Paws for GDUI News You Can Use – VOL. I, NO. 4, March 2020

A Publication of Guide Dog Users, Inc.

President: Penny Reeder

Editor: Andrea Giudice

Guide Dog Users, Inc. (GDUI)

A special interest affiliate of the American Council of the Blind (ACB) since 1972

Toll-Free: 866.799.8436

From the President: Coronavirus and Us

As I think about the nightmare that virtually every one of us is living through while the outbreak of COVID-19 expands exponentially all across the world and the number of related deaths increases with every morning tally, I feel like everything I might say has already been voiced by all of us, in every headline, at the center of every waking or sleeping nightmare, in conversations with family members and friends, parents and siblings and children… What else can I say that will help us cope, that can unravel how we could have arrived at this terrifying point in our history, that can quell the waves of panic that take our breath away and cloud our judgment and assault our spirit. How can GDUI offer any kind of helpful perspective, or strategy, or comfort?

Like all of you, I am overwhelmed. Like all of you, I do all that I can to keep myself and my family and those whom I care about safe. We all wash our hands incessantly. Armed with spray disinfectant and sanitizing wipes, we clean in ways that would make rehab teachers proud. We shelter in place and ask our guide dogs to declare work holidays and shelter along with us. We fight against despair, struggle to find hope, and want to reach out to every one we love and wrap all of you in cloaks of immunity.

Doing our best to provide help and support to all of you, Andrea and I have included many announcements and several articles and links to articles about the pandemic. We hope that the information we share here is helpful. The only other thing to say is that we will be brave, as we know all of you, and especially all of our guide dogs, will, and we will tell one another more often than we might have even a month ago, that we care. We treasure our relationships with you, and we want you, and everyone you love, to be well, and safe.

Sincerely,

Penny

Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

Sheltering in Place: Distractions, Diversions, Advice, and Suggestions

We are all in various situations that involve sheltering in place. If you are a person deemed essential, because the job you do support those of us who are staying in to keep as many people as possible safe and to flatten the curve, we have so much gratitude for your heroism and dedication to the survival of our communities. Thank you. We are praying for your safety and well being.

If you and your guide dog are sheltering in place, yourselves, we have some suggestions that will, we hope, help you manage these long days and nights of enforced social distancing.

You could, for example, attend and participate in our March GDUI board meeting. We welcome your attendance and your interest in the work we do to support guide dog users and their dogs and make life better for everyone in our community. And, our board meeting could serve as a diversion, at least for a couple of hours! Here’s the Zoom invitation to our meeting. We hope you’ll come and join us.

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

Topic: GDUI Board Meeting

Time: Mar 28, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/562675137

Meeting ID: 562 675 137

One tap mobile

+16465588656,,562675137# US (New York)

+13126266799,,562675137# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

+1 253 215 8782 US

+1 301 715 8592 US

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

Meeting ID: 562 675 137

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/adkoW2kadE

Keeping our Guide Dogs Entertained and Interested as We Shelter in Place: An Opportunity to Share, in an Online and Telephonic Conversation with Guide Dog Users from Across the Country!

hosted by Guide Dog users Inc. and Blind LGBT Pride International

Tuesday, March 31, 8:00 PM eT, 5:00 PM PT and 2:00 PM HT

To join the call visit: https://zoom.us/j/2064346480

One tap mobile: 16699006833,,2064346480#

Phone: 669 900 6833

Meeting ID: 206 434 6480#

We’ve been talking about all kinds of strategies for humans as we cope with the virus, but what about our guide dogs? Do you and they have the resources you need to keep things going? How is your dog coping with the new routine and new environment? Come share your resources and challenges, ask questions, receive tips from our panel and others on the call. We know your dog wants you to come, so gather up your leash, some toys and some treats and join us Tuesday evening! Oh and bring some friends — canine or human — All are welcome.

The call will be recorded and will be edited to include as part of the April GDUI Juno Report, so don’t worry if you can’t make it, but we hope you can!

Tuesday Topics Returns to ACB Radio with Discussion of the NovelCorona Virus from a Blindness Perspective.

Here’s a message from Paul Edwards, long-time host of Tuesday Topics. We’re so glad the show is back on ACB Radio, and we encourage all of you to join Paul and others who are blind in this timely discussion.

Paul’s message:

The first show will be about our experience with the virus. However, we want to focus on how blind people are equipped to cope with the pandemic. What advantages do we as blind people have dealing with the virus? What disadvantages operate for us? What could make coping easier? What are we most concerned about from the perspective of people who are
blind?

These are just some of the questions that we will explore when Tuesday Topics once again takes to the net. We will be using Zoom and we will be live! Try to get to the meeting by 7:45 so we have an idea of who is with us before we go live on ACB mainstream. I am overjoyed to have Rick Morin as my co-host for this series. Without him, this wouldn’t be happening!

