeyeexam.org  and closes April 30. 

 To qualify, service and working animals must be active, working animals that have been trained through a formal training program or organization, or are currently enrolled in a formal training program. View the qualifications at https://www.acvoeyeexam.org/qualifications-expectations/.  

For more information, and to register your guide dog for an exam, visit www.ACVOeyeexam.org.

Sad News: We are sad to announce the deaths of two people we cared about.

Lauren Casey of Lawrenceville, NJ, was a guide dog user and a long-time member of GDUI. She worked as a social worker for the state of New Jersey and volunteered for many years as an active member of the New Jersey Council of the Blind We are sad to learn of her death at age 64.

Sue Ammeter of Port Hadlock, WA, passed away on April 18. Sue was not a guide dog user, herself, although their many dogs were important family members for Sue and her husband John, and she was a supporter of guide dog users, and of all people with disabilities. A long-time member of the ACB and the Washington Council of the Blind, Sue was justifiably proud of her service on the President’s Committee for People with Disabilities, which wrote the Americans with Disabilities Act. When Sue contracted breast cancer, while undergoing treatment for the disease, she single-handedly convinced the American Cancer Society to make printed materials regarding the disease and its treatment available in braille and alternate formats, and she organized several support groups for blind and visually impaired women who were coping with cancer themselves. Sue’s lifelong advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities undoubtedly continues to make a positive difference  in all of our lives, and I want to honor her contributions and express gratitude on behalf of all of us in GDUI.

Celebrating our Victories: Sometimes it seems like all we do is ask all of you for help. Too often, I fear, we forget to congratulate you on the advocacy victories we owe to your activism and the passions we all share. One recent victory concerns our community’s successful effort to block introduction of the ADA Education and Reform Act(H.R. 620),in the Senate. A letter written by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)received enough signatures to defeat attempts by some in the Senate to introduce a companion bill to the one which the House had passed, and so the Americans with Disabilities Act remains in tact and unaltered – Phew! – for another day! Thank you to all of you who contacted your Senators and urged them to sign onto Sen. Duckworth’s letter.

Another recent victory relates to rejection of service dog national standards which had been proposed for adoption in Canada. The proposed “standards” were so prescriptive and so ill-informed as to seem ridiculous. Yet, there was, in fact, a strong push by many to convince the Canadian national government to adopt them – which would have been disastrous for our members and friends who are guide dog users in Canada, and could have had unfortunate ramifications for us in the USA as well. GDUI, along with several other organizations and guide and service dog training programs wrote a letter opposing the proposed standards and urging their rejection, and we are pleased to let you know that the standards have been rejected.

Finally, recent policy decisions made by Delta, United and Alaska Airlines which recognize the reliably good behavior of our well-trained guide dogs and therefore impose no extraordinary burdens on us when we bring our dogs aboard their planes is due in no small measure to the successful and articulate advocacy in which many of you engaged when you contacted the airlines and the U. S. Department of Transportation to advocate on our behalf. Thank you!

We hope to find many of you on the phone line for Saturday’s Candidates’ Forum. I know you join Willow and me in celebrating International Guide Dogs Day. Thank you, as always, for your friendship and your support.

Sincerely,

Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:President@GuideDogUsersInc.org

 

Deanna Noriega, First Vice President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:vp1@GuideDogUsersInc.org

GDUI: https://www.guidedogusersinc.org/

Call us, toll-free, at  866.799.8436

Like, visit us, and join our Facebook Group : https://www.facebook.com/GDUInc

Follow us at Twitter: @GDUInc

Enjoy the GDUI Juno Report on ACB Radio Mainstream, at8:00 p.m., EDT, every Friday of every month, here: http://www.acbradio.org/mainstream.

Download or subscribe to the GDUI Juno Report pod cast here: http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml

Or search for the GDUI Juno Report on ITunes  or ACBLink. .

Support GDUI when you use this link to shop at Amazon.com: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1871119.

SUPPORT GUIDE DOG USERS, INC GROUP #999969764 when you purchase candles and other decorative items from the Yankee Candle Store here: https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/store.htm.

To join the GDUI-Announce List, visit this link: http://www.acblists.org/mailman/listinfo/gdui-announce

To subscribe to the GDUI Chat list, visit this link: gduichatlist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

To subscribe to the (members only) GDUI Business list, visit this link:

businesslist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

A recording of each GDUI announcement is available here: 712.432.1281. Enter the Access Code 488062 followed by the number sign. When prompted, enter the Reference Code, No. 1. The recording will remain available until it is replaced by a recording of the next GDUI Announcement. Please share this information with friends who may not have access to the internet. Thank you. We look forward to sharing information with all of our GDUI members and friends.

GDUI Announcement, March 21, 2018

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,

Welcome spring! Well, at least that’s what the calendar says … Here in the Washington, DC area, but here and further north, all the way to the top of the country on the Atlantic Coast, we have lots and lots and lots of snow! It is soft, billowy snow – the kind we hardly saw all winter long! And, Willow is enjoying every snowy morsel and flake!

Take heart, if you’ve had more than your fill of the white stuff, the flakes and drifts will soon be replaced by cherry blossoms and tulips, And, you’ll soon be enjoying the asparagus and rhubarb that are the herald of springtime deliciousness!

Back to business – If you missed last Saturday’s board meeting, Recordings of the March 17 GDUI Board Meeting are now available. There are three access options. The recording is 2 hours and 3 minutes in length.

Drop Box: https://www.dropbox.com/s/d6s7em3yhwm6ppp/Recording%20of%20the%20March%2017%2C%202018%20GDUI%20Board%20Meeting.mp3?dl=0

Send Space: https://www.sendspace.com/file/gz7hxt

Recording play back number:

712-432-1085

Access code:

919245 followed by the Pound key

Welcome to our new Guide Dog Schools Liaison, Lina Coral. At Saturday’s board meeting, members unanimously confirmed Lina Coral as our new Guide Dog Schools Liaison, and Lina is already busy helping Andrea plan for the GDUI convention and beginning the process of updating our guide dog schools surveys. Here’s a brief biography that Lina shared with us so we can all get to know her better:

I am currently working my first guide, Quest, A long-haired female German shepherd from Fidelco. She is a big playful sweetheart, and she will be turning six in May. We have been a team for three and a half years. I got Quest the summer before my sophomore year of college, so she was with me for most of my undergraduate career. We recently graduated last year, and are currently doing an internship at the Lowell Association for the blind here in Massachusetts. I am also in the process of applying to grad school, and I’m hoping to start in the fall, but I am also applying for jobs. I am hoping to do master’s in mental health counseling in the Boston area.

