From judotina48kg at gmail.com Mon Feb 13 22:42:48 2017 From: judotina48kg at gmail.com (Tina Thomas) Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2017 22:42:48 -0800 Subject: [Cagdu] FW: ] Is That Dog on Your Flight Really a Service Pet? Message-ID: <0b7b01d2868d$8f8192b0$ae84b810$@gmail.com> Subject: [seeing-eye] Is That Dog on Your Flight Really a Service Pet? Is That Dog on Your Flight Really a Service Pet? More fliers are trying to bring their pets along as carry-on animals. By Scott McCartney Feb. 1, 2017 Wall Street Journal Three hours into the five-hour flight from Philadelphia to California, Bobbie Fields was wheezing and using her inhaler, allergic to the long-haired dog one row behind her. It?s becoming a frequent problem for her?more passengers are dogs and cats. ?For all other allergies, like peanuts, airlines go out of their way to make sure it?s not a problem. But not for animals,? she says. Airlines and passengers say more animals are coming onboard. And more are easily evading expensive airline fees by declaring their pets as service dogs or emotional-support animals. Cute poodles and terriers toddle through airports with ill-fitting vests. There?s no specific data telling us how many animals are in the cabin, much less which belong to owners who really need them versus those trying to game the system. The Transportation Department is trying to crack down and says it hopes to propose new rules later this year. A 2016 effort to get airlines and disability groups to recommend new standards failed. But the DOT says this issue remains an area of concern and it plans to come up with something on its own. Service animals are dogs with special training. Emotional-support animals are different and are defined as animals that provide comfort to help their owner with a mental disability. PHOTO: BRANDON WADE/GETTY IMAGES The Americans with Disabilities Act defines service animals as dogs with specific training, with a few other exceptions such as trained miniature horses. But the Air Carrier Access Act that governs airlines is much broader. It allows for both service animals and emotional-support animals?pets that provide comfort to people with mental disabilities. Both kinds of support animals are allowed out of pet carriers and exempt from airline fees. Mental-health advocates say emotional-support animals can be necessary and useful for many people, from veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to people with severe flying anxiety. In theory, the law doesn?t allow for everyone who is calmed by their cat: Passengers with emotional-support animals are supposed to have a medically diagnosed disability and have a verification letter from the past 12 months from a mental-health professional. Groups that support people with disabilities who rely on highly trained service dogs complain household pets take spots on planes they need--airlines sometimes limit the number of cabin dogs and cats on each flight. FARES FOR PETS Carrying dogs and cats on flights can cost as much as another seat. A sampling of one-way pet fares ? American $125 ? Delta $125 ? United $125 ? Spirit $110 ? Alaska $100 ? Allegiant $100 ? JetBlue $100 ? Virgin America $100 ? Southwest $95 ? Frontier $75 Another worry: Service animal users ?are too often forced to come into contact with inadequately trained and over-stressed animals whose owners exercise insufficient control,? says Bradley Morris, government relations director of Psychiatric Service Dog Partners in Rock Hill, S.C., and a member of the DOT?s advisory committee on accessibility. Service dogs, meticulously trained for several months to behave in public settings, must sometimes be retired if bad behavior is triggered by one of these encounters. Denny Leary, president of the Gateway Warrior Foundation in Fenton, Mo., which raises funds for service dogs for disabled veterans, says when he sees ?service poodles? at airports, he asks in a friendly way what the dog can do. ?People stumble all over themselves. Most say the dog is for protection, but every dog protects its owner,? he says. ?You?re just taking advantage of the system.? When airlines pushed fees for in-cabin pets higher, up to $125 each way on several carriers in 2009, a cottage industry sprang up of tools to save money, such as donning a $40 service dog vest or buying an emotional-support animal letter for $99.95. Diagnosis is made over the phone. Another incentive: People are wary of transporting animals as cargo, which can be both expensive and hazardous. In the most recent 12 months reported by the DOT, 26 animals died during airline transportation and 21 were injured. When airlines pushed fees for in-cabin pets higher, up to $125 each way on several carriers in 2009, a cottage industry sprang up of tools to save money. PHOTO: ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS DOT says wearing a service-dog vest ?may not be sufficient evidence that the animal is, in fact, a legitimate service animal.? Airlines can ask passengers what tasks or functions the animal performs, but they can?t ask about a passenger?s disability. For emotional-support animals, airlines can only ask for the required letter. There are few other rules, though Delta prohibits hedgehogs, ferrets, insects, rodents, snakes, spiders and farm poultry from flying as emotional-support animals. DOT formed a study group under its accessibility advisory committee to make recommendations on the appropriate definition of service animals and ways to reduce false claims. Participants say the airline industry pushed for adoption of the Americans