Zoom allows folks to call in using their computers, using an app on their mobile phones or dialing in using either a mobile phone or a land line. If you are using your computer, go to https://zoom.us/j/726965427. If you have downloaded the zoom app on your mobile phone you can join the meeting using the app by opening the app and then by going to join meeting and then typing in the code 726965427. Then go to join again and double tap it. You will then be given the opportunity to connect using internet audio. Double tap that and you are connected. Make sure your audio is not muted and please use a head set so there isn’t a lot of feedback as you listen! Either using your mobile phone or a land line you can connect just as if you were dialing into a regular conference call. There are several available call in numbers but I will include only two; one from New York and one from California.

These should get you in. From New York dial 929.436.2866 and enter the code 726965427 followed by the pound key. You may be asked for another code but just hit the pound key again and you will be joined into the meeting. The same approach applies to the California number which is 669.900.6833 and the code is 726965427 followed by the pound key. After that, if you need to, hit pound again and you will be with us. Keep these numbers because they will apply to future Tuesday Topic shows every Tuesday. If you just want to listen, you can hear us on ACB Mainstream every Tuesday at 8 PM Eastern time with a repeat at 8 AM on Wednesdays and at other times during the week which will be announced on the ACB radio schedule. . Join us on March 31 at 8 PM East tern daylight time or by 7:45 if you want to participate with us! Your opinion is a valuable resource! Share it!
Paul Edwards

Support and Advice from ACB

At a time when our country is in a state of social distancing and government ordered or personal self-isolating, your ACB family has opportunities for you to connect with others from the comfort of your home.

Here’s a list of ACB-affiliate-sponsored conference calls that are scheduled for up-coming days and evenings. Stay in touch with your ACB community, and please share this information widely with blind and visually impaired people you know, whether or not they are members of ACB or GDUI. We are all in this extraordinary situation together!.

Saturday, March 28 – 8pm ET, 5pm PT, 2pm HT

Join Blind Information Technology Specialists for their Saturday night chat. These chats are informal opportunities for members and friends to get together and visit about whatever participants want to talk about. To join the call, visit https://zoom.us/j/356588666 or dial (646) 558-8656 and enter 356588666# as the meeting ID. You can also tap +16465588656,,356588666# to dial directly from your mobile device.

Saturday, March 28 – 9pm ET, 6pm PT, 3pm HT

Join President, Dan Spoone and Executive, Director Eric Bridges for a sports chat. At a time when so many major sports activities have been postponed, bring your beverage of choice and let’s get together and share our favorite sports memory, a prediction of a trade or who will win the next World Series, Super Bowl, or Kentucky Derby, and anything else on your mind. To join the call, visit https://zoom.us/j/412324476 or dial (929) 436-2866 and enter 412324476# as the meeting ID. You can also tap +19294362866,,412324476# to dial directly from your mobile device.

Sunday, March 29 – 8pm ET, 5pm PT, 2pm HT

Join the Audio Description Project for an audio description round table. Let’s discuss where and what to watch with audio description. To join the call, visit https://zoom.us/j/731346634 or dial (929) 436-2866 and enter 731346634# as the meeting ID. You can also tap +19294362866,,731346634# to dial directly from your mobile device.

Monday, March 30 – 8:30pm ET, 5:30pm PT, 2:30pm HT

Listen in on ACB Radio to the special meeting of the ACB Board of Directors as they discuss the current impact of COVID-19 on, and make decisions concerning, our upcoming ACB Conference and Convention. Listen via ACB Radio over the phone at 605-475-8130 or online at www.acbradio.org.

To access a schedule of up-coming conference calls, as well as useful information for coping with the pandemic, visit this updated-in-real-time link on ACB’s web site:

https://acb.org/ACB-community-conference-calls.

We look forward to connecting with you!

New to Zoom? Check out this basic demo of the Zoom platform from Mystic Access:

https://www.mysticaccess.com/download/demo-of-the-zoom-conferencing-platform/

Mosen Consulting is offering a free audiobook for those who use or are interested in the remote meeting capabilities of Zoom.
Mosen’s book, “Meet Me Accessibly, a guide to Zoom Cloud Meetings from a blindness perspective”, is available for free using the link below. According to the page, “Meet Me Accessibly is a three-hour audiobook, written and narrated by Jonathan Mosen. It takes you from the basics of attending your first Zoom meeting, all the way to content sharing of your video and audio from a computer or iDevice.”

Zoom’s free plan allows for 2-person meetings, and multi-person meetings of up to 40 minutes. Pro plans start at around $15 per user per month and enable advanced sharing and moderation features.

Source: https://mosen.org/zoom/

Read Your Way Through Shelter in Place!

We’ll bet that one strategy you’re already adopting to get through these long evenings of distancing ourselves from others is reading. Right? ACB’S Blind LGBT Pride international is sponsoring a virtual book club of sorts that will allow us to share with one another our recommendations for books well worth downloading from BookShare, the NLS, Audible.com, Kindle, or any number of venues for accessible books. . Here’s what you need to know about attending the Monday, March 30, meeting:

Come one… Come on to our spring book share!
As in the past, be. P. I. Is the leader in social gathering virtual book discussion/shares… And our upcoming spring book share will be better than ever!