In my free time, I love reading or listening to books, spending time with my family, and of course, playing fetch with Quest. I’m super excited to be the guide dog schools liaison, and I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Welcome, Lina, and thanks for volunteering to become even busier than you already were!

We Need Your Photos! To be a little more specific, we need photos of your working guides! And, we need them soon!

If you have adorable photos of your guide dogs (either current guides or former guides, and you can attach them to an e-mail message, Deanna Noriega, who is finishing up the final edits on our revised and updated “Making Impressions” publication would love to have them!

I read “Making Impressions” in late 1999, when I was making up my mind about whether or not a guide dog would be the right mobility choice for me – and my family! Thank goodness for all that great information and advice in that book (which, incidentally, was one of the first books I ever read cover-to-cover in braille)! Choosing to partner with a guide dog was one of the best decisions I ever made – about my life and about coping with my blindness! The time has come to update the information contained in “Making Impressions,” and we are very appreciative that Deanna and our Publications Committee have chosen to revise and update the book. We hope to make it available for purchase later this year.

The final step in the editorial process involves adding some visual interest to the text, and that’s where you come in! Please share your photos of your guide dogs (You can be in those photos as well!) with Deanna by the end of the day on March 26! Deanna hopes to have the finished manuscript in the publisher’s hands by the end of the month.

Send your photos to either of these e-mail addresses:

mailto:vp1@guidedogusersinc.org

Or

mailto:quieth2o@charter.net

Thank you!

Still looking for financial help for attending ACB’s and GDUI’s summer conventions, which will take place in St. Louis, MO, between June 30 and July 6? If you’re too young to apply for the Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss (AAVL) stipends [See the GDUI Announcement from March 15, 2018], there are two other opportunities to be chosen to receive financial assistance.

If you’re a first-timer, i.e., you have never before attended an ACB convention, you can apply to win one of two DKM First-Timers’ awards. Visit this link for more information: http://acb.org/content/climb-aboard-2018-dkm-express 

Or, even if you’ve attended ACB conventions in the past, you can apply for one of five JP Morgan Chase Leadership Awards. For the third consecutive year, JP Morgan Chase will provide full access to the ACB Conference and Convention for 5 ACB members who have demonstrated leadership abilities. Get connected with previous classes of Leadership Fellows who have had the experience of a lifetime, while meeting other members and active leaders from around the country. By attending the 57th annual ACB Conference and Convention in Saint Louis, Missouri, as a Leadership Fellow you will be introduced to  tools for success through participation in informative workshops, seminars and leadership development sessions that are sure to prepare you to serve well in future leadership roles within ACB, your local chapter, and your state or special interest affiliate. Interested?

Read more by visiting http://acb.org/apply-2018-leadership-fellows

Applications for both these awards are due on April 3! There’s still time. We hope you’ll apply, and GDUI’s leadership is ready and eager to help with letters of support and recommendation.

RideShare Refusals? They’re still happening, despite settlement agreements reached with both companies requiring them to take their responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act – and our civil rights – seriously! The best way to respond? Complain! Take the time to file a formal complaint, using these links:

Click the link below to register an Uber or Lyft rideShare complaint with entities charged with enforcing the settlement agreements: https://nfb.org/rideshare-test

Complaint to the companies as well

Uber:

Report an Issue with Uber related to Service Dog denials:

https://help.uber.com/h/f838d975-8076-43f5-8ccf-a368cc507f55

LYFT:

To report a problem, call the Service Animal Hotline at

1-844-250-3174

Or, go to the link below and submit a form from the web:

https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013080048-Service-animal-policy#report

 Are you a writer, or do you know a blind or visually impaired student with writing talent? Here’s a chance to improve your finances while showing off your writing skills! Enter the American Printing House for the Blind’s Writing Contest!

In celebration of their 160th anniversary, the American Printing House is conducting  a writing contest for:  Students with a visual impairment who are enrolled in grades 3-12 for the 2017-2018 school year, Adults with visual impairments who use APH products  

Professionals who work in the field as vision (teachers, rehabilitation counselors and others)

Current and former employees of the American Printing House for the Blind are not eligible to enter this contest.

Cash prizes will be awarded in each Grade level and adult category:

First Place — $500

Second Place — $250

Third Place — $100

The categories, official topics and maximum word count are listed below:

 Grades 3-5 (Maximum 250 words)

Official Topic: The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) provides specialized tools and materials for people who are blind and visually impaired to learn and to live independently. Write a letter to APH telling us about either your favorite APH product: how you use it, and why you love it, or

 A product you would like to invent for APH: what the product would be called; how it would be used; and who would benefit from it.

Grades 6-8 (Maximum 500 words)

Official Topic: Louis Braille, a Frenchman, invented the braille code of tactile reading and writing in 1821. He died in 1852 – six years before APH was founded in 1858. Write a letter to Louis and tell him either how Braille changed the lives of people who are blind, or how APH has changed the lives of people with vision loss since it was founded in 1858.

Grades 9-12 (Maximum 750 words)

Official Topic: Think about the career or vocation you would like to pursue as an adult. Write an essay about how your strengths and interests will help you in this work. What person (or people) has empowered you to succeed? What APH product(s) has best prepared you for work in this area, and what product(s) will you use to become successful in this career or vocation?