with Disabilities Act definition, limiting service animals mostly to dogs. Disability advocates pushed for removing medical-certification requirements, which they see as a hassle and promoting classification as patients. Several groups got together recently and submitted a compromise recommendation to DOT, supported by service-dog, disability and veterans groups, plus some airline and flight-attendant union representatives. It would require passengers to fill out a questionnaire that warns of penalties. The form could be stored in a passenger?s airline frequent-flier profile. Mr. Morris thinks it will cut down on fraud and ignorance and still allow for necessary support animals. As for allergies, airlines say they try to reseat affected passenger like Ms. Fields. Limits onboard can be generous: American?s limit is seven per flight, not including service animals. But Ms. Fields would like airlines to track where pets will be on planes as well as where people with allergies have reserved seats and keep the two separate. She and her husband fly frequently to visit their children on the West Coast and always select extra legroom seats in coach. When a long-haired dog is nearby, moving to another seat typically means trading down to less room. So far, she hasn?t had to use the EpiPen she carries in-flight. ?It?s just uncomfortable,? she says. -- The Seeing Eye Independence with Dignity since 1929 If you need to contact one of the list owners for > questions or assistance, please use the following email address: seeing-eye+owner at googlegroups.com . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seeing Eye Discussions" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to seeing-eye+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com . To post to this group, send email to seeing-eye at googlegroups.com . To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/seeing-eye/003401d27fc7%24f99e8260%24ecdb8720%24%40ky2d.com . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://nfbcal.org/pipermail/cagdu/attachments/20170213/f42ca0c4/attachment.html From judotina48kg at gmail.com Mon Feb 13 22:47:39 2017 From: judotina48kg at gmail.com (Tina Thomas) Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2017 22:47:39 -0800 Subject: [Cagdu] FW: 8 Potential Hazards Experienced by Guide Dog Owners! Message-ID: <0ea001d2868e$3c803980$b580ac80$@gmail.com> Subject: [NAGDU] 8 Potential Hazards Experienced by Guide Dog Owners! Humorous, but oh so true. 8 Potentially Hazardous People You Meet as a Guide Dog Owner By Holly Bonner 12/19/16 https://themighty.com/2016/12/potentially-hazardous-people-you-meet-as-a-guide-dog-owner/ When you?re working with a guide dog, you will encounter many different kinds of people. While most of these individuals have the purest of intentions, few of them realize how their actions can pose a serious safety hazard for both you and your canine partner. Here are eight potentially hazardous types of people I?ve frequently encountered as a guide dog owner. 1. The Kissing Bandits. You?ll never actually see these people, and not because you?re blind or visually impaired. These sneaky characters like to lurk amidst the shadows. The only indication of their presence comes in the form of the annoying kissing, smooching and other face-sucking sounds they make in a persistent effort to get your guide dog?s attention. A ?Kissing Bandit?s? misguided display of affection is dangerously distracting for both you and your guide dog! Trust me, my dog does not want to kiss you. I don?t want to kiss you! Neither she or I have any idea exactly where your mouth has been. Please go home and smooch your own pooch and let us get back to work. 2. Nostalgics. Prepare yourself for story hour! Seeing your beautiful guide dog will undoubtedly cause some lovers of your breed to take a stroll down memory lane. ?Nostalgics? will stop you dead in your tracks enthusiastically wanting to share stories about their dearly departed ?Buddy? or ?Lassie? or ?Spot.? They will spare no small detail from the time they first laid eyes on their canine companions to every gut wrenching moment leading up to their passing. As someone who has owned and lost many dogs prior to being matched with Frances, I feel for these people, really I do. But when you?ve got a toddler crossing their legs in desperate need of the potty, you?ll need to gently cut these conversations off and keep it moving. 3. Ninjas. They may not be dressed in black, but ?Ninjas? definitely know to sneak up on a blind person. You won?t ?see? them coming. Chances are you won?t even hear them coming. They will ignore any ?do not pet? markers on your guide dog. They won?t care they are in harness. These people believe they are above asking permission when it comes to touching your dog. What ?Ninjas? want most in the world is to lay their hands on those furry faces or kiss you working dog?s wet nose. The best way to combat a ninja is by giving them a dose of their own medicine. Once bent over or on their knees talking to your dog, grab your harness and maneuver around this perpetrator. ?Sorry, my dog is working, got to go!? Evaporate into the night and never look back. 4. The HR?s. Do guide dogs get sick days? How about vacation time? ?HR?s? (short for Human Resources) are overly concerned with labor laws relating to your canine?s work responsibilities. These people will inundate you with questions, sometimes deferring right to your dog for a response. (FYI, Frances won?t answer.) ?Are you getting enough rest?? ?Is momma?s route too stressful?? ?Do you need a spa day at the groomers?? ?HR?s? are