Blog

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.

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 160^th 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.

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,
GDUI wishes each of you happy greetings of the season! No matter which holiday or event you are celebrating, we want to thank you for your friendship and support over this last year and share our wishes for happiness and peace – and wagging tails, and scrumptious treats and exuberance for life with all of our members and friends, our trainers and puppy raisers, and our dogs, to whom we owe so much gratitude for all that they give to each of us every day!
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

Home

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 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.

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,
Did you miss Saturday’s board meeting? You can listen to the GDUI Board Meeting Recording here:

Drop Box

Send Space

Play back phone number:
712.432.1085
Access code: 919245 .

Thanks to Sarah for managing the recording, taking notes, preparing minutes, helping me keep track of the agenda, creating the “to do list,” and generally taking care of everything that keeps GDUI running smoothly and in touch with our members every day of the year!

Uber News and Advice:
Report Discrimination! The NFB continues to sponsor an Uber testing program. If you or someone you ride with have a service animal and has used Uber in the past month please be sure to complete the Uber testing form at www.nfb.org/rideshare
. You do not need to be an NFB member to participate. Whether your experience was a good one or a bad one please take the time to fill out the form. This will ensure that Uber follows the terms of the settlement agreement made with the NFB and Disability Rights Advocates regarding service animals and rideshares. Please share this link with every guide dog user you know who uses rideshares.

Please remember: It’s never a good idea to attempt to force your way into a ride-share vehicle whose driver is refusing to transport you and your guide dog! We have heard several reports of injuries to people who are blind or their companions which resulted from their attempting to intercede with a driver who had refused them service – by grabbing and hanging onto a vehicle’s door handle or reaching into an open window attempting to unlock a rear door. Don’t do this! It’s not worth risking your safety or your dog’s. Call for another ride, then report the incident to the ride-sharing company. You may well spend more time than you anticipated – or should have – getting from one place to another, but at least you and your guide dog will be safe and in tact!

No Uber or LYFT App? You can access these ride-sharing services even if you don’t have a smart phone or feel comfortable using the app. All you need is a standard telephone. it is now possible for AN EXTRA $ .19 per mile to call 855.464.6872(That’s 855 – GOGOUSA).

Or book a trip via the web site:

HTTPS://GOGOGRANDPARENT.COM.

Nine years is a long time to still be waiting for accessible currency! On October, 19, the American Council of the Blind presented before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, following ACB’s appeal concerning a recent District Court ruling that upheld last year’s determination by the Department of Treasury to push back the first accessible U.S. currency to 2026, almost double the anticipated projected time from when ACB won its case against the government in 2008. The hearing focused on our concerns regarding the Department of Treasury’s inability to deliver an adequate solution that provides meaningful access within a reasonable timeline.

To access audio from the oral arguments, visit:

ACB and GDUI will continue to update members on the progress of the current appeal before the Court.

ACB’s Audio Description Project will celebrate its 10th year in 2018—hooray! The Audio Description Project provides an excellent web site here: www.acb.org/adp, where you can find comprehensive and up-to-date listings of described broadcast television, movies and DVD programs and releases. The web site also keeps track of audio-description availability at performing arts venues and museums throughout the country.

The ADP project has a goal of increasing the number of web site listings by twenty percent by the beginning of the new year, and they are asking for your help. Please share the names and locations of theaters, performing arts centers, museums or park sites where your experiences have been enhanced by audio description.

Simply send a brief email to Joel Snyder atmailto:jsnyder@acb.org
or phone Joel at 202.467.5083 to share information about audio-description availability where you live.

Thank you.

Welcome Andrea Giudice, GDUI’s Programs Committee Chairperson and Convention Coordinator for
2018!At our board meeting on November 18, GDUI’s board unanimously confirmed our new convention coordinator, Andrea Giudice. We are thrilled that Andrea has joined our board as a committee chair and stepped up to serve as our convention coordinator for next summer’s GDUI Convention! Andrea is hoping that any of you who would like to help with the 2018 convention will get in touch and offer your services. Especially if you have participated on GDUI’s Programs Committee before, Andrea says she will appreciate your ideas and hearing about your experiences! Contact Andrea here: mailto:programs@guidedogusersinc.org, or call GDUI’s national office and let Sarah know about your availability: 866.799.8436.