Adult Consumers (Maximum 1,000 words)

 Official Topic: APH has celebrated many milestones since it was founded in 1858. For example: in 1883 a new building was constructed; in 1932, Standard English Braille became the only tactile reading and writing system produced by APH; in 1974, cassette tapes were introduced in the Talking Book program; and in 2003, Book Port was offered for sale. Write an essay about significant milestones in your life. What factors helped you to accomplish remarkable things and to overcome challenges? What APH product(s) have empowered you along the way?

Professionals (Maximum 1,000 words)

Official Topic: Write an essay about the most creative, unique way you have used an APH product (or products). What is the product and what did it help you (or a student or adult you worked with) accomplish?

You can obtain an entry form and detailed information about this contest at http://www.aph.org/contest/160th-anniversary-essay/

Urgent! Please Contact Your Senators and Ask them to Protect the ADA!

Remember that obnoxious bill that the U. S. House of Representatives voted on — and unfortunately passed — a few weeks ago? The bill that would allow businesses and public entities to claim ignorance of their responsibilities to make their venues AND SERVICES accessible to people with disabilities and give them as long as 18 months to respond to a complaint from a person with a disability? Well, it’s back … — or nearly so! Imagine, after nearly thirty years, businesses are still claiming ignorance of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which became the law of the land in 1990 — and resisting the law’s requirements to make their venues accessible to people with disabilities!

Here’s how you can help!

You can call your Senators to ask them to join Senator Tammy Duckworth’s letter to Senate leadership opposing H.R.620, ADA Education and Reform Act and tell them they should not bring forward H.R. 620 or any similar bill to the Senate floor.

Read the Senator’s letter here: http://www.afb.org/community/announcements/call-senators-today-to-sign-a-letter-opposing-hr-620/12 

To date, 39 Senators have signed-on to this letter. Our goal is to reach 41 Senators or greater to make cloture on a Senate bill impossible, thus stopping any effort to weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the Senate before it begins.

 H.R. 620, which passed in the House of Representatives last month, would make it harder for people with disabilities to report access barriers in places of public accommodation and would allow business owners and public entities to delay making their businesses and services accessible.

 We cannot allow Congress to chip away at the Americans with Disabilities Act and roll back our rights!

 Please take a moment to contact your Senators and ask them to sign-on to the “Duckworth ADA letter protecting the rights of people with disabilities.” Some offices have said they will not sign the letter — if that is their response; please ask them to send their own letter that they will release to the public, opposing any bill that will weaken the ADA.

 Our top focus is on the Senators below:

New Mexico:

Sen. Tom Udall

(202) 224-6621

Sen. Martin Heinrich

(202) 224-5521

Michigan:

Sen. Gary Peters

(202) 224-6221

North Dakota:

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp

(202) 224-2043

 It is also important to contact the Senators below:

West Virginia:

Sen. Joe Manchin

(202) 224-2742

Florida:

Sen. Bill Nelson

(202) 224-5274

Indiana:

Sen. Joe Donnelly

(202) 224-4814

Maine:

Sen. Angus King

(202) 224-5344

You can also call the Capitol Switchboard at 

202.224.3121

 or

202.224.3091 (TTY)

 and ask to be connected to your Senators.

Contacting Congress https://www.contactingcongress.org/

 also provides information on how to reach your Senators by email or social media.

The GDUI Announce List

Please share information about this GDUI-Announce list with colleagues and friends who are members of our guide dogs community and support our goals and organization. The ‘Announce List is a one-way list, we try to make it an effective means of learning about our activities, mission and goals. Announcements are distributed, on average, once or twice each month, and we hope  that you’ll spread the word about our list and the issues that are important to all of us. Subscribe to the GDUI-Announce e-mail list here: http://www.acblists.org/mailman/listinfo/gdui-announce Announcements are also shared on the GDUI web site and on Facebook, as well as via telephonic recording.

Just a few more days to participate in spectacular fund-raising opportunities for GDUI during March! Triple Donations for GDUI through March 31! When you shop at: Smile.Amazon.com, your first SMILE purchase which designates GDUI as your recipient of choice will earn triple SMILE benefits! Go to smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1871119 and Amazon will donate triple the usual percentage to Guide Dog Users Inc.

And, if you’re thinking about sprucing up your home for spring, Yankee Candles has a special fund-raiser going on as well! SUPPORT GUIDE DOG USERS, INC GROUP #999969764 when you purchase candles and other decorative items from the Yankee Candle Store here: https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/store.htm.

Thank you for helping to raise the funds that make GDUI’s advocacy, education, and empathetic support for guide dog users possible!

Whether you are roaming through the snow drifts or gathering daffodils, we wish you a happy spring, and we thank you for your friendship and support.

Sincerely,

Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:President@GuideDogUsersInc.org

Deanna Noriega, First Vice President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:vp1@GuideDogUsersInc.org

GDUI: https://www.guidedogusersinc.org/

Call us, toll-free, at  866.799.8436

Like, visit us, and join our Facebook Group : https://www.facebook.com/GDUInc

Follow us at Twitter: @GDUInc

Enjoy the GDUI Juno Report on ACB Radio Mainstream, at8:00 p.m., EDT, every Friday of every month, here: http://www.acbradio.org/mainstream.

Download or subscribe to the GDUI Juno Report pod cast here: http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml

Or search for the GDUI Juno Report on ITunes  or ACBLink. .

Support GDUI when you use this link to shop at Amazon.com: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1871119.

SUPPORT GUIDE DOG USERS, INC GROUP #999969764 when you purchase candles and other decorative items from the Yankee Candle Store here: https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/store.htm.

To join the GDUI-Announce List, visit this link: http://www.acblists.org/mailman/listinfo/gdui-announce

To subscribe to the GDUI Chat list, visit this link: gduichatlist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

To subscribe to the (members only) GDUI Business list, visit this link:

businesslist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

A recording of each GDUI announcement is available here: 712.432.1281. Enter the Access Code 488062 followed by the number sign. When prompted, enter the Reference Code, No. 1. The recording will remain available until it is replaced by a recording of the next GDUI Announcement. Please share this information with friends who may not have access to the internet. Thank you. We look forward to sharing information with all of our GDUI members and friends.