relentless and won?t give up until you?ve convinced them your guide dog is well-fed, loved and respected as your partner. When I come in contact with an HR, I quickly whip out my cellphone. My screen saver happens to be a picture of Frances in a tiara; proving once and for all that my dog is absolutely treated like royalty when she?s off duty. 5. Smartphone Zombies. Get off your cell phones, people! While guide dogs are trained to help the blind avoid obstacles on the street, nothing is more unpredictable than a bobbing and weaving ?Smartphone Zombie.? Zombies like to walk face down, noses pointed towards their smart phone screens. They rarely look up at the world around them, preferring texting and emoijis to human contact. One memorable smartphone zombie incident occurred on a cold, December night as my guide dog Frances and I were en route to my local hospital for a doctor?s appointment. As Franny lead me towards the front door of the building, she stopped midway, indicating something was in our path. I extended my hand to find she was alerting me to a wheelchair that had been left outside. That?s when it hit me. Literally. A woman walking with her cell-phone crashed right into me. The phone falling into my coat, right down my cleavage. Yeah, how?s that for awkward. ?You didn?t see me coming?? she snarled. ?No, I didn?t see you; I?m blind.? In my head I was thinking?. Umm. Hello? Woman with a guide dog here. There was no ?I?m sorry,? or ?Are you OK?? All the young woman said was, ?Well, give me back my cell phone.? I removed my glove and fished out her phone from inside my jacket. She grabbed it from my hand as if nothing had happened, and went right back to texting. I looked down at Frances and shook my head. Despite your dog?s years of training, be prepared to walk into a couple of these hazardous individuals during your partnership. Don?t worry about apologizing for the mishap. Zombies will usually ignore you and your dog entirely and continue focusing on their digital world. Take a page from their book and blog, tweet or Facebook about their deplorable behavior later! (How do you like me now, hospital parking lot Smartphone Zombie lady?) 6. Interrogators. You?re walking with your guide dog when your cell phone rings. You remove your phone from your coat pocket and take the call. That?s when the interrogator appears. ?Excuse me, did I just see you answer your phone?? Yes, yes you did. ?But how can you do that if you?re ?supposed? to be blind?? If you?re feeling patient that day, feel free to subject yourself to a lengthy discussion with this ?Interrogator?about variations in visual acuity and accessibility features on smart phones. Some will appreciate your candor and may even become more educated as a result of your efforts. But prepare yourself! Other ?Interrogators? will continue to question the validity of your disability and why you need a guide dog in the first place. Excuse yourself from these conversations. Take the high road, stay classy and remember there are some folks out there who choose to make it their job to interrogate the world. 7. The Flea Circus. When groups of small children see me working with Frances, they usually begin to bounce up and down. Enter the ?Flee Circus.? Kids have two reactions to dogs. They either love them, anxiously trying to pet them, or they are completely petrified, running away in sheer terror. As a blind mom of two toddlers, I know kids can be difficult to manage. They will absolutely test your patience with their overabundance of tenacity and curiosity. However, it?s up to a child?s parents to teach them proper dog etiquette, and I?m not just talking about guide dogs. No child should be permitted to run up and touch a dog they don?t know. Every dog is different and not all of them can be trusted to tolerate children. As a guide dog handler, I know my dog has been trained to work around kids. That does not negate the fact that I don?t want my dog touched when we are working together, especially when I am trying to manage my own two daughters in public. 8. Puppy Play-daters. Let me set the scene. You?re about to cross an extremely busy intersection. You and your dog are in sync, intently focused on the sounds and flow of traffic. All of sudden you hear yappy barking headed in your direction. Enter the ?Puppy play-dater.? ?Oh, hey. Can you see me? This is my dog Precious, she just wants to say hi to your dog.? ?Precious? has now snapped to the end of her leash, dragging her overzealous owner behind. ?Can you please hold your dog back?? I ask. Badly offended, the owner continues to babble, ?No, no really, she?s just playful.? ?Puppy play-daters? fail to realize the immense importance of a guide dog?s health and safety. The blind rely on our canine partners to get us where we need to be on a daily basis. If Frances gets hurt, my entire family suffers. Please control your ?precious? dog and pretend my canine partner and I aren?t even here. If we?re in the mood to play, we?ll head to the dog park! Being a guide dog handler is a delicate balance requiring an immense amount of concentration by both handler and dog. Working with Frances has made me extremely mindful of her safety and my own.While I?m always open to educating others about Franny and my work together, there are times when people?s interactions with us can potentially put my family in danger. Don?t become that hazardous individual for a guide dog team. Respect the working relationship and remember your actions, however well-intentioned, could inadvertently cause us harm. And please, if you?re walking, stay off the