[Cagdu] FW: From blind, a call for awareness -- baltimoresun.com

Sun Apr 13 20:04:23 PDT 2008

Subject: From blind, a call for awareness -- baltimoresun.com

www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.canine13apr13,0,7129636.story

baltimoresun.com

>From blind, a call for awareness

Guide dog users raise issues of concern at
'Partnerships with Law Enforcement' conference

By Gina Davis

Sun reporter

April 13, 2008

ROCKVILLE

Calling 911 for help can get complicated when the
person in need is blind and has a guide dog.

Police might be reluctant to come into a house until
the dog is put away. On the other hand, when the knock
comes at the door, the blind person's ability
to verify the officer's identity is limited, said many
of those attending a conference yesterday sponsored by
Maryland Area Guide Dog Users.

Informing the 911 dispatcher of the guide dog's
presence can help, as can calling the dispatcher back
to confirm the name of the officer, some offered.

That issue and others were raised during the
"Partnerships with Law Enforcement" conference. The
one-day conference was part of the "Canine Partnership
Series" - the first in a series of five sessions
planned this year and next on relations between the
blind and the broader community.

"This gives us a chance to talk about the issues,"
said Gary Norman, president of Maryland Area Guide Dog
Users Inc.

Participants included retired Baltimore City police
agent Eugene Cassidy, who was blinded in 1987 when he
was shot twice in the head by a man he was trying
to arrest.

Cassidy, who began using a guide dog a year after the
shooting, spoke to the group of about 40 people about
his experience with becoming blind and about
how blind people can work more effectively with
police.

Cecilia Warren, vice president of the guide dog users
group, said yesterday's conference was designed to
raise awareness among its members about how to
get help from the police, and to improve how police
respond to blind people and their use of guide dogs.

"We want to raise the sensitivity of law enforcement
to issues pertaining to guide dogs," said Warren, who
lives in Crofton.

Warren said attacks on guide dogs by other dogs are a
growing problem. In some cases, the guide dogs are
separated from their owners, she said. "Police
have to understand this isn't simply a dogfight" she
said. "If something happens to the guide dog, it
leaves the [blind person] vulnerable."

She said it's crucial that police understand the
importance of a blind person's guide dog. Not only is
the dog an expensive investment - at a typical cost
of about $50,000 - but the dog also should never be
separated from its owner, she said.

Lucia Ruvolo, 52, who had glaucoma as a child and
became completely blind at 24, said she attended the
session because she wanted to exchange ideas with
the law enforcement professionals.

She said she hopes to arrange similar conferences
closer to her home in Herndon, Va. "It's about
educating both sides about what it takes to work with
the
blind community," she said.

gina.davis at baltsun. <mailto:gina.davis%40baltsun.com> com

Copyright C 2008,
The Baltimore Sun

____________ _________ _________ _________ _________
__
For guide dog handlers assisting guide dog handlers
with advocacy/education-- visit:
www.gdui.org or www.nfb-nagdu.org

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