Responsibilities of GDUI Officers and Board Members

The GDUI President must be willing and able to accept the legal, fiduciary and ethical responsibilities for an organizational president, in accordance with standard nonprofit practices and procedures.

The GDUI President must be a GDUI member in good standing.

The GDUI President must be a guide dog user.

The GDUI President shall:

Preside over all meetings; Appoint a Vice President to preside over any meeting for which the president’s absence is unavoidable; Propose policies and practices to fulfill the mission of GDUI; Serve as an ex-officio member of GDUI committees (with the exception of the Nominating Committee) in compliance with the GDUI Bylaws); Monitor the performance of Directors and Officers; Submit various reports to the board and to other “stakeholders” as necessary; Propose the creation of committees or task forces to accomplish needed work; appoint chairpersons for committees and task forces; perform other duties as the need arises and/or as defined in the GDUI Bylaws.

The GDUI President shall not be absent from three board meetings in any year.

 In the event that serious circumstances make it impossible for the President to attend any meeting of the GDUI Board, the president must inform the First Vice President, in advance, and must arrange for either the First or Second Vice-President to take on presidential duties for that meeting.

The President ensures that an agenda is planned in advance for board meetings.
(This may involve periodic meetings with committee chairpersons to draft meeting agendas and reporting schedules.)

The President presides over meetings of the Board of Directors. In this capacity, the President: Chairs meetings according to accepted rules of order for the purposes of encouraging all members to participate in discussion; Facilitates the board’s work of arriving at decisions in an orderly, timely and democratic manner; Votes as prescribed in the GDUI Bylaws.

The President is responsible for ensuring, on behalf of the membership, that the Board of Directors and officers of GDUI: Are aware of and fulfill their governance responsibilities, including

  1. Comply with applicable laws and bylaws;
  2. Conduct board business effectively and efficiently in accordance with standard nonprofit policies and procedures;
  3. Are accountable for their performance.

The President is accountable to the Board of Directors or Members as specified in the GDUI Bylaws. The President may delegate specific duties to Board members and/or committees, and to the office manager and the webmaster, as appropriate; however, the accountability remains with the President. For this reason, the president may take appropriate action to safeguard the interests of GDUI.

According to the GDUI Bylaws, the president’s involvement in the proceedings of the Nominating Committee is specifically limited; therefore, the President’s accountability, in the specific case of the recommendations or actions of the nominating committee, is accordingly limited.

The President serves as an ex-officio member of all board committees (with the exception of the Nominating Committee). In this capacity, the President’s role is to:

Negotiate reporting schedules;

Identify problems and assist the committee chairperson to resolve them,

Bring such matters, if necessary, to the attention of the Board of Directors.

The President ensures that GDUI maintains positive and productive relationships with organizations related to the mission of GDUI, media and donors.

In this capacity, the President serves as primary spokesperson for GDUI, and Duties may include:

Representing GDUI to the media;

Representing GDUI on governmental or nongovernmental organizations and committees;

Providing timely and appropriate reporting of Board decisions and actions to members and/or donors.

The President is normally designated by the Board of Directors and/or bylaws as one of the signing officers for certain documents. In this capacity, the President may be authorized or required to sign or countersign bank checks, correspondence, applications, reports, contracts or other documents on behalf of GDUI.

The President ensures that structures and procedures are in place for effective recruitment, training, and evaluation of GDUI board members.

The President ensures that structures and procedures are in place for securing the resources required by GDUI.

The GDUI President is the primary liaison between the Board and all GDUI staff. In this capacity, the President:

Meets periodically with these individuals, no less than once a quarter;

Ensures that annual performance reviews of these staff members are conducted;

Participates in the hiring and evaluation of all staffers (presently the webmaster.

Responsibilities and criteria for GDUI First Vice President position

The GDUI First Vice President is required to be willing and qualified to take over as President if necessary, in accordance with the GDUI Bylaws.

Important: Please refer to “Responsibilities and Criteria for GDUI President Position” for specific details.

The first vice president must be willing and able to accept the legal, fiduciary and ethical responsibilities of an organizational vice president, and of President, in accordance with standard nonprofit practices and procedures.

The First Vice President is expected to attend all board meetings, and to preside over any board meeting for the president, if necessary.

The First Vice President shall inform the President, in advance, if unable to attend a particular board meeting.

The First Vice President may not miss more than three board meetings per year.

The First Vice President must be a member in good standing of GDUI.

The First Vice President must be a guide dog user.

Responsibilities and criteria for GDUI Second Vice President position

The second vice president must be willing and able to accept the legal, fiduciary and ethical responsibilities of an organizational vice president, in accordance with standard nonprofit practices and procedures.

The Second Vice President must be willing and able to take on the role and duties of First Vice President as prescribed by the GDUI Bylaws.

*Important: Please refer to “Responsibilities and Criteria for GDUI First Vice President Position” for specific details.

The Second Vice President Must Be a GDUI-member in good standing.

The Second Vice President must be a guide dog user.

The Second Vice President is expected to attend all board meetings and must be willing and able to run regularly scheduled Board meetings, if called upon by the President to do so (in the event that the President or First Vice President cannot be in attendance).

The Second Vice President shall inform the President, in advance, if unable to attend a particular board meeting.

The Second Vice President may not miss more than three board meetings per year.

Responsibilities and criteria for GDUI Secretary Position

The GDUI Secretary must be willing and able to accept the legal, fiduciary and ethical responsibilities of an organizational secretary, in accordance with standard nonprofit practices and procedures.

The Secretary must:

Record (in document-form) meeting minutes for business meetings of the GDUI Board of Directors,

Arrange for the audio-recording of meetings if it is the secretary’s desire to take minutes from an audio-recording,

Possess thorough and quick note-taking skills in case an audio-recording of a meeting fails,

Have the ability to use notes, memory, and/or recordings to reproduce accurate accounts of meetings for minutes,

Use writing skills and discretion to summarize (or write in detail when appropriate) to create informative meeting minutes,

Submit drafts of meeting minutes in time frames which allow other board members to submit suggestions/corrections before a final draft is submitted for approval/acceptance at the subsequent board meeting,

Send minutes and attachments to the Web Master for posting to the GDUI Web Site,

Assist GDUI by researching and reproducing content from previous minutes as is practical.