For those of you not fortunate enough to have met Andrea yet, here’s a short biography: A lifelong resident of Connecticut, with the exception of eight years in northern California, Andrea has lived in West Hartford for the past ten years. After graduating from Simsbury High School, Andrea earned a bachelors in Family studies from the University of Connecticut with a concentration in marriage and family therapy. While her career path has been varied (working locally, regionally and nationally) the common theme has been educating about blindness and advocating for persons with disabilities. This theme carries through in her capacity as a public speaker and sensitivity trainer. When not working she enjoys reading, movies, concerts, spending time with family and friends, horseback riding, snowshoeing, swimming, and travel. Andrea, like all of us, is many things to many people, daughter, sister, friend, employee, volunteer, local television host, sensitivity trainer, however, she feels that being a guide dog handler is truly her most defining role!

Andrea has been partnered with guide dogs for the past 30 years. At 17 and a senior in high school, at that time Fidelco’s youngest graduate, she received her first guide dog. Eleven years later Andrea received her third guide, and her first from Guide Dogs for the Blind. Now with her sixth guide Anders, her third lab, she is so excited to be given the honor of being the chair of the organizing committee for the 2018 GDUI Convention.

Remember, the dates for next summer’s GDUI Convention in St. Louis, MO, are July 1 through July 4! The hotel, called Union Station, is conveniently located, and St. Louis’s airport serves a huge number of air carriers. In addition, Amtrak and MegaBus provide attractive options for traveling to St. Louis.

Room rates at Union Station are $89.00; this rate applies for up to 2 people in a king room and up to 4 guests in a room with two queen beds. Room tax is currently 16.92 percent.

Make telephone reservations by calling 314.231.1234, and be sure to mention you are with American Council of the Blind to obtain the conference and convention room rate.

Golden State Guide Dog Handlers presents a telephonic chat concerning “Everything You Want to Know about Home Training!” Sponsored by the Golden State Guide Dog Handlers group in California, the conference call will feature representatives from each of the California training programs, as well as two GSGDH representatives, Ken Metz and Toni Eames. Learn about each school’s practices and guiding philosophies concerning home training as well as the experiences of two guide dog users who have trained with new guide dogs in their home settings. Everyone is welcomed to join the call. You don’t have to be a member of GSGDH or live in California.

Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Time: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm (Pacific Standard Time, that’s 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 pm, Eastern Standard Time)

Call in info: Dial-in Number: 302.202.1110; Conference Code: 126748.

We wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy family and friends and all of that food, glorious food, and thank you for your friendship and support! And, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and especially important to us, Giving Tuesday on the horizon, and the shopping season beginning in earnest, remember to support GDUI when and where you can!

When you shop online at Amazon.com, please use this link: 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.

Giving Tuesday is a day each year when Americans are encouraged to extend their post-Thanksgiving shopping sprees to support the not-for-profit organizations which make all of our communities better. This year, Giving Tuesday occurs on November 28, 2017, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

As the winter holiday season arrives and thoughts of celebrations and sharing become an important focus for many, November 28, 2017 presents a perfect opportunity for you to help GDUI continue our vital work on behalf of blind and visually impaired people who rely on guide dogs for safety and independence.

An affiliate of the American Council of the Blind for more than four decades, GDUI provides empathetic support for our members, who depend on guide dogs for safe and independent travel through a world that is built for people who can see, while advocating for our civil rights, and educating the general public regarding guide dogs and the invaluable assistance they provide to people who are blind.

Visit us at

https://guidedogusersinc.org/donate/.

Tell friends and family members about GDUI, please give what you can, and help us continue our work. Thank you!

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

Home

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 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.

Dear GDUI Members and Friends,
The GDUI Board will Meet this coming Saturday, November 18, beginning at 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (That’s 10:00 AM on the West Coast). All GDUI members and friends are welcomed to attend. Call 712.432.0075. Then use this Participant Access Code: 919245-Pound. We are looking forward to our meeting and to your participation!

Lots of Improvements on the GDUI Web Site! Thanks to a great deal of productive hard work by our web master, Steve Zelaya, and members of our Public Relations/Web Site Committee, Will Burley, Dixie Sanderson, Maria Kristic, Minh Ha, and Brianna Murray, you will notice a number of improvements on our GDUI web site, https://www.GuideDogUsersInc.org/, and on our Facebook presence as well.

We have streamlined our home page to make it easier to find perpetually relevant information about our organization, along with information on some of our services, such as our DAPP program, Chat list, and past convention recordings. As a result, this and all future GDUI announcements will be accessible, not only via e-mail for GDUI-Announce list subscribers, but from the Blog link, https://guidedogusersinc.org/blog/, which can be found off of the home page as well.