We will share interesting reads… Discuss interesting books… And generally be there to have some amazing discussion about how to occupy our time
Join us Monday night for the BPI book party!
Do you love us for our fun, friendly, and informative events? Then, you will love our book discussion!

Blind LGBT Pride international is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Blind LGBT Pride international’s Spring 2020 BookShare
Time: Mar 30, 2020 09:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/496009974
Meeting ID: 496 009 974

One tap mobile
+13126266799,,496009974# US (Chicago)
+16465588656,,496009974# US (New York)

Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
Meeting ID: 496 009 974
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aWKeROkhHy

More BookSharing Resources!

Bookshare’s collection development team has put together three special collections of books that are freely available to all people, even if they are not now BookShare members. Please feel free to help spread the word:

Free Books for All! – a collection of 208 fiction and non-fiction books of varying grade levels
Free Upskilling Books for All! – a collection of upskilling books for anyone who is looking to learn a new skill, prepare to go back to school, or switch careers. This collection has 147 titles. (Particularly relevant in this economic climate.)
Free Children’s Books for All! This is a collection of young reader books (grades 2 and below). There are 43 books in this collection. (Great for story time with younger kids being homeschooled).

An Announcement from National Braille Press Concerning Coronavirus-Related Closing and Free Digital Downloads to Help You Shelter in Place

National Braille Press’s offices are now closed until at least April 7th, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Orders of physical books, products, and ReadBooks book bags will not be processed or mailed until at least April 7th. (Email agrima@nbp.org with any concerns about orders.) Digital downloads from the bookstore will still be available during the closure.

Our sales department is available to take braille for business orders and we are gladly accepting donations online and over the phone, at 617.425.2415.

Please visit our operations update page for more details and updates.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in these difficult times.

Free downloads of three NBP titles

To help with some of the practical challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re offering free digital downloads of three relevant books, between now and April 30th:

Dinner Delivered: Accessible and Easy Ways to Receive Meals Direct to Your Door
by Kim Loftis and Chris Grabowski

Getting Visual Assistance with an iPhone
by Judith Dixon

Navigating Healthcare, When All They Can See Is that You Can’t
by Deborah Kendrick

Downloadable formats include DAISY, BRF, and Microsoft Word. Hard copy versions of these books are also available at half price. Find help and information on downloading and using these files on our Customer Service FAQs page.

If you or someone that you know could benefit from one or all of these guides, please share this announcement with them!

DAISY Consortium Support during the Pandemic:

The DAISY Consortium along with leaders in the accessible publishing and reading ecosystem will be presenting on a diverse range of topics each week. You are invited to participate in the live webinars, or afterwards review the recording at your convenience. The system we use (Zoom) is accessible, and both the live sessions and the recordings will have captions available.

These webinars will include presentations intended for industry events such as the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference in California, the London Book Fair, the Canadian Tech Forum event, as well new sessions covering announcements and innovations.

You can sign up for the latest information using our webinar only email list at: https://daisy.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35211fe5dce066db327cadb21&id=c0c0c0f413&e=d1a57669b9

The presentation topics will change each week. If a topic is of interest you can sign up using the link located below the title.

The first webinar, which will be held on April 1, 2020 is titled “Helping Higher Ed Students with access to accessible course material during the COVID-19 crisis” exploring some of the innovative considerations the industry is making to support students at this challenging time.
https://daisy.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35211fe5dce066db327cadb21&id=6d5c25a035&e=d1a57669b9

April 8, 2020 will be “Publishers Faceoff to Prove the Accessibility of their titles.”
https://daisy.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35211fe5dce066db327cadb21&id=5ef8116421&e=d1a57669b9

April 15, 2020 will be “Create EPUB publications from Word with a simple tool anyone can use”
https://daisy.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35211fe5dce066db327cadb21&id=ed4aa4d471&e=d1a57669b9

April 22, 2020 will be “Making Math Accessible, One Step at a Time”
https://daisy.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35211fe5dce066db327cadb21&id=82d339151c&e=d1a57669b9

The full list of forthcoming and archived webinars will be available at:
https://daisy.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35211fe5dce066db327cadb21&id=273052c718&e=d1a57669b9

DAISY will be keeping this webinar series running throughout 2020 as a primary mechanism to keep people up to date on developments in accessible publishing and reading. We encourage anybody with a question, suggestion, or a proposal for a webinar to contact us at:
https://daisy.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35211fe5dce066db327cadb21&id=733a99a07e&e=d1a57669b9
or email us at webinars@daisy.org
The DAISY staff will review proposals and arrange the schedule.

We look forward to receiving your feedback.
The DAISY Consortium.

Audible.com Makes hundreds of children’s titles available free to families quarantined by the Coronavirus pandemic. Genres are tailored to elementary, tween, teen, and adult listeners, as well as preschoolers. Audible has eliminated all log-in or sign-up requirements. All available titles can be accessed via desktop, laptop, phone, or tablet at stories.audible.com.