The secretary is expected to attend all board meetings.

If the Secretary is unable to attend a board meeting, after informing the President, the Secretary will arrange for a competent recorder for the meeting which the Secretary will miss.

The Secretary may not miss more than three board meetings per year.

Responsibilities and criteria for GDUI Treasurer Position

The GDUI Treasurer must be willing and able to accept the legal, fiduciary and ethical responsibilities of an organizational treasurer, in accordance with standard nonprofit practices and procedures.

The Treasurer   must:

Assist in the preparation of all budgets including GDUI’s annual budget,

Be a bondable individual,

Monitor the budget on a monthly basis, or more frequently if needed,

Ensure that the financial policies (as set by the Board, and recommended by the finance committee) are being followed,

Report to the Board of Directors and general membership on finances on a monthly basis,

Prepare, in a timely manner, any required financial reporting forms to be submitted to the general membership, accountants, auditors or any such other entity as required for standard accounting procedures and policies,

Maintain all bank accounts in a fiscally prudent manner in keeping with standard accounting practices,

Oversee all financial transactions while ensuring all fiduciary responsibilities are met and inure to the benefit of GDUI.

Serve as  a member of the finance committee.

The Treasurer’s signature should appear on all checks of the organization with the second signature from any of the board’s other directors or staff with signing authority for amounts exceeding $1500.

The Treasurer is expected to attend all board meetings.

The Treasurer   may not miss more than three board meetings per year.

Responsibilities and criteria for GDUI Board of Director position

Each member of the GDUI Board of Directors must be willing and able to accept the legal, fiduciary and ethical responsibilities of an organizational director, in accordance with standard nonprofit practices and procedures.

Board members are expected to attend all board meetings.

Members of the GDUI Board of Directors shall inform the President, in advance, if unable to attend a particular board meeting.

A GDUI board member shall not be absent from three board meetings in any year.

A majority of Board members will be guide dog users.

Respectfully Submitted,

The GDUI Nominations Committee

 

 

GDUI Announcement, September 28, 2017

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,

Again this month, many of the updates that have dominated the news of the world and the country have been unsettling and upsetting. Thank heavens for our guide dogs who can provide welcomed distractions from time to time with their occasional silliness and their constant loyalty and affection!

DAPP Info and News! GDUI’s Disaster Assistance and Preparedness Program is here for any guide dog user who needs financial assistance to care for their working guide dog during recovery from a catastrophic event such as a hurricane, afire emergency or other disaster. If you need help, call our toll-free phone number, 866.799.8436, and Sarah will help you apply for assistance from our DAPP Committee. If you can’t call yourself, a friend or family member or emergency worker can call on your behalf. For more information about the DAPP, visit this link: https://guidedogusersinc.org/resources/disaster-assistance-preparedness-program-dapp/    

At our board meeting last Saturday, GDUI’s board voted unanimously to expand DAPP assistance to include anyone who uses a guide dog and needs help while coping with the aftermath of a disaster. When DAPP guidelines were first developed several years ago, financial assistance was restricted to GDUI members only. But, it only makes sense to expand the number of people who are eligible to apply for assistance because disaster can befall any one of us, regardless of organizational membership status or political affiliation, and our administration has never restricted any kind of GDUI assistance exclusively to GDUI members. Any guide dog user can contact our empathizers during any phase of their guide dog partnerships – beginning when they wonder whether or not the guide dog lifestyle is compatible with theirs, and continuing through those first months of adjustment and bonding, progressing through behaviors and health issues that can be concerning, and continuing on through the dreaded days when possible retirement or end-of-life decisions are on our minds. Our guide dog schools surveys are open to anyone who wants to become informed about the similarities and differences between U. S. guide dog training programs. Our web site provides all kinds of information to anyone who wants to visit, and our informational brochures are available for anyone to download. Our GDUI-Chat and GDUI-Announce lists are open to friends as well as members, and any guide dog user can attend our convention, listen to the GDUI Juno Report, call into a board meeting, or purchase a product. Why, then would we restrict funding for any guide dog users who have experienced just the kinds of disasters and emergencies we created the fund to address in the first place? Our board is proud to have made this important change in our disaster assistance policy.

Are you wondering what else happened at the September 23 GDUI board meeting?

Here are several ways to access the board meeting recording from Saturday, September 23:

Drop Box: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dbl5cvigp6gcc29/September%2023%2C%202017%20GDUI%20Board%20Meeting%20Recording%20.mp3?dl=0

Send Space: https://www.sendspace.com/file/trwsdm

Play back phone number and access code:

Phone: 1-712-432-1085

Access code: 919245.

Thanks to Sarah Calhoun, our Secretary and Office Manager, for making the recording available so quickly.

Roundabouts: Learn why they’re proliferating all over the country and what you need to know about safety for you and your guide dog when your routes of travel include roundabouts!

Set aside some time on your calendar for this coming Saturday, September 30. That’s when the ACB Transportation Committee and the ACB Environmental Access Committee will be presenting a special tele-seminar on Roundabouts! Roundabouts present a special challenge to every blind person, whether traveling with guide dog or white mobility cane, and their prevalence is growing in every part of the country.

The seminar panel of orientation and mobility, accessibility and traffic engineering experts will cover the following topics:

What roundabouts are, how they function and why they are becoming so popular among traffic engineers and urban planners.

Why roundabouts may pose navigational and safety challenges for people who are blind or visually impaired.

How roundabouts can be designed to be as accessible as possible.

Join us for the call and stick around to get your questions answered and your concerns addressed.

The Details:

Saturday, September 30, 2017

2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Participant Phone Numbers:

605-475-4120; code 818-9279

TMobile customers call 605-475-2880; code 818-9279

Introducing the Panel:

Janet M Barlow

Accessible Design For The Blind

Bastian Schroeder, PE, Ph.D.

Principle Engineer

Kittelson and Associates Inc.

