Early Days of Guide Dogs for the Blind - Video

Seeing Eye graduate, in her own words

RIP Wonder

My friend Sue's service dog, companion and my cat Riley's friend Wonder passed away very suddenly from lymphoma. Please keep her in your prayers and thoughts.

Kyle and his Canine Assistant Bethany

I found this video which was done for Kyle's freshman high school broadcast journalism class. It shows Kyle and his service dog Bethany going around the school together, playing catch and interacting. Kyle has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and attends high school in El Paso Texas where he participates in student council and marching band. I think this video is excellent and wanted to share it.

Study shows half of DC cab drivers pass by blind people with guide dogs

A study by a civil rights watchdog, the Equal Rights Center, showed in half of 30 tests cab drivers passed by blind passengers with guide dogs. The study was done based on complaints by blind people that some taxi drivers do not follow the law requiring reasonable accommodations. In fact, some try to charge surcharges for taking a guide dog. You can read more here and watch the video below.


{This video lacks narration. The video text precedes the video.}


Video Text:
The Equal Rights Center (ERC)

The Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC)

Hogan and Lovells US LLP

More than 25 million individuals in the United States report having vision loss; approximately 2.5 million of those are legally blind.

Federal law requires taxicab drivers to allow service dogs in their vehicles, and prohibits them from charging a surcharge, higher fare, or extra fee for transporting a service dog.

Despite these protections, people encounter discrimination on a daily basis.

(Video of blind woman with a service dog attempting to hail a cab. Two cabs pass her and pick up another woman 100 feet away)

The ERC conducted tests in the District; each included two individuals, one with a service dog and one without, who stood on the same side of the block.

(Video of blind woman with a service dog attempting to hail a cab. A cab approaches her, slows down to a near stop, and then drives on to pick up another women 100 feet away)

In 60% of these tests, the tester with a service dog was subjected to at least one form of discriminatory treatment.

(Video of a woman with a service dog attempting to hail a cab. A cab passes her and picks up another women 100 feet away)

"These instances are both hurtful and an insult to those of us who must rely upon the loving assistance of our dogs to travel independently." -ERC member, Charles Crawford

Video of a man with a service dog attempting to hail a cab. A cab passes him and picks up another man 100 feet away)

"Cabbie's go whizzing by and I can't see to know if they have somebody in their cab or if they don't." -ERC member, Stan Berman

(Video of a woman with a service dog attempting to hail a cab. A cab passes her and picks up another women 100 feet away)

Help advance civil rights and learn more about what can be done to end discrimination against individuals who use service dogs.

Learn more and download the report at www.equalrightscenter.org

Canine advocacy program

I received an article from a friend about the Canine advocacy program in Michigan.

Amos, a two-year-old lab mix, visits court rooms to work with child witnesses in cases of domestic or sexual assault.

The article says:

The idea of using dogs to ease courtroom tensions is not new and is gaining popularity across the country. Courthousedogs.com began in Seattle when an assistant prosecutor in King County, took her disabled son's service dog to work one day a week and discovered that the dog had a profoundly calming effect on young witnesses. Now that county, and others in Texas, Georgia, Montana, Florida and Maryland have dogs working courtrooms.

New to the Blogroll: People with Disabilities and Service Dog Awareness

Please check out this site which I just added to my blogroll- whether you have a disability, use a service dog or not -all are welcome.

People with Disabilities and Service Dog Awareness has a welcome statement that reads:

You do not have to be a person with disabilities or have a service animal to join our community. There are plenty of worthwhile information here along with lots of conversational opportunities.


I think that's great. And I'm very glad a comment was left which alerted me to the fact that this blog wasn't on my blogroll.

7th grader writes books about her service dog Mercer

Meet Mercer. Not only is he an assistance dog and the star of Marvelous Mercer, but his paw print will go on books sold this Saturday when he sits by the author's side at FAO Schwartz.

The real author, 12 year old Shea, has a rare form of muscular atrophy.

"Ever since 2004, when Mercer became Shea's assistance dog, they have been inseparable. At the mall, Mercer carries Shea's purse and will hand the clerk a credit card using his mouth and paws. At school, Mercer lies beneath Shea's desk, and when she drops a pencil, he gets it. They watch movies together, each with individual bowls of popcorn. When Shea goes to the doctor's office, he keeps her calm. If she's sick, Mercer won't leave her side.

Last Thanksgiving, while cleaning out her daughter's closet, Shea's mother, Megan, found six stories Shea had written about Mercer.

Over the past few months, the stories have become a six-book children's series. The first book will be sold exclusively at FAO Schwarz's New York store this month. It will also be available at shop.marvelousmercer.com and the websites for FAO Schwarz, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
...
On Saturday, Shea and Mercer, whom Shea calls her best friend and her puzzle piece, because he completes her, will sign copies of the book at the New York store. Each book will come with a plush toy version of Mercer, Shea's autograph and Mercer's paw print.

A majority of the book's proceeds will go to Canine Companions for Independence, based in Santa Rosa, Calif. The organization, where Mercer came from, plans to use its share of the money to give assistance dogs to Iraq veterans from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Some proceeds will go to the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation, based in New York City, and Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, based in Libertyville, Ill., for research. A portion will also go to pay for Shea's medical needs."
- via USA Today

In the books, Mercer goes out on adventures at night - but, of course, always returns to be by Shea's side.

"Guiding Eyes"

Steve over at Planet of the Blind has posted an extraordinary poem about his first guide dog Corky, called "Guiding Eyes". Click above to visit his blog and read it.

Service Dog - Best Friend

Over at Monastic Musings, Sr. Edith has posted a great link to a story (with pictures) about a 12 year old girl and her service dog. Most people are familiar with guide dogs - but this assist dog helps with things like opening doors and other tasks.

Thanks to Sr. Edith for this great find!

School bars Deaf teen's assistance dog