More Information and Supports for You During Shelter-in-Place

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Pets

Thanks to GDUI First Vice President, Maria Hansen, and our New York GDUI affiliate, for sharing this helpful information from the Animal Medical Center website: amcny.org

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Pets

Last updated: 3/6/20, 4:35pm EST

At the Animal Medical Center, we’re closely monitoring the current COVID-19 outbreak and what it means for our companion animals. We will update this page with relevant information as it becomes available, however, we recommend checking trusted government agencies for the latest updates.

Social Security Offices Closed

Effective March 17, 2020, Social Security Offices Will Only Offer Phone Service

** Online Services Remain Available **

All local Social Security offices will be closed to the public for in-person service starting Tuesday, March 17, 2020. This decision protects the population we serve—older Americans and people with underlying medical conditions—and our employees during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, we are still able to provide critical services.

Our secure and convenient online services remain available at www.socialsecurity.gov. Local offices will also continue to provide critical services over the phone. We are working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state and local governments, and other experts to monitor COVID-19 and will let you know as soon as we can resume in-person service.

If you need help from Social Security:

First, please use our secure and convenient online services available at www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices. You can apply for retirement, disability, and Medicare benefits online, check the status of an application or appeal, request a replacement Social Security card (in most areas), print a benefit verification letter, and much more – from anywhere and from any of your devices. We also have a wealth of information to answer most of your Social Security questions online, without having to speak with a Social Security representative in person or by phone. Please visit our online Frequently Asked Questions at www.socialsecurity.gov/ask.

If you cannot conduct your Social Security business online, please check our online field office locator for specific information about how to directly contact your local office. Your local office still will be able to provide critical services to help you apply for benefits, answer your questions, and provide other services over the phone.

If you already have an in-office appointment scheduled, we will call you to handle your appointment over the phone instead. If you have a hearing scheduled, we will call you to discuss alternatives for continuing with your hearing, including offering a telephonic hearing. Our call may come from a PRIVATE number and not from a U.S. Government phone. Please remember that our employees will not threaten you or ask for any form of payment.

If you cannot complete your Social Security business online, please call our National 800 Number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Our National 800 Number has many automated service options you can use without waiting to speak with a telephone representative. A list of automated telephone services is available online at www.socialsecurity.gov/agency/contact/phone.html.

Vispero/Freedom Scientific Steps Up To Help!

Your health and safety are just as important to us as accessibility.
We know many of you must remain at home and will need to continue to work or
attend school remotely. To ensure that your life remains accessible we are
offering those in the US and Canada a Free Home License of JAWS, ZoomText,
or Fusion which will expire June 30, 2020.

For those outside of North America, Freedom Scientific and our international
distributors are working together to provide home solutions for our
customers during the COVID-19 crisis. Please contact your country’s
distributor if you need assistance connecting to school or work from home.
Learn more: https://portal.freedomscientific.com/SponsoredSoftware

Is my email eligible to download a license?

Type your college email address and choose Search to see if you qualify. If
you don’t have a college email address, then provide your personal email
address.

Types of Sponsored Licenses
Educational institutions in the United States with up-to-date multi-user
licenses of JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion, are qualified. All students, faculty,
and staff with an active email address are entitled to receive free home
annual licenses for their personally owned equipment.

In addition, special licenses have been created to assist students and
workers who must remain home during the COVID-19 crisis. A free short-term
Home Annual License of JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion (expires June 30, 2020) is
available to anyone with a personal email address in the United States and
Canada.

These products require either a Microsoft Windows 10 or 7 operating system.
Remote desktop and Citrix support are not provided. Contact Freedom
Scientific Customer Service at 727-803-8000 with any questions.

A Message from AFB Concerning Their Cancelled Leadership Conference: Listen to Selected Sessions Online.

Despite having to cancel our 2020 AFB Leadership Conference, we at AFB know that knowledge sharing is vital to our community. To that end, we are thrilled to make a select portion of our conference available, free of charge, through a series of online seminars. We’re beginning with key sessions from the 2020 AFB Leadership Conference, which will now be hosted as a mini virtual event.

We’re so grateful to Dr. Rachael Sessler Trinkowsky for providing the first virtual session, sharing her expertise on providing remote instruction to students who are blind or low vision—a critical topic now that so many schools and organizations are moving their classes online.

We miss our AFBLC community, but we look forward to connecting online at the Virtual AFB Leadership Conference.

Save the Date:

“Remote Instruction and Services for Blind and Low Vision Participants”
Presented by Dr. Rachael Sessler Trinkowsky,
Technology Training and Vocational Coordinator at the Lighthouse for the Blind of the Palm Beaches, Florida

Wednesday, April 1, 1:00 p.m. Eastern

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8_OTOq_-SkGGlNTOLcYBoQ?utm_source=AFB&utm_campaign=9e77296145-afblc2020-virtual-events&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ec813cd965-9e77296145-165282813

We will be adding new sessions to afb.org/AFBLC once a week

Refreshments – especially those that can help us get out of bed in the morning and keep us on-task when there’s work to be done and decisions to be made – are important even, maybe especially, during Shelter-in-Place. And, it’s also helpful to plan for future happiness as we wait to return to normal times and concerns. That’s why news of this Top Dog 2021 Fund-raiser comes at the perfect time!