Transportation Engineering/ Planning

Mike Goehring

Guiding Eyes

Field Representative. 

Proposed Legislation threatening our civil rights under the ADA:

This has been a tough week. First of all, and unbelievably this wasn’t the first time this happened, we witnessed hundreds of people with disabilities being dragged by Capitol Police from the Capitol Building where they were protesting the potential loss of health care – upon which most depend for their very lives. Those members of #ADAPT who take to the streets and the halls of government in wheelchairs, walkers, using support and mobility canes, and dog guides, to stand up for themselves, their civil rights, and all of us are truly among the bravest people I know!

Then, thankfully, we were able to sigh with relief and maybe briefly indulge in a tiny dance of joy when the Senate’s third attempt to take health insurance and Medicaid from millions of Americans was defeated! But, put away your dancin’ shoes and take another deep breath: Now some of your legislators are aiming for your civil rights as a person with a disability who depends on a guide dog for safe and independent travel.

Just after celebrating the 27th anniversary of the date when the Americans with Disabilities Act became the law of the land, H.R. 620) The ADA > Education and Reform Act of 2017 was introduced. The law would significantly weaken our civil rights protections under the ADA.

First, the law would compel the U. S. Department of Justice to formulate a program to educate business owners and state and local officials on “strategies for promoting access to public accommodations for persons with a disability.” I guess there’s not much wrong with that – except that one would think after nearly three decades, state and local officials and business owners might have not only actually already become aware of our civil rights as they are guaranteed under the ADA, but also figured out how to provide all of the reasonable accommodations we have been advocating for day after day, over the last 27 years!(Has anyone ever heard of the ACCESS Board? Or ADAAG?)

But, okay, if the DOJ wants to provide even more guidance, I guess that’s okay. However, other provisions in this “reform” act would prohibit civil suits arising out of a failure to provide reasonable accommodations unless the person with a disability provides written notice specifying the deficiency to the offending business establishment or agency or organization or public venue. Then, the property owner would have sixty days to respond with a written plan for improvement, and an additional 120 days to correct the deficiency, or demonstrate some degree of progress toward achieving that goal!

(180 days is a long, long time to stand at the curb waiting for your Uber driver to decide to allow you and your dog to climb into the car! Or the owners of the local shopping mall to train their security staff that, yes actually, a person who is blind and uses a guide dog has every right to come inside and even find a table and order a bite to eat!)

The list of realty and hotel and lodging and retail associations and other organizations who are endorsing this bill is long, and includes the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. Fortunately, there are some heavy hitters – and long-time friends to people with disabilities who oppose it. That list of our friends includes the #ACLU and Human Rights Watch.

But, we can’t leave this issue only in the hands of friends and advocates. We need to be calling our legislators, raising our voices, and advocating for ourselves and the protections upon which we depend every single day for independence and safety and access and a decent quality of life! Call the Capitol Switchboard, contact your representative and your senators, and let your voice be heard!

Twenty-seven years after the bill became a law, it   is ludicrous to imply that business owners are still so uninformed about their civil rights obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act that they need a written notice about violations and 60 days before they even have to think about how to provide the entirely reasonable accommodations that the law requires!

Here is the number for the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Our civil rights were hard won. Don’t allow them to be diminished or watered down. We need to resist!

Hurricane Maria Devastation in Puerto Rico and American Virgin Islands

This year’s hurricane season continues to spread misery and destruction across the Caribbean and throughout our southern-most states, and the season still has at least another six or so weeks to go. The aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the American Virgin Islands remains particularly difficult for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are contending with unavailable electricity, severely limited communications capabilities, food and water and fuel and drug shortages and all kinds of safety concerns and utter misery. If you would like to help, please consider making a donation to the Hurricane Maria Community Recover Fund .

https://connect.clickandpledge.com/w/Form/cb4a3c78-5694-4324-bead-42c8ad94c1bf

Until our next announcement, let’s all take good care of one another just as our guide dogs take such good care of us. As always, thank you for your friendship and support.

Sincerely,

Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:President@GuideDogUsersInc.org

Deanna Noriega, First Vice President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:vp1@GuideDogUsersInc.org

GDUI website: http://www.guidedogusersinc.org/

Call us, toll-free at 866.799.8436

Like, visit us, and join our Facebook Group : https://www.facebook.com/GDUInc

Follow us at Twitter: @GDUInc

Enjoy the GDUI Juno Report on ACB Radio Mainstream, at8:00 p.m., EST, every Friday of every month, here: http://www.acbradio.org/mainstream.

Download or subscribe to the GDUI Juno Report pod cast here: http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml

Or search for the GDUI Juno Report on ITunes.

Support GDUI when you use this link to shop at Amazon.com: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1871119.

SUPPORT GUIDE DOG USERS, INC GROUP #999969764 when you purchase candles and other decorative items from the Yankee Candle Store here: https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/store.htm.

To join the GDUI-Announce List, visit this link: https://guidedogusersinc.org/join/.

To subscribe to the GDUI Chat list, visit this link: gduichatlist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

To subscribe to the (members only) GDUI Business list, visit this link:

businesslist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

A recording of each GDUI announcement is available here: 712.432.1281. Enter the Access Code 488062 followed by the number sign. When prompted, enter the Reference Code, No. 1. The recording will remain available until it is replaced by a recording of the next GDUI Announcement. Please share this information with friends who may not have access to the internet. Thank you. We look forward to sharing information with all of our GDUI members and friends.

GDUI Announcement, September 7, 2017

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,

Stormy Weather: With Hurricane Irma’s 180-MPH winds and torrents of rain heading straight for Florida and then possibly for Savanah, and after that, traveling in directions as yet unknown, and terrible fires clogging the skies with smoke, spreading destruction and ash all across the northwestern states, and thousands still experiencing the devastation of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey many of them just beginning the exhausting tasks associated with recovery and rebuilding, disasters are on all of our minds, and anxiety continues to be our constant companion – if not for ourselves and our own guide dogs, then for family members and friends and teachers and mentors, and so many more whom we care about. We are writing, again, to share our concerns and offer help where we can.