cell phones! -- How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. George Washington Carver Email: singingmywayin at gmail.com _______________________________________________ NAGDU mailing list NAGDU at nfbnet.org http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NAGDU: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/judotina48kg%40gmail.com From judotina48kg at gmail.com Mon Feb 13 22:48:42 2017 From: judotina48kg at gmail.com (Tina Thomas) Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2017 22:48:42 -0800 Subject: [Cagdu] FW: What does your dog want, praise or treats Message-ID: <0eb701d2868e$627af8f0$2770ead0$@gmail.com> Subject: [seeing-eye] What does your dog want, praise or treats What does a dog want more - "good boy" or treats? (WP Article) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/08/17/what-does-a-dog-w ant-more-good-boy-or-treats/ What does a dog want more - "good boy" or treats? Aug. 17th, 2016 Sometimes the best dog treats aren't edible. Every night when I walk my 6-year-old Boxer, he knows exactly what to expect once he's unleashed. His tail wags furiously, his body wiggles, and glistening drops of saliva drip to my kitchen floor. Then it comes: a high-pitched "good boy" or a pricey, meaty treat. Typically, Beau gets both. New research shows that my effort may be overkill. According to the study, published online in the journal Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, more dogs prefer praise over food. The finding by Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns followed a novel method of investigation: He used an MRI to scan a dog's brain while the dog was awake and unrestrained. DogPhotoOzzie New research shows that most dogs prefer praise over food, but not Ozzie. The short-haired terrier mix was the only dog in the experiments to choose food. (Courtesy of Gregory Berns) The "Dog Project" began five years ago. Berns, the author of "How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Brain," talked to dozens of dog owners in the Atlanta area and persuaded some to have their pooch's brains scanned. The goal was to learn whether food is what dogs "really care about," Berns said. "Is social reward on the same footing as food, or is it potentially more valuable?" he wondered. Berns selected dogs that would lie still for 30 minutes while awake and with the MRI running. High-energy canines didn't make the cut; couch potatoes did. "These are not super-athletic, high-drive dogs," he said. "Lots of retrievers." He and his team conducted a trio of experiments with about 15 dogs scanned each time. Every dog had to go into the MRI and stay in a down position for three, 10-minute scans. In the first experiment, participants were shown a hairbrush, a toy car and a toy horse. They were given a hot dog following one object, praise after another and nothing for the third. The results showed that for 13 of the 15 dogs, their brains were stimulated by the praise just as much, if not more than, the food. The second experiment sought to confirm the initial pattern. But this time, a subset of dogs didn't get praised. The results were "almost identical" when looking at their brain activity, Berns said. "The dogs who responded more strongly to praise in the first experiment were more disappointed for not getting praise." The third experiment took place outside of the MRI to see if the dogs' response in a maze mirrored that during their MRIs. Once inside the maze, they had to choose between finding a bowl of food and getting praise from their owner. Researchers determined that the outcomes of the first two tests were a "strong predictor" of a dog's choice. So what does this mean for the average pet owner? Ultimately, Berns said this week, the research shows that dogs are primarily motivated by praise. That insight can greatly impact how they get trained, both as pets and potentially as service dogs. And with many owners today focusing on "positive training," the study suggests that social rewards are as effective a motivator as food treats, he said. The findings could also help identify which dogs might be most successful as service dogs. "A dog with high preference for social reward might be best suited for certain therapeutic or assistance jobs," the study notes. "While a dog with less of a neural preference for social reward might be better suited for tasks that require more independence from humans, like search-and-rescue dogs or hearing-assistance dogs." How can you tell what your dog prefers without an expensive MRI? "I think people have an intuition of that," Berns said. For me, the big takeaway is that I might save a few bucks at the pet store and potentially make Beau happier just by opening my mouth. & Dog prefers owners praise vs food https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/health-science/do-dogs-really- love-you-for-you-or-just-because-you-feed-them/2016/08/17/4eb6183e-648f-11e6 -b4d8-33e931b5a26d_video.html _____ -- The Seeing Eye Independence with Dignity since 1929 If you need to contact one of the list owners for > questions or assistance, please use the following email address: seeing-eye+owner at googlegroups.com. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seeing Eye Discussions" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to seeing-eye+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to seeing-eye at googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/seeing-eye/006101d27593%249039e000%24b0ada000%24%40comcast.net. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. From peacefulwoman89 at cox.net Mon Feb 13 23:00:05 2017 From: peacefulwoman89 at cox.net (Lisa Irving) Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2017 23:00:05 -0800 Subject: [Cagdu] FW: ] Is That Dog on Your Flight Really a Service Pet? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <001c01d2868f$f8cdd510$ea697f30$@cox.net> Last night I was reading an article produced by a reputable news outlet. Mid-way through the article I came across an emotional support animal certification website, emotionalpetsupport.com. For $99.00 anyone can purchase the diagnosis and signature from a clinical psychologist. It is my understanding that it?s unethical for a clinician in one state to diagnose a patient in another state. Also, last I knew fraud is illegal. From, Lisa Irving From: cagdu-bounces at nfbcal.org [mailto:cagdu-bounces at nfbcal.org] On Behalf Of Tina Thomas Sent: Monday, February 13, 2017 10:43 PM To: cagdu at nfbcal.org Subject: [Cagdu] FW: ] Is That Dog on Your Flight Really a Service Pet? Subject: [seeing-eye] Is That Dog on Your Flight Really a Service Pet? Is That Dog on Your Flight Really a Service Pet? More fliers are trying to bring their pets along as carry-on animals. By Scott McCartney Feb. 1, 2017 Wall Street Journal Three hours into the five-hour flight from Philadelphia to California, Bobbie Fields was wheezing and using her inhaler, allergic to the long-haired dog one row behind her. It?s becoming a frequent problem for her?more passengers are dogs and cats. ?For all other allergies, like peanuts, airlines go out of their way to make sure it?s not a problem. But not for animals,? she says. Airlines and passengers say more animals are coming onboard. And more are easily evading expensive airline fees by declaring their pets as service dogs or emotional-support animals. Cute poodles and terriers toddle through airports with ill-fitting vests. There?s no specific data telling us how many animals are in the cabin, much less which belong to owners who really need them versus those trying to game the system. The Transportation Department is trying to crack down and says it hopes to propose new rules later this year. A 2016 effort to get airlines and disability groups to recommend new standards failed. But the DOT says this issue remains an area of concern and it plans to come up with something on its own. Service animals are dogs with special training. Emotional-support animals are different and are defined as animals that provide comfort to help their owner with a mental disability. PHOTO: BRANDON WADE/GETTY IMAGES The Americans with Disabilities Act defines service animals as dogs with specific training, with a few other exceptions such as trained miniature horses. But the Air Carrier Access Act that governs airlines is much broader. It allows for both service animals and emotional-support animals?pets that provide comfort to people with mental disabilities. Both kinds of support animals are allowed out of pet carriers and exempt from airline fees. Mental-health advocates say emotional-support animals can be necessary and useful for many people, from veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to people with severe flying anxiety. In theory, the law doesn?t allow for everyone who is calmed by their cat: Passengers with emotional-support animals are supposed to have a medically diagnosed disability and have a verification letter from the past 12 months from a mental-health professional. Groups that support people with disabilities who rely on highly trained service dogs complain household pets take spots on planes they need--airlines sometimes limit the number of cabin dogs and cats on each flight. FARES FOR PETS Carrying dogs and cats on flights can cost as much as another seat. A sampling of one-way pet fares ? American $125 ? Delta $125 ? United $125 ? Spirit $110 ? Alaska $100 ? Allegiant $100 ? JetBlue $100 ? Virgin America $100 ? Southwest $95 ? Frontier $75 Another worry: Service animal users ?are too often forced to come into contact with inadequately trained and over-stressed animals whose owners exercise insufficient control,? says Bradley Morris, government relations director of Psychiatric Service Dog Partners in Rock Hill, S.C., and a member of the DOT?s advisory committee on accessibility. Service dogs, meticulously trained for several months to behave in public settings, must sometimes be retired if bad behavior is triggered by one of these encounters. Denny Leary, president of the Gateway Warrior Foundation in Fenton, Mo., which raises funds for service dogs for disabled veterans, says when he sees ?service poodles? at airports, he asks in a friendly way what the dog can do. ?People stumble all over themselves. Most say the dog is for protection, but every dog protects its owner,? he says. ?You?re just taking advantage of the system.? When airlines pushed fees for in-cabin pets higher, up to $125 each way on several carriers in 2009, a cottage industry sprang up of tools to save money, such as donning a $40 service dog vest or buying an emotional-support animal letter for $99.95. Diagnosis is made over the phone. Another incentive: People are wary of transporting animals as cargo, which can be both expensive and hazardous. In the most recent 12 months reported by the DOT, 26 animals died during airline transportation and 21 were injured. When airlines pushed fees for in-cabin pets higher, up to $125 each way on several carriers in 2009, a cottage industry sprang up of tools to save money. PHOTO: ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS DOT says wearing a service-dog vest ?may not be sufficient evidence