Missouri Guide Dog Users has teamed up with White Cane Coffee for a fundraiser! All proceeds will go towards Top Dog 2021, to be held in St. Louis, Missouri!

White Cane Coffee was started by a blind woman and brothers who are on the autistic scale. They provide work for blind and disabled individuals in their community. All coffee products are labeled in both braille and print.

By using the link below to place your order, proceeds will go to Missouri Guide Dog Users! (And, you won’t even have to leave the safety of your home to place your order.)

https://whitecanecoffee.com/ref/plm3645/

Thank you for supporting our fundraiser for Top Dog 2021! Enjoy your coffee!

Kind regards,

Missouri Guide Dog Users

Email: topdog2021.information@gmail.com

April 6! That’s the Last Day You Can Submit Your Comments Regarding the Rules That Will Allow Us to Fly with Our Guide Dogs.

The Department of Transportation Notice of Proposed Rule Making Regarding Flying with Service Animals: Your Comments Are Important!

GDUI’s Advocacy and Legislative Affairs Committee and our Board of Directors have worked hard over recent weeks to prepare comments to send to the U. S. Department of Transportation regarding the Notice of Proposed Rule Making concerning dogs that will be permitted to fly onboard planes. We submitted GDUI’s comments on February 20 , and, equally important, we urge all of you to submit your own comments on the proposed rules. We cannot overstate how important it is for our community to respond to the proposed rules. According to spokespersons from the U. S. Department of Transportation, over 10,000 comments have already been submitted. The regulators need to hear from each of us, as well! The deadline for submitting comments is April 6. To read our comments and learn how to submit your own, visit this link: https://guidedogusersinc.org/gdui-provides-comments-regarding-u-s-department-of-transportation-notice-of-proposed-rule-making-docket-no-dot-ost-2018-0068/

When you post your own comments, please identify yourself as a guide dog user. Use your own words. We are sharing our comments to provide guidance. Sharing your personal experiences, your individual misgivings about the proposed rules you don’t agree with, and your passion for the guide dogs who allow us to travel independently and add so much to our lives: All of these aspects of the comments you share will help regulators to understand our concerns and the priority we place on our civil right to fly, unburdened and unencumbered, with our guide dogs.

Emotional support animals can endanger the public and make life harder for people like me who rely on service dogs

March 2, 2020 7.19am EST

Deni Elliott, University of South Florida

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to include this informative article from our life member, Deni Elliott. The article is found here: https://theconversation.com/emotional-support-animals-can-endanger-the-public-and-make-life-harder-for-people-like-me-who-rely-on-service-dogs-131122. We welcome your opinions in response.]

In 2017, Marlin Jackson boarded a cross-country flight. When he got to his row, another passenger was already in the middle seat with an emotional support dog in his lap.

According to Mr. Jackson’s attorney, “The approximately 50-pound dog growled at Mr. Jackson soon after he took his seat…and continued as Mr. Jackson attempted to buckle his seatbelt. The growling increased and the dog lunged for Mr. Jackson’s face…who could not escape due to his position against the plane’s window.” Facial wounds requiring 28 stitches were the result.

Untrained emotional support dogs don’t just attack people. They attack highly trained service dogs, as well, sometimes ending their working lives.

I can relate. I am a visually impaired person partnering with my fourth guide dog over a 20-year period. In the past decade, I have increasingly needed to cope with clueless handlers allowing their pets to interfere with my dog’s work.

As a professor of ethics, I teach students to consider first the needs of the most vulnerable. I wish I could teach the same lesson to those who risk public safety with their ill-trained dogs, most of whom are emotional support animals, a category not recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Dogs, dogs, dogs

Over the past decade, purported emotional support animals have increasingly appeared in stores, restaurants and airports. While peacocks, pigs and kangaroos make the headlines, almost all the animals found in no-pet zones are dogs. Dog biting, barking, growling, urinating and defecating are top complaints, with one airline reporting an 84% increase in dog-related incidents from 2016-2018.

The influx of inappropriate dogs has also generated unwarranted suspicion toward the approximately 10,000 Americans who, like me, partner with legitimate, trained guide dogs.

Animal public access in the U.S. is currently governed by a

patchwork system of inconsistent laws, creating confusion for people with disabilities, citizens and, particularly, gatekeepers – the store managers, restaurant owners and building supervisors tasked with deciding which dogs should be allowed in their no-pet spaces.

In other countries, IDs are issued only to professionally trained service dogs who have demonstrated ability to behave in public. In the U.S., there is no such validation. As a result, pet owners have become increasingly brazen in fraudulently claiming their animals warrant legal public access.