Perhaps that smart Phone can help during the emergency: If you are anxiously searching for bottled water and working batteries, boarding up a residence, planning an evacuation strategy, heading for shelter, or checking on friends and family members, we offer advice recently posted on several of our GDUI e-mail discussion lists and published first in “USA Today:https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/saltzman/2017/09/02/prepare-disaster-how-your-smartphone-can-help-emergency/628323001/.

The article includes information about the apps that can be most helpful (for example, several Emergency apps from the American Red Cross that update alerts and can help you locate emergency shelters; or the Zello app that works like a walkie-talkie even when you don’t have phone service). The writer tells us the kinds of things we should purchase or set up on our phone in advance, and   suggests keeping a ziplock bag handy for protecting electronics, even a smart phone that’s not waterproof.

Up-to-Date Information for People with Disabilities Surviving after Harvey: Disability Rights Texas (DRTx) has compiled a resource list for Texans surviving after Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. Please share widely. We would prefer for people to get this list multiple times rather than not at all. Find the resource list here: https://www.disabilityrightstx.org/files/DRTx_Hurricane_Info_for_Web.pdf.

Important Social Security Information for People Affected by Hurricane Harvey: Many Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit payments were scheduled for Friday, September 1.  The following information covers the various delivery methods for these payments in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Payments by Paper Check Delivered by the US Postal Service

Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the Gulf Coast resulted in the temporary suspension of mail delivery service, as well as the closure of some postal facilities in the Houston area.  The U.S. Postal Service is providing additional information on how customers displaced by Hurricane Harvey can retrieve checks they receive via the mail, here: about.usps.com/news/state-releases/tx/tx.htm

Payments by Direct Deposit: Nearly all payments issued by direct deposit should have arrive as scheduled.  If a person’s payment is delayed, they should contact their financial institution.  If the financial institution is not operating, please see the “emergency payment” information below.

Payments by Direct Express Debit Card (a Treasury Department program): For recipients in the affected areas who receive their payment through a Direct Express card, fees will be waived, even if they have evacuated out of the area. Payments were posted to Direct Express cards on September 1. People may contact Direct Express at 1-888-741-1115.

To find the nearest open Social Security office outside of the affected areas, call

1-800-772-1213.

(TTY: 1-800-325-0778) or go to  http://www.socialsecurity.gov/locator

Your civil rights include the right to shelter with your guide dog! We have seen at least one news item which indicated that a person with a disability who uses a service animal was turned away from an emergency shelter during evacuations that occurred during Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. This is, not only unacceptable treatment, but it is also illegal!

Here, from the U. S. Department of Justice, the federal agency charged with writing regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act – and enforcing those regulations – is an official explanation of your civil rights as a person with disabilities who depends upon a guide dog to accommodate your needs:

“The Department of Justice continues to receive many questions about how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) apply to service animals. The ADA requires State and local government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations (covered entities) that provide goods or services to the public to make “reasonable modifications” in their policies, practices, or procedures when necessary to accommodate people with disabilities. The service animal rules fall under this general principle. Accordingly, entities that have a “no pets” policy generally must modify the policy to allow service animals into their facilities. … Similarly, service animals may not be prohibited from communal food preparation areas, such as are commonly found in shelters or dormitories.”

[From: https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html]

 

And, should emergency shelter administrators need to know more about their obligations to provide shelter for you and your guide dog, please refer them to this information and this link for the official word from the U. S. Department of Justice:

“Access for All in Emergencies and Disasters

 One of government’s primary responsibilities is to protect residents and visitors. Providing emergency shelter during disasters and emergencies is a basic way of carrying out this duty. Shelters are sometimes operated by government entities themselves. More commonly, though, shelters are operated for the state or local government by a third party – often the American Red Cross. Regardless of who operates a shelter, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) generally requires shelters to provide equal access to the many benefits that shelters provide, including safety, food, services, comfort, information, a place to sleep until it is safe to return home, and the support and assistance of family, friends, and neighbors.

  1. In general, the ADA does not require any action that would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a service, program, or activity or that would impose undue financial and administrative burdens.
  2. This Addendum discusses some of the key issues that emergency managers and shelter operators need to address in order to comply with the ADA when they plan for and provide shelter during emergencies and disasters. Although this Addendum focuses primarily on issues affecting shelter residents with disabilities, these issues are also generally applicable to volunteers and employees with disabilities.”
[From https://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap7shelterprog.htm]

 

DAPP Info and News! GDUI’s Disaster Assistance and Preparedness Program is here for any member with a working guide dog who needs financial assistance to care for their guide dog  during recovery from a catastrophic event such as a hurricane, afire emergency or other so-called natural disaster. If you need help, call our toll-free phone number, 866.799.8436, and Sarah will help you apply for assistance from our DAPP Committee. If you can’t call yourself, a friend or family member or emergency worker can call on your behalf. For more information about the DAPP, visit this link: https://guidedogusersinc.org/resources/disaster-assistance-preparedness-program-dapp/    

During the past week, we received two generous donations from people who want to help us build the funds earmarked for our DAPP program. We would like to publicly thank our member, Rhea Collett, for her generous donation to the DAPP program, and a Boston-based organization called PAWS Global, Inc. for their generous donation which they hope we can use to assist any guide dog users who need assistance as a result of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. Thank you!

If you would like to make a donation to GDUI, it’s easy and secure to do so online here: https://guidedogusersinc.org/donate/. Or to discuss your donation in more specific terms, call our toll-free number, 866.799.8436, and Sarah will be pleased to assist.

Do you want to help the DAPP Committee? Will is hoping that you do! Here’s a personal invitation from the Chair of our DAPP Committee:

As chair of the Disaster Assistance and Preparedness Program (DAPP), I would like to invite new members to join the committee. As we’ve seen recently with Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana and Hurricane Sandy, guide dog teams are facing the potential of experiencing stronger, longer-lasting and non-traditional weather disasters.  It is my hope that with the nature of the issues we find ourselves facing, a group of GDUI members will be able to come together to take a hard look at our DAPP program and determine how well it is meeting the needs of our guide dog teams.  We would also like to take a look at various ways to raise funds for the DAPP and develop a better media strategy for letting folks know about the program.