Speaking of our blog, be sure to visit often, as it contains more than just our GDUI Announcements. Recent non-announcement posts include an article from our member, Jane Sheehan, on the Aira service and an article from me on making the decision to retire a guide dog. You can visit our blog directly at
https://guidedogusersinc.org/blog/.

We are happy to report that our entire Web site is now secured by an SSL certificate. Regardless of the link format through which you access a page on our site, you will be redirected to the secure version of that page. You can verify this by checking your Web browser’s Address bar; the link will begin with “https” (without the quotes).

As of November 13, 2017, we have 341 likes on our Facebook page and 254 followers of our Twitter handle. In addition to the blog posts referenced above, we have recently shared links to tips on keeping your dog safe while working and articles discussing possible solutions to the problem of fake service dogs in public places. Our Facebook page can be accessed at
https://www.facebook.com/GDUInc
. Our Twitter timeline can be accessed at
Tweets by GDUInc

Thanks to Nolan Crabb, former PawTracks editor and current producer of our excellent monthly stream and podcast on ACB Radio, The GDUI Juno Report continues to bring you great programming through online streaming of new content, beginning on the first Friday of each month at 8:00 PM, EST, and continuing through podcasts in subsequent months. The topic for November is Travel with your Guide Dog. If you missed Wendy David’s excellent presentation on this topic at our summer convention, the November GDUI Juno Report offers a new opportunity to hear from Wendy and learn from her experiences as a blind woman who has traveled all over the world with all of her guide dogs! And, December’s topic will be California’s elimination of its Guide Dog Board. Margie Donovan will be discussing the reasons why California guide dog users worked so hard to eliminate the board and the process they followed to convince California’s government that the time had come for the board to go! Don’t miss the GDUI Juno Report on ACB Radio’s Mainstream. New shows and podcasts are available here: http://acbradio.org/gdr.xml. We share many thanks with Nolan for continuing to produce such wonderful radio programming for guide dog users and our friends and supporters, and with ACB Radio for supporting our work and outreach via streaming and podcasting of our GDUI Juno Report!

Does it seem to you that more and more often, you are encountering people who bring their pets along with them to restaurants, on buses, and, really, all over the place while claiming that their untrained and often ill-behaved dogs are service animals? It seems that way to us, too! Nineteen states have passed laws that attempt to address this illegality. You can find a list of all of these state assistance dogs laws here: https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-state-assistance-animal-laws. If yours is one of the states who have passed laws attempting to discourage pet owners from passing their pets along as service animals, we are interested in hearing from you. How well is the law in your state working to curtail this activity? Have you seen public service announcements or other advertising concerning the law and any associated penalties for violating it? Do you believe that the law is being enforced, or that business owners understand how to take advantage of the legislation to deny entry to people whose pets are not providing any disability-related services to them? Please share your experiences with Charlie Crawford, Chair of our Advocacy and Legislation Committee here: mailto:advocacy@guidedogusersinc.org, or call Sarah at our toll-free number, 866.799.8436, and she will be glad to share your information with the committee. Thank you.

On the topic of laws that protect our civil rights as people who use guide dogs, we want to congratulate the National Association of Guide Dog Users on their recent update for their NAGDU Guide & Service Animal Advocacy & Information mobile app for iOS and ANDROID. The updated app reflects research and updates for every state service-animal-related statute, as well as relevant laws for each of the Canadian provinces, all of the relevant U. S. Department of Justice regulations, and guidance regarding rights and responsibilities for industries. Version 2.1 of the NAGDU app can be downloaded, free of charge, from both the US and Canadian app stores.

Roundabouts: Did you miss the very informative September presentation regarding roundabouts and the potentially negative impacts these traffic constructs can have on our abilities to travel safely and independently, or would you like to revisit the panel discussions? Here’s a phone number you can call to access the recording of that presentation: 605.475.4120, PIN 4364602.

Are you getting ready to visit family or friends for Thanksgiving? If your plans include air travel, you may want to visit the U. S. Department of Transportations redesigned Aviation Consumer web site, https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer. The Department’s goal is to assist consumers to better understand their rights before, during, and after air travel. Issues addressed on the re-designed page include: Bumping, Tarmac Delays, Flight Delays and Cancellations, Flying with a Disability, and Passengers’ Rights to Fly Free from Discrimination.

No matter whether your holiday plans include travel or cooking or simply enjoying the opportunity to reflect on gratitude and eat massive amounts of delicious food, we wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving! Remember pumpkins are versatile and delicious – no matter whether baked into pies or muffins – or – stirred into big bowls of kibble! (Just ask your guide dog!)

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

Home

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 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.

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 27^th 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.