Service dogs versus emotional support animals

The Department of Justice, which enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act, allows people with physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or mental impairments to have public access with service dogs who have been individually trained to perform tasks that mitigate their owners’ disabilities.

The Department of Transportation and Department of Housing and Urban Development allow service dogs on public transportation and in housing, respectively, but also grant access to people with mental and emotional disorders accompanied by emotional support animals – untrained animals who need only to contribute to their owners’ emotional well being, as any good pet would.

Technically, the individual seeking access with an emotional support animal must have certification of a mental or emotional disorder, which is a much lower standard than the disability requirement of DOJ.

Some mental health professionals have been willing to attest to an individual’s “need” for an emotional support animal without having a professional relationship with them. And none vouches for the appropriateness of specific animals.

ADA service dogs may legally accompany their handlers almost anywhere. Emotional support animals may not. For example, emotional support animals currently allowed in aircraft cabins are not legally permitted in airport shops and restaurants. Emotional support animals allowed to live in college dorms may not go with their owners to class or the cafeteria.

Online purveyors of official-looking letters, vests and patches guaranteed to get dogs access in pet-free zones take advantage of the confusion between service dogs and emotional support animals, liberally mixing the classifications. They also fail to mention that the individual seeking such accommodation must have proof of a mental disorder. This omission, itself, is an ethical problem.

A predicament for gatekeepers

Gatekeepers have to weigh the consequences of confronting an individual accompanied by a dog. Denial of access to a disabled handler with a legitimate service dog can result in a US$10,000 fine by the DOJ. The fine for a handler who falsely portrays a pet as a service dog or emotional support animal ranges from $100 to $1,000 and happens only if the handler supplies identification or waits for the police.

It is cheaper and easier for gatekeepers to just hope that questionable dogs don’t put patrons at risk. Airline attendants face a unenviable dilemma, as passengers cannot escape aggressive or stressed dogs in the tight confines of an airplane.

Change on the horizon?

There are recent signs that DOT and HUD are moving toward DOJ’s more stringent regulations. On Feb. 5, 2020, DOT opened a 60-day public comment period for a plan that would reclassify emotional support animals as pets and restrict free aircraft cabin access only to service dogs. HUD recently posted new guidelines to help housing providers better determine animal access.

In my view, more federal intervention is needed. Medical documentation of disability should be the entry point for service dog access, just as it is for handicapped parking permits. Offering a nationally recognizable ID for service dog owners who voluntarily provide documentation would eliminate some fraud.

Ideally, a dog’s ability to behave appropriately in public should be proven prior to access and affirmed annually by testers, who use a public access test to verify a dog’s manners and handling of disability-specific tasks, such as that developed by Assistance Dogs International or those performed by all U.S. guide dog schools.

Some argue documentation and testing is burdensome or a violation of disabled people’s civil rights. But physicians, who diagnose ADA-defined disabilities, already provide their patients verification for state and federal benefits. Behavior tests assure handlers their dogs can work in stressful situations. And ensuring public safety protects the civil rights of all people.

Worried about your guides in this uncertain time?

[Editor’s Note: Here is something from the CDC.]

Worried about your pets and COVID-19?

Pets are part of the family – it’s natural to be worried about their health and safety during an outbreak. Here’s what we know so far about pets and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19):

There have not been reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19 in the United States.
There is no evidence that pets can spread COVID-19 to people or other animals or that they might be a source of infection with this new coronavirus in the United States.
Because all animals can carry germs that can make people sick, it’s always a good idea to practice healthy habits around pets and other animals.
Wash your hands after handling animals, their food, waste, or supplies.
Practice good pet hygiene and clean up after pets properly.
Take pets to the veterinarian regularly and talk to your veterinarian if you have questions about your pet’s health.

Remember to include pets in preparedness plans

If you’re preparing your family, remember to include your furry, feathered, and scaly family members too. Get 2-weeks’ worth of supplies for your pets, such as:

Pet food
Medications
Litter

Healthy Pets, Healthy People is CDC’s one-stop-shop for information on staying healthy around pets and other animals. Visit the website or follow @CDC_NCEZID for more updates.

https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

1600 Clifton Rd Atlanta, GA 30329

800.CDC.INFO (800.232.4636) TTY: 888-232-6348

How Covid-19 can live on your phone, and how you can clean it

By Andrew Williams

[Editor’s Note: excerpted from Article found at

https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-clean-your-phone

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.]

Protect yourself from Covid-19

Putting your phone under water likely won’t be enough

There are three common strands of advice for minimizing the spread of Coronavirus, issued by bodies like the NHS and the WHO. If you have to sneeze, do it into a tissue or your sleeve. Avoid contact with unwell people, and wash your hands with soap, often.

Your phone complicates that last one. Sanitize your hands all you like, bacteria and viruses sitting on your phone may be transferred right back to those hands as soon as you check WhatsApp or Instagram.

