Hi to everyone,
Here is a message I thought some of you might want to see.  Perhaps nobody 
on this list has a guide dog besides me but hopefully this will be of some 
importance to some of you.
Virgie and Hoshi
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jennifer Wilgus" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 2:38 PM
Subject: [Seeingeye-l] got this from a friendFw: BlindNews: Assistance Dogs


>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "merrilee hill-kennedy" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
> Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 1:29 PM
> Subject: Fw: BlindNews: Assistance Dogs
>
>
>> good article, not sure why the name paul moyer keeps popping up in the 
>> article. annoying and strange.
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Marcia Moses" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
>> Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2006 10:46 AM
>> Subject: BlindNews: Assistance Dogs
>>
>>
>>> NBC4, Los Angeles
>>>> Wednesday, February 22, 2006
>>>>
>>>> Assistance Dogs
>>>>
>>>> LOS ANGELES -- As you may know -- animals, particularly dogs -- can be
>>>> trained to help people with almost any kind of disability. There are 
>>>> guide
>>>> dogs for the blind, hearing dogs for the deaf and service dogs for 
>>>> people
>>>> with disabilities ranging from epilepsy to cerebral palsy.
>>>>
>>>> The U.S. Department of Transportation is currently considering rules 
>>>> that
>>>> will impact how these dogs and, subsequently, the disabled, travel on
>>>> airlines.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Approximately 25,000 people in the United States use 
>>>> service
>>>> animals.
>>>>
>>>> CHERIE SATO: If he is not on the plane with me, I am not going to be 
>>>> there.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Cherie suffers from seizures, so she has Jake.
>>>>
>>>> CHERIE SATO: He alerts me if a seizure is coming on.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Diane has balance and orthopedic disabilities, so she has
>>>> Figment.
>>>>
>>>> DIANE WHITE: I have had him for over a year, and I have not fallen 
>>>> once.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: And Lisa has cerebral palsy, so she has Montgomery.
>>>>
>>>> LISA KNAPP: He gives me my independence.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Independence that some members of the disabled community 
>>>> say is
>>>> being threatened. Threatened by the airlines industry and the U.S.
>>>> Department of Transportation.
>>>>
>>>> ED EAMES: I can't believe what's going on. I really can't believe it.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: The DOT is considering putting assistance dogs in cargo.
>>>>
>>>> CHERIE SATO: If he's on the plane with me, I am not going to be there. 
>>>> I
>>>> won't go.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: This is one of several DOT options for airlines on how to 
>>>> deal
>>>> with assistance dogs.
>>>>
>>>> ED EAMES: They are discriminating against a segment of the disabled
>>>> community.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Ed Eames advocates for the consumer rights of the disabled 
>>>> and
>>>> acknowledges that some passengers may not want to sit next to an 
>>>> assistance
>>>> dog.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Dogs that come in all shapes and sizes.
>>>>
>>>> EAMES: I say to those people, 'You have every right. You have paid for 
>>>> a
>>>> seat.'"
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: But, he says, there is an easy fix.
>>>>
>>>> EAMES: Simply ask for a volunteer in the plane who would be willing to 
>>>> share
>>>> leg space with the dog.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Eames says flight attendants and other passengers are very
>>>> cooperative, and that this informal approach is extremely effective.
>>>>
>>>> EAMES: It has been working for years.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: So if the practice of asking for a volunteer to switch 
>>>> seats has
>>>> been working, what's the problem?
>>>>
>>>> When asked by KNBC, the department of transportation could not provide 
>>>> any
>>>> examples of passenger complaints involving assistance dogs.
>>>>
>>>> We wanted to see for ourselves, so we took two flights with Michael 
>>>> Osborn
>>>> and his guide dog, Hastings.
>>>>
>>>> PASSENGER (VIDEO SHOWS PASSENGER IN PLANE): A stewardess came forward 
>>>> and
>>>> said there was a guide dog in the back that was a little cramped for 
>>>> space.
>>>> We said, 'Yeah, no problem, and so we all shifted around.'
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Without even being asked, flight attendants arranged for 
>>>> roomier
>>>> seats, in both cases, moving us to the bulkhead.
>>>>
>>>> PASSENGER: It wasn't a big deal at all.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: And passengers willingly changed seats.
>>>>
>>>> CAROL (PASSENGER): On a plane with 200 people, there is bound to be at 
>>>> least
>>>> one dog lover.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: So why are these rules?
>>>>
>>>> The DOT declined multiple requests for an on-camera interview, but 
>>>> provided
>>>> a statement, saying they "strongly support the rights of persons with
>>>> disabilities to travel with their service animals on airlines."
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: So why are the disabled so concerned?
>>>>
>>>> The proposed rule says if a service animal does not fit under the seat 
>>>> in
>>>> front of the customer, the airline may "offer the option of purchasing 
>>>> a
>>>> second seat."
>>>>
>>>> ED EAMES: It would put a financial burden on the disabled person, which
>>>> would make air travel virtually impossible.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Another DOT recommendation - traveling on a later flight.
>>>>
>>>> ED EAMES: That takes an assumption that we don't have to make 
>>>> deadlines.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Finally, and most offensive to the disabled, "having the 
>>>> service
>>>> animal travel in the cargo hold."
>>>>
>>>> ED EAMES: That defeats the notion of the independence that is being 
>>>> provided
>>>> to us through working with an assistance dog.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: Some say this is the equivalent of asking an able bodied 
>>>> person
>>>> to check their eyes or their legs with their baggage.
>>>>
>>>> ED EAMES: It's punishing me for being disabled.
>>>>
>>>> PAUL MOYER: It is of note that British Airways automatically blocks out 
>>>> a
>>>> second seat, free of charge, for people traveling with assistance dogs 
>>>> in
>>>> their economy cabin.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
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