that the animal is, in fact, a legitimate service animal.? Airlines can ask passengers what tasks or functions the animal performs, but they can?t ask about a passenger?s disability. For emotional-support animals, airlines can only ask for the required letter. There are few other rules, though Delta prohibits hedgehogs, ferrets, insects, rodents, snakes, spiders and farm poultry from flying as emotional-support animals. DOT formed a study group under its accessibility advisory committee to make recommendations on the appropriate definition of service animals and ways to reduce false claims. Participants say the airline industry pushed for adoption of the Americans with Disabilities Act definition, limiting service animals mostly to dogs. Disability advocates pushed for removing medical-certification requirements, which they see as a hassle and promoting classification as patients. Several groups got together recently and submitted a compromise recommendation to DOT, supported by service-dog, disability and veterans groups, plus some airline and flight-attendant union representatives. It would require passengers to fill out a questionnaire that warns of penalties. The form could be stored in a passenger?s airline frequent-flier profile. Mr. Morris thinks it will cut down on fraud and ignorance and still allow for necessary support animals. As for allergies, airlines say they try to reseat affected passenger like Ms. Fields. Limits onboard can be generous: American?s limit is seven per flight, not including service animals. But Ms. Fields would like airlines to track where pets will be on planes as well as where people with allergies have reserved seats and keep the two separate. She and her husband fly frequently to visit their children on the West Coast and always select extra legroom seats in coach. When a long-haired dog is nearby, moving to another seat typically means trading down to less room. So far, she hasn?t had to use the EpiPen she carries in-flight. ?It?s just uncomfortable,? she says. -- The Seeing Eye Independence with Dignity since 1929 If you need to contact one of the list owners for > questions or assistance, please use the following email address: seeing-eye+owner at googlegroups.com . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seeing Eye Discussions" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to seeing-eye+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com . To post to this group, send email to seeing-eye at googlegroups.com . To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/seeing-eye/003401d27fc7%24f99e8260%24ecdb8720%24%40ky2d.com . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://nfbcal.org/pipermail/cagdu/attachments/20170213/65c108ec/attachment.html From adepner1425 at gmail.com Tue Feb 14 16:55:42 2017 From: adepner1425 at gmail.com (Allison Depner) Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2017 16:55:42 -0800 Subject: [Cagdu] Items for Newsletter Message-ID: Hello CAGDU Members, I'm compiling some articles for a CAGDU Newsletter, and I'm inviting you to send me guide dog related articles that I can include. So far I have included a few of the articles that Tina Thomas has forwarded. If you have anything you would like me to add, please send it to me at adepner1425 at gmail.com. I'm looking forward to your additions. Respectfully, Allison Depner CAGDU Vice President You Can Live the Life You Want!! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://nfbcal.org/pipermail/cagdu/attachments/20170214/2288c5da/attachment.html From judotina48kg at gmail.com Tue Feb 14 19:56:09 2017 From: judotina48kg at gmail.com (Tina Thomas) Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2017 19:56:09 -0800 Subject: [Cagdu] Cagdu Monthly conference call Message-ID: <0a7801d2873f$725b2130$57116390$@gmail.com> Hello Cagdu Community- I hope everyone and their fury friends are doing well. I'm writing to invite all of you to our monthly CAGDU Comference call which will be held on Tuesday Feburary 21 at 7:30PM. The call in information is as follows: (605)475.4700 Pin:405682#. Also, I would like to let everyone know that CAGDU meetings are normally held on the second Tuesday of every month unless notified of different date or time by Board members. This month being that Valentines Day fell on our meeting date is why we are meeting next Tuesday. Also, I want everyone to know that CAGDU has a facebook group and folks can find it by typing California Association of Guide dog Users in the search bar. So please spread the word! We are also working on our newsletter and all submissions should be sent to the CAGDU Vice President Allison Depner at adepner1425 at gmail.com We have a lot of things going on in CAGDU this year and we welcome all guide dog users! So please come join us and bring a friend! Looking forward to speaking with all of you next Tuesday Feburary 21 at 7:30pM. Warmly, Tina Thomas-CAGDU-President "Live the life you want" National Federation of the Blind of California -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://nfbcal.org/pipermail/cagdu/attachments/20170214/31b8e6c7/attachment.html From judotina48kg at gmail.com Mon Feb 27 22:26:04 2017 From: judotina48kg at gmail.com (Tina Thomas) Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2017 22:26:04 -0800 Subject: [Cagdu] FW: Guide dog-in-training attacked on city's near North Side Message-ID: <011401d2918b$8af21bd0$a0d65370$@gmail.com> Subject: Guide dog-in-training attacked on city's near North Side Guide dog-in-training attacked on city's near North Side Canine attacked by 2 other dogs near North