Few of us clean our phones regularly. And we probably should have done before now.

A 2011 study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found one in six phones analyzed showed traces of fecal matter. And you want your mobile to be free of nasties like Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter spp. as well as Covid-19.

A professor who studies infectious disease told TechRadar, “Good hygiene and disinfecting regularly touched items like door handles, surfaces and telephones are essential as it is very easy to transfer the virus onto your clean hands by touching something that someone with the virus has come into contact with or been in the vicinity of.”

Cleaning methods

But what should we use to clean our phones?

You can apply the same substances you use to clean your hands, but some are more suitable than others. The current best advice is to moisten a lint-free cloth, the kind you might use to clean a pair of glasses, add some soap and give your phone and its case a thorough wipe down.

Soap and water are a highly effective team

“Water itself doesn’t inactivate or ‘kill’ viruses but simply washes them away,” says the professor we spoke to. “Soap is far superior because it contains fat-like substances. Viruses themselves are composed of genetic material, proteins and fats. When soap interacts with viruses the fat-like substances in the soap compete with the viral lipids and cause the virus to break down.” Another bonus of soap and water is that when you wash with water you can cover a large surface area. “So the preference is always to be using soap and water where possible. If not, then alcohol gel with a good technique is also fine.”

All smartphone makers also recommend avoiding cleaning solutions that contain bleach or abrasives, and the use of any rough cloths. These may spoil the finish of a phone’s metal sides and cause micro-abrasions in glass that will dull its surface. We’re out to clean the phone, not ruin it.

Half-life

How long can a virus survive on your phone? Long enough for it not to be an excuse for mindful hygiene, particularly in the case of Covid-19.

“Research on the coronavirus suggests it can remain viable for up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to 2-3 days on plastic and stainless steel. This is all impacted by the environment.”

If the coronavirus can survive for days on at least parts of your phone, now is a good time to start cleaning it regularly, as well as your hands. Concerned about where to get the most up-to-date health advice? Head to the relevant website of your country’s healthcare system. That’s NHS.uk in the UK, CDC.org in the US and health.gov.au in Australia.

So, what’s the easiest way to clean your phone?

Prepare a bowl of hot (but not boiling) soapy water. Don’t use anything other than household soap as it may damage the coating on your phone.

Bring your phone to the water, and be sure to take it out of its case. Then turn your phone off before you begin to clean it.

Do not submerge your phone, unless it’s IP68 water-resistant. Even then, we’d recommend not submerging your phone entirely.

Take a cloth and moisten it using the soapy water.

Gently rub the cloth around your phone ensuring you get to every area you can find. If you have a case, do the same for that.

Ensure you don’t allow the water to get into any of the openings of the phone such as the charging port or speaker grille.

Then wipe your phone down again with a clean microfiber cloth.

Leave your phone to dry out fully before turning it back on again. Repeat this method as much as you need to.

How do I keep my phone clean?

Your hands are the main way your phone will get dirty. If you keep your hands clean, you’ll be keeping your phone clean as well.

The World Health Organization says you should wash your hands for 20 seconds at a time, so follow that advice and you should also ensure your phone is kept clean.

If you’re concerned about your phone’s cleanliness, you should repeat the steps above.

Our last article is from GDUI Affiliates Liaison, Pauline lamontagne. In case you grow tired of filling your time while stuck inside with books and movies and phone calls, and worry, you might want to do some long-overdue work to acquire not-for-profit status for your GDUI affiliate. Here, Pauline lamontagne tells you how to accomplish this worthy goal!

OBTAINING AND MAINTAINING 501)(C)(3) STATUS FOR PINE TREE GUIDE DOG USERS Bruce Prindall and Pauline Lamontagne

Please note, here is a disclaimer. The below article is NOT legal advice.
It is an overview of Pine Tree Guide Dog Users'(PTGDU’s) experience for
obtaining federal tax exemption status under section 501(c)(3) from the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) and maintaining it.

Pine Tree Guide Dog Users (PTGDU) in July 2017 was incorporated in the State
of Maine. The paperwork was submitted to Maine’s Secretary of
State’s office under Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions .
There was a filing fee($40 in Maine.) PTGDU also had to attach its constitution and Bylaws. On a yearly basis, a renewal statement with accompanying fee must be submitted. Thirty-five dollars was this year’s renewal fee. The fee is higher if the corporation is a for profit corporation; PTGDU is a non-profit corporation. Please note, the agency and fees that your affiliate will need to apply will be different from Maine’s. The website http://www.nasconet.org/ may be of assistance.

Once PTGDU was incorporated, and prior to applying for 501(c)(3) status, Pine Tree Guide Dog Users had to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the federal government by submitting an SS-4 form. There was no fee for the EIN. The instructions are at https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iss4 and the online form is at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf.

Please note, the creation of accounts and submission of forms, with the Federal government, was done electronically. There did not appear to be a snail mail option. Also, it appeared that you could not partially complete and save a form and then return later to complete it for submission.

