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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Subject:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'> [seeing-eye] Phony comfort pets, owners perplex airlines<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/nation-now/2016/12/28/phony-comfort-pets-owners-perplex-airlines/95924674/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/nation-now/2016/12/28/phony-comfort-pets-owners-perplex-airlines/95924674/</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div id=article><div><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:0in;mso-line-height-alt:14.4pt'><span style='font-size:29.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";font-weight:normal'>Phony comfort pets, owners perplex airlines<o:p></o:p></span></h1><div style='margin-bottom:17.4pt;text-align:start;-webkit-hyphens: manual;max-width: 100%'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:18.0pt'><span class=byline><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Jennifer Dixon</span></span><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Updated 3 hours ago<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>DETROIT — With the <a href="http://on.freep.com/2hrsYsC"><span style='color:#416ED2'>holiday travel</span></a> season now here, many air passengers are boarding planes with service dogs and emotional support animals — a practice that critics say is open to fraud.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>How do airlines know whether these pets are true service animals and not impostors wearing an official-looking vest bought online for $39.99? The answer is, they don't. Critics say many travelers claim their pets are service or emotional support animals because they don't want to pay for them to travel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Winnie, a Golden Retriever in her 3rd month of training, looks up at Apprentice Guide Dog Mobility ...more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Rachel Woolf, Special to the Free Press<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div></div><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>While many of these animals are dogs, passengers have also gotten on board with birds -- including a peacock -- cats and other animals.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>"I see more violations than legitimate use of service dogs in public. A drastic majority of what I've observed in airports is misuse of the service dog law," said Brian Skewis, executive officer of the California State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind, the only state agency in the nation that regulates guide-dog schools and individual instructors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Rod Haneline, chief programs and services officer for Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, says he too believes fraud is a problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>“The law is so ambiguous the airlines don’t know what side to come down on. Everyone is afraid of the ramifications of not allowing someone equal access,” Haneline said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>He said blind people fought hard to get public access for their dogs, and that right is "diluted" by a proliferation of questionable service and support pets.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1026" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Guide Dog Mobility Instructor Ashley Ayers, of Leader Dogs For the Blind, browses in the Moosejaw ...more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Rachel Woolf, Special to the Free Press<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div></div><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Deb Davis, community outreach manager for Paws with a Cause of Wayland, outside Grand Rapids, said it's easy to spot the impostor service dogs: those carried in a purse, or those that growl, bark or act aggressively. In other words, the pretenders often lack good public manners, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>"We know there is fraud because our clients see it very frequently when they travel," said Davis, whose nonprofit annually places about 65 trained dogs with people who have a disability.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>But it is such a vexing problem that not even a committee of experts appointed by the U.S. Department of Transportation earlier this year could agree to a solution. It voted in November to discontinue discussions because further talks seemed unlikely to reach a consensus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1027" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;max-width: 100%;text-align:start;-webkit-padding-start: 0px;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1028" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>LiLou the pig is the newest member of San Francisco International Airport's Wag Brigade.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>San Francisco International Airport<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div></div><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>The ACCESS Advisory Committee members included representatives of the airlines, aircraft manufacturers, flight attendants and disability rights groups. At one point, some committee members favored recognizing as service animals only dogs and miniature horses, which are the only animals covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Like dogs, miniature horses can be trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities, according to the ADA. They can be used as guides for blind people or to pull wheelchairs. These animals, which can be house-trained, typically range in height from 24 to 34 inches at the shoulder and weigh between 70 to 100 pounds. Businesses, nonprofits, government agencies and other entities covered by the ADA must modify their policies to permit miniature horses where reasonable.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>A DOT spokesperson said the department is now considering rewriting the rules for service and emotional support animals on its own, but a timetable has not been set.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1029" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Guide Dog Mobility Instructor Sue Hackman, of Leader Dogs For the Blind, walks Yuba, a Labrador ...more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Rachel Woolf, Special to the Free Press<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div></div><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>DOT said the rules would "address the concerns that have been raised with the department regarding the definition of a service animal" under federal law, and "instances of passengers falsely representing that their pets are service animals in order to avoid pet fees that airlines may charge for pets to travel in the aircraft cabin."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>DOT said U.S. carriers are required under the Air Carrier Access Act to transport all service and emotional support animals with a few exceptions, such as snakes, ferrets, rodents and spiders. Airlines must evaluate unusual animals such as the miniature horses, pigs and monkeys on a case-by-case basis. A single passenger can have two or more service animals.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Among the service and emotional support animals prohibited by Delta Air Lines, the largest carrier at Detroit Metro Airport, are hedgehogs and farm poultry such as chickens or turkeys.