If you are a current GDUI member and have an interest in formulating ways to make our program work in better ways, please send an email to

mailto:will.burley3@gmail.com and place I Want to Join DAPP in the subject line.

DAPP is an advisory committee so our work can inform the board of directors to make any needed changes.  I look forward to hearing from you. 

Sincerely,

Will Burley, Chair

GDUI Disaster Assistance and Preparedness Program

In Other News: Quickly, we want to remind all members that, as of September 1, GDUI’s annual and life-member dues have increased. The board made the decision to increase dues last spring with the important goal of improving our financial situation, and recognizing that GDUI’s dues had not increased since the turn of the 21st Century. As of September 1, annual GDUI membership dues are $25 per year. Members, who register on September 1, 2017 and thereafter, will retain a valid membership in GDUI until December 31, 2018. Lifetime memberships are now $400.

If you are in the mood to distract yourself for a while from the daily anxiety of breaking news, remember that the latest issue of PawTracks may still be hanging out in your e-mail In box! PawTracks was delivered by e-mail to all GDUI members who have specified an e-mail preference for their PawTracks subscriptions on August 22. If you didn’t find your copy, don’t hesitate to call our toll-free number, 866.799.8436, or contact our Membership Committee Chairperson, Dixie Sanderson at mailto:Director5@guidedogusersinc.org.Congratulations to our new PawTracks editor, Will Burley, for putting together such an excellent issue.

The next GDUI Board Meeting is scheduled for September 23, 2017, at 1:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (12:00 Noon Central, 11:00 a.m. Mountain, and 10:00 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time) Remember to call712.432.0075. The Pass-code is: 919245 followed by the Pound Sign. All GDUI members and friends are welcomed to attend and to participate near the end of the call by sharing information, suggestions, and concerns.

Set aside some time on your calendar for Saturday, September 30. That’s when the ACB Transportation Committee and the ACB Environmental Access Committee will be presenting a special tele-seminar on Roundabouts! Roundabouts present a special challenge to every blind person, whether traveling with guide dog or white mobility cane, and their prevalence is growing in every part of the country.

Given the increasing prevalence of roundabouts and the challenges they pose, the ACB Transportation Committee and the ACB Environmental Access Committee are cosponsoring a panel discussion about roundabouts. Our [panel of orientation and mobility, accessibility and traffic engineering experts will cover the following topics:

What roundabouts are, how they function and why they are becoming so popular among traffic engineers and urban planners.

Why roundabouts may pose navigational and safety challenges for people who are blind or visually impaired.

How roundabouts can be designed to be as accessible as possible.

Join us for the call and stick around to get your questions answered and your concerns addressed.

The Details:

Saturday, September 30, 2017

2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Participant Phone Numbers:

605-475-4120; code 818-9279

TMobile customers call

605-475-2880; code 818-9279

Introducing the Panel:

 Janet M Barlow

Accessible Design For The Blind

Lucas Frank

The Seeing Eye

Bastian Schroeder, PE, Ph.D.

Principle Engineer

Kittelson and Associates Inc.

Transportation Engineering/ Planning

Mike Goehring

Guiding Eyes

Field Representative. 

Finally, remember just a few weeks ago when the only meteorological event on our minds was the coming solar eclipse, and the most pressing concern for many was simply how to gain access to the experience of Totality? That seems like a long time ago now, doesn’t it? If you would like to recapture the nearly stress-free experience of the Solar Eclipse of August 2017, Joel Snyder announces that the audio-described event is still available for your listening pleasure. Here’s what he says,

“We’ve received so many gracious comments and requests for copies of our ACB Radio Solar Eclipse program.  The show is now available at:

http://acbradio.org/sites/default/files/archives/eclipse/solar-eclipse2017.mp3 .

Enjoy!”

We want all of you to know that GDUI is here for you. No matter what’s happening in your lives, with you and your dogs, we hope you will share your triumphs and your concerns with others who, like you, depend on amazing guide dogs for independence and safety! We are enjoying the stories you have been sharing with us, on our GDUI-Chat list, and via our new Facebook group and Facebook page about your training experiences with newly matched guides, as well as amusing adventures with dogs who are sometimes more clever than anyone ever expected! Our empathizers are available to listen, to offer advice when asked, and to share their own guide dog experiences. Our DAPP is here for you as well. This is the number to call: 866.799.8436. Or, contact our Empathizers via e-mail here: mailto:concerns@guidedogusersinc.org. Please be safe, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are your guide dog community.

Sincerely,

Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:President@GuideDogUsersInc.org

Deanna Noriega, First Vice President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

mailto:vp1@GuideDogUsersInc.org

GDUI Website: http://www.guidedogusersinc.org/

Call us, toll-free, at  866.799.8436

Like, visit us, and join our Facebook Group : https://www.facebook.com/GDUInc

Follow us at Twitter: @GDUInc

Enjoy the GDUI Juno Report on ACB Radio Mainstream, at8:00 p.m., EST, every Friday of every month, here: http://www.acbradio.org/mainstream.

Download or subscribe to the GDUI Juno Report pod cast here: http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml or search for the GDUI Juno Report on ITunes.

Support GDUI when you use this link to shop at Amazon.com: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1871119.

SUPPORT GUIDE DOG USERS, INC GROUP #999969764 when you purchase candles and other decorative items from the Yankee Candle Store here: https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/store.htm.

To join the GDUI-Announce List, visit this link: https://guidedogusersinc.org/join/.

To subscribe to the GDUI Chat list, visit this link: gduichatlist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

To subscribe to the (members only) GDUI Business list, visit this link:

businesslist-subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org

A recording of each GDUI announcement is available here: 712.432.1281. Enter the Access Code 488062 followed by the number sign. When prompted, enter the Reference Code, No. 1 where the recording will remain available until it is replaced by a recording of the next GDUI Announcement. Please share this information with friends who may not have access to the internet. Thank you. We look forward to sharing information with all of our GDUI members and friends.