Prior to submitting the 1023-EZ form, a checklist of 30 questions was completed by PTGDU.( The instruction booklet is at: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1023ez.pdf)

This checklist was not submitted as part of the 1023-EZ application; however, its completion was used by PTGDU to determine whether the 1023 or 1023-EZ form would be used. (Please note, if you answer yes to any of the questions on the check list you cannot use the 1023-EZ form. The 1023 form would be required.) Among the factors that led to PTGDU’s submitting the 1023-EZ form were that PTGDU does not expect to have gross earnings of $50,000 or more on a yearly basis. Also, PTGDU will not be endorsing specific candidates. The latter would make PTGDU ineligible for non-profit status.

You will also need to determine your National Taxonomy for Exempt Entities (NTEE) , a three character code that best defines your organization type. PTGDU used R99 for civil rights other. As previously noted, The 1023-EZ form must be completed online at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1023ez.pdf, in one sitting because once you start the form, you must finish it as there is no option to save it. When submitting the 1023-EZ form, PTGDU had to create a pay.gov account. The fee was $275.00. (The cost for the 1023 currently is $600.00.) As long as PTGDU does not have gross proceeds of $50,000 or more, PTGDU must file annually a 990-N form entitled Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (there is no fee). There is no penalty for late filing, however, if an organization does not file for three consecutive years, the tax exempt status may be lost.

You will need to check in the location where you are incorporated to determine whether there are any other requirements. In Maine, a license is required for soliciting charitable contributions. $50 is required for the first year and then $25 is required for subsequent years. We expects that 501(c)(3) status will assist PTGDU with fund raising as well as other efforts including possible grant writing.

Pine Tree Guide Dog Users appreciates the grant of $400 from President Bob Acosta’s Helping Hands for the Blind organization! It was given with the understanding that the money would be used for obtaining PTGDU’s 501(c)(3) status as well as writing an article so that others would benefit.

If Bruce, PTGDU’s secretary, or I, President of PTGDU, may be of further assistance, please, e mail Bruce at ptgdu2013@gmail.com or me at plamontagne@twc.com

A Final Note from Penny and Andrea

You have reached the end of our fourth issue of Paws for GDUI News You Can Use for 2020. Who would have imagined when we launched this publication that, so precipitously, our lives would turn upside down, anxiety would become the watchword of every day, and nearly every item we have included in this issue would describe, or offer support for coping with the pandemic we are all experiencing?

We hope this publication is helpful to all of you. Please do shelter in place. Sing Happy Birthday twice as you wash your hands many times each day. Comfort your guide dogs and they comfort you with their enthusiasm for life in general and all the affection they give so freely. Let us all reach out to one another, hope for the future, and share all the mutual affection we feel for each other and our community. We will look forward to sharing “Paws for GDUI…” again at the end of April, and for all the months yet to come. Thank you all for your friendship and support.

Sincerely,

Penny Reeder, President

Guide Dog Users, Inc.

Andrea Giudice, Editor

Paws for GDUI News You Can Use

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/.

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.

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: chat+subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org.

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

business+subscribe@guidedogusersinc.org.

Paws for GDUI – News You Can Use! – VOL. I, NO. 4, March 2020 – A Publication of Guide Dog Users, Inc.

A Publication of Guide Dog Users, Inc.

From the President: Coronavirus and Us

Sheltering in Place: Distractions, Diversions, Advice, and Suggestions

Keeping our Guide Dogs Entertained and Interested as We Shelter in Place: An Opportunity to Share, in an Online and Telephonic Conversation with Guide Dog Users from Across the Country!

Tuesday Topics Returns to ACB Radio with Discussion of the NovelCorona Virus from a Blindness Perspective.

Support and Advice from ACB

Read Your Way Through Shelter in Place!

More BookSharing Resources!

An Announcement from National Braille Press Concerning Coronavirus-Related Closing and Free Digital Downloads to Help You Shelter in Place

DAISY Consortium Support during the Pandemic:

More Information and Supports for You During Shelter-in-Place

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Pets

Social Security Offices Closed

Vispero/Freedom Scientific Steps Up To Help!

A Message from AFB Concerning Their Cancelled Leadership Conference: Listen to Selected Sessions Online.

Missouri Guide Dog Users has teamed up with White Cane Coffee for a fundraiser! All proceeds will go towards Top Dog 2021, to be held in St. Louis, Missouri!

April 6! That’s the Last Day You Can Submit Your Comments Regarding the Rules That Will Allow Us to Fly with Our Guide Dogs.

The Department of Transportation Notice of Proposed Rule Making Regarding Flying with Service Animals: Your Comments Are Important!

More Readings to Share.

Emotional support animals can endanger the public and make life harder for people like me who rely on service dogs

Dogs, dogs, dogs

Service dogs versus emotional support animals

A predicament for gatekeepers

Change on the horizon?

Worried about your guides in this uncertain time?

How Covid-19 can live on your phone, and how you can clean it

A Final Note from Penny and Andrea