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>"It's the Wild West," Haneline said. "Animals are much more connected to our daily lives, and the last thing people want to do is put their dog into a pet carrier and put them in the hold of an airplane. This is kind of an easy way to (avoid that) without paying."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>There are no federal standards that cover the registration, licensing or training of service or emotional support animals and the schools and instructors who train them. There is also no requirement for the animals to wear service animal vests or tags, which can be purchased easily online for varying prices.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo2'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1030" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo2;max-width: 100%;text-align:start;-webkit-padding-start: 0px;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1031" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>A flight attendant participates in a recurrent water-landing door training at EVA Air's sprawling training... more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren / Special <o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div></div><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>According to DOT guidance to the airlines, harnesses, vests, capes and backpacks may identify an animal as a service animal. But, "the absence of such equipment does not necessarily mean the animal is not a service animal. Similarly, the presence of a harness or vest ... may not be sufficient evidence that the animal is, in fact, a legitimate service animal."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>In cases of emotional support animals, the airlines can ask passengers to produce a letter from the mental health professional who is treating them attesting to the fact that they have a mental or emotional disability and need the animal for air travel or at their destination. Those letters are also available for purchase online, in some cases for less than $100, from web sites claiming to have mental health professionals on staff.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><i><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Continue reading below<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>In the case of service dogs, airlines can ask passengers questions such as: What tasks or functions does your animal perform for you? What has it been trained to do for you? Describe how the animal performs this task or function for you. They cannot ask travelers about their disability.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>In response to questions from the Free Press, Delta issued this statement: "Delta complies with the Air Carrier Access Act by allowing customers traveling with emotional support animals or service animals to travel without charge in the cabin. We reserve the right to review each case and make every effort to accommodate our customers’ travel needs while also taking into consideration the health and safety of other passengers."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Critics say the use of phony support pets hurts travelers with disabilities and their service dogs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Davis said clients traveling with legitimate service dogs have been bumped from their flights because the airline couldn't accommodate all the animals people wanted to bring on board. "They can miss connections, miss their flights."<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1032" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Apprentice Guide Dog Mobility Instructor Meredith Bryde, of Leader Dogs For the Blind, walks ...more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Rachel Woolf, Special to the Free Press<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div></div><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>And Paws-trained dogs confronted by a growling, aggressive dog posing as a service animal may feel so threatened that they can no longer perform their tasks because "they're looking around each corner, wondering where did that dog go."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Haneline, of Leader Dogs for the Blind, which trains as many as 200 dogs a year for people who are blind or visually impaired, said the guide dog industry "fought long and hard to get equal access for our clients to public accommodations all 50 states. When anyone can walk around with a service dog, you dilute that."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Skewis said that until the entire disability community can get behind a solution, passengers will continue to find ways to get their phony service or support pets into airline cabins.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>"Everyone agrees there's a problem, but no one has a clear-cut solution," Skewis said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1033" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3;max-width: 100%;text-align:start;-webkit-padding-start: 0px;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1034" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>A row of international tails from London, Taipei, Paris, and Frankfurt line the terminal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, Special for USA TODAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div></div><div><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo4'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1035" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo4;max-width: 100%;text-align:start;-webkit-padding-start: 0px;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1036" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>An Airbus Beluga at Airbus' assembly line facilities in Blagnac, France, on April 28, 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div></div><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><strong><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>IN PICTURES: 30 cool aviation photos</span></strong><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo5'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1037" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:13.8pt;line-height:16.8pt;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo5;max-width: 100%;text-align:start;-webkit-padding-start: 0px;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65098)'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=100 height=100 id="_x0000_i1038" src="cid:~WRD137.jpg" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>A Boeing Dreamlifter takes off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on Sept. 3, 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren for USA TODAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div></div><div><p style='line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Originally Published 4:53 p.m. ET Dec. 28, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width: 100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"-apple-system-font","serif"'>Updated 3 hours ago<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><br><br>Sent from my iPhone<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal>-- <br>The Seeing Eye<br>Independence with Dignity since 1929<br><br> <br>If you need to contact one of the list owners for <br>> questions or assistance, please use the following email address: seeing-eye+owner@googlegroups.com.<br>--- <br>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seeing Eye Discussions" group.<br>To 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