Main Street, East Mistletoe Street February 22, 2017 SAN ANTONIO - Sandy Merrill says she was walking her guide dog-in-training last Friday like she does every other day when out of nowhere, two dogs came up and began attacking her dog. "I tried my best to fend them off and shouted and yelled,? said Merrill, the CEO of Guide Dogs of Texas. ?I started kicking them and when one would bite on one side, the other would bite on the other side." Witnesses and pepper spray finally helped end the attack, only after 20 minutes passed. Billy the dog was badly injured and suffered dozens of bite wounds. Merrill said she is also worried that he might no longer be a good candidate for the person he might have been placed with. "If a dog is aggressive and attacks a guide dog, that is life-shattering for a guide-dog owner,? she said. ?In this case, it might mean that the person who was destined to get him won't have a guide dog now." Animal Care Services is now investigating. "We have dispatched officers to that location in an effort to locate the animals that perpetrated the attack,? Joel Skidmore said. ?We are going to reach out to the owner of the dog and try to facilitate ... find the dogs that did the attack." For the injured dog, it was his gentle nature that made a good guide dog that worked against him. "The sad thing is, a lot of times when a guide dog is attacked by loose dogs, they don't always recover.? Merrill said. ?So if this was a dog that had already graduated, that would be somebody's eyes that they cannot get around anymore." Merrill said she believed one of the dogs that attacked was a pit bull trained to fight. She urges dog owners to not left their animals run loose. Had Billy been walking with a blind person, the consequences could have been much worse, she said. Source: http://www.ksat.com/news/guide-dog-in-training-attacked-pit-bull-on-san-antonio-near-north-side-acs-investigating -- The Seeing Eye Independence with Dignity since 1929 If you need to contact one of the list owners for > questions or assistance, please use the following email address: seeing-eye+owner at googlegroups.com . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seeing Eye Discussions" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to seeing-eye+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com . To post to this group, send email to seeing-eye at googlegroups.com . To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/seeing-eye/00ed01d2910d%24fd420390%24f7c60ab0%24%40ky2d.com . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://nfbcal.org/pipermail/cagdu/attachments/20170227/83289a13/attachment.html From judotina48kg at gmail.com Mon Feb 27 22:27:22 2017 From: judotina48kg at gmail.com (Tina Thomas) Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2017 22:27:22 -0800 Subject: [Cagdu] FW: Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog Message-ID: <011f01d2918b$b903a070$2b0ae150$@gmail.com> Subject: Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog 10News.com KGTV ABC10 San Diego URL: http://www.10news.com/news/uber-driver-refuses-to-pick-up-blind-paratriathlete-with-service-dog If you told Amy Dixon that going blind would open up a new world for her, she would have called you crazy 20 years ago. "I thought it was a death sentence," Dixon said. "I cried for two months." Now she is a world-class paratriathlete, training for the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. When she's not training with her fitness guides, she relies on her service dog Woodstock to help her. "He pulls me like a sled dog and navigates me around," Dixon said. But when Dixon ordered an Uber to take her and Woodstock to swim practice, the driver left her stranded. ?I had 9:30am practice. So I called an Uber around like 8:50 with plenty of time, it said it was seven minutes out,? Dixon said. ?I sent her a text message saying ?Hi, you know, this is Amy and I?ll be outside with my guide dog.' Within 30 seconds I got a notification that the driver had canceled the ride." She says this is the fifth time that an Uber driver has canceled her ride when they found out about her service dog. When 10News asked Uber for answers, the company said they suspended the driver's account when Dixon filed a complaint, and then banned her for refusing to take the service dog. According to their website: "Uber expects partners to comply with all applicable state, federal, and local laws governing the transportation of riders with disabilities. A partner?s violation of such laws, including with respect to the use of service animals, constitutes a breach of his or her contractual agreement with Uber. Accordingly, service animals must be accommodated in compliance with applicable accessibility laws. Additionally, partners are expected to accommodate riders using walkers, canes, folding wheelchairs or other assistive devices to the maximum extent possible. Any report of unlawful discrimination will result in the temporary deactivation of a partner?s account while Uber reviews the incident. Confirmed violations of the law with respect to riders with disabilities may result in permanent loss of a partner?s access to the Uber platform." While Dixon is happy the driver was banned from the app, she can't help but wonder when the next driver will refuse service to someone with a service animal. "I'd like to be able to be independent enough to get around on my own steam and Uber is an affordable way to do that generally speaking," Dixon said. "But it's only affordable if it works." Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog - YouTube frame Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog Watch Later Share Watch Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog - YouTube frame end -- The Seeing Eye Independence with Dignity since 1929 If you need to contact one of the list owners for > questions or assistance, please use the following email address: seeing-eye+owner at googlegroups.com . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seeing Eye Discussions" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to seeing-eye+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com . To post to this group, send email to seeing-eye at googlegroups.com . To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/seeing-eye/009101d290f0%248600dd00%2492029700%24%40ky2d.com . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://nfbcal.org/pipermail/cagdu/attachments/20170227/d749d93a/attachment.html From peacefulwoman89 at cox.net Tue Feb 28 10:10:01 2017 From: peacefulwoman89 at cox.net (Lisa Irving) Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2017 10:10:01 -0800 Subject: [Cagdu] FW: Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3FF014B2-36AF-433C-BDF7-79C505A55880@cox.net> Over the weekend I reached out to the reporter. I included Tim Elder Scott tact information and requested that the reporter pass along my information to Ms. Dixon. I will let the group know if I hear back from the reporter. If you know of other guy dog users in the San Diego region who have experienced denial of Rride service please feel free to pass along my email address. From, Lisa Irving, Chapter President NFB see, San Diego Chapter Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 27, 2017, at 10:27 PM, Tina Thomas wrote: > > Subject: Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog > > Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog > 10News.com KGTV ABC10 San Diego > URL: http://www.10news.com/news/uber-driver-refuses-to-pick-up-blind-paratriathlete-with-service-dog > If you told Amy Dixon that going blind would open up a new world for her, she would have called you crazy 20 years ago. > > "I thought it was a death sentence," Dixon said. "I cried for two months." > > Now she is a world-class paratriathlete, training for the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. > > When she's not training with her fitness guides, she relies on her service dog Woodstock to help her. > > "He pulls me like a sled dog and navigates me around," Dixon said. > > But when Dixon ordered an Uber to take her and Woodstock to swim practice, the driver left her stranded. > > ?I had 9:30am practice. So I called an Uber around like 8:50 with plenty of time, it said it was seven minutes out,? Dixon said. ?I sent her a text message > saying ?Hi, you know, this is Amy and I?ll be outside with my guide dog.' Within 30 seconds I got a notification that the driver had canceled the ride." > > She says this is the fifth time that an Uber driver has canceled her ride when they found out about her service dog. > > When 10News asked Uber for answers, the company said they suspended the driver's account when Dixon filed a complaint, and then banned her for refusing to take the service dog. > > According to their website: > "Uber expects partners to comply with all applicable state, federal, and local laws governing the transportation of riders with disabilities. A partner?s violation of such laws, including with respect to the use of service animals, constitutes a breach of his or her contractual agreement with Uber. > > Accordingly, service animals must be accommodated in compliance with applicable accessibility laws. Additionally, partners are expected to accommodate riders using walkers, canes, folding wheelchairs or other assistive devices to the maximum extent possible. > > Any report of unlawful discrimination will result in the temporary deactivation of a partner?s account while Uber reviews the incident. Confirmed violations of the law with respect to riders with disabilities may result in permanent loss of a partner?s access to the Uber platform." > > While Dixon is happy the driver was banned from the app, she can't help but wonder when the next driver will refuse service to someone with a service animal. > > "I'd like to be able to be independent enough to get around on my own steam and Uber is an affordable way to do that generally speaking," Dixon said. "But it's only affordable if it works." > > Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog - YouTube frame > Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog > Watch Later > Share > Watch Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog > Uber driver refuses to pick up blind paratriathlete with service dog - YouTube frame end > > -- > The Seeing Eye > Independence with Dignity since 1929 > > > If you need to contact one of the list owners for > > questions or assistance, please use the following email address: seeing-eye+owner at googlegroups.com. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seeing Eye Discussions" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to seeing-eye+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to seeing-eye at googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/seeing-eye/009101d290f0%248600dd00%2492029700%24%40ky2d.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > _______________________________________________ > Cagdu mailing list > Cagdu at nfbcal.org > https://www.nfbcal.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/cagdu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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