More Dixie Land News

We announce a new Team Member!

Officers of the College of Charleston Delta Gamma Sorority pose during a presentation with Dixie Land Secretary/Treasurer Laurel Jean, Vice President Audrey Gunter and Audrey's new guide, Jesse.

Master Jesse Gunter, a handsome 2 year old yellow lab was delivered to his new mom, (and our Vice President) Audrey on the afternoon of Thursday, November 11, 2010.  The bond began almost immediately as the two lived, played and worked together at the Florida campus and training facilities of Southeastern Guide Dogs.

Audrey had labored over the decision of when she should retire her first guide, Zack, also a Southeastern boy.  Those two had shared the past 8 years as an inseparable team as they traveled all across the USA on business and in Ministry.  Indeed, it was Zack who first led Audrey to God, literally and figuratively, leaving a positive public image wherever they went!  Whether lobbying for a new guide dog protection law; creating an ADA-compliant policy for an upstate hospital; teaching sensitivity and awareness to a school, business or organization; or sharing their testimony to an attentive church congregation, theirs was a unique team of devotion, intelligence and commitment.

Zack's steps had begun to slow down back in 2009, but Audrey attributed his altered speed to his adjusting to her hip and leg injury.  When Zack began to illustrate difficulty upon boarding a car, Audrey knew it was time for him to spend his time playing ball and holding down the sofa, which he is doing extremely well.

Jesse, a loving, yet lively young pup, continues to endear himself to his new mom daily.  Despite the fact the two have been together for less than 3 months, the trainers at Southeastern proclaim they work together as though they'd been together for years.  Jesse loves to work and he loves the praise his mom gives him every time he does something right, which is all the time.  When not working, you can find Jesse playing with "Mr. Squeakers", his blue rubber bone; chewing on one of his many chew bones; playing tug with his big brother or just sitting in his mom's lap as the two curl up together in their recliner, with Zack nearby on the sofa.   

Dinner in the Dark-An Eye-Opening Experience!

Dixie Land President, Nancy Moore and Vice President, Audrey Gunter, pose with blind youth of the Lowcountry (Shelby, Taylor and Brianna).

Dixie Land Guide Dog Users coupled with the many ministries of Grace United Methodist Church and Music by Laurel Jean and sponsored by the Association for the Blind, worked together for a very successful evening of food, music, fellowship, entertainment and awareness.

Grace youth learn to be sighted guides as part of their orientation for Dinner In The Dark.

Happy, helpful volunteers met our guests at the door with blindfolds (prepared by some of Grace's Circle Clubs) and bibs (prepared by Grace's Youth).  Pre-trained sighted guides then escorted the blindfolded public to their tables where they were served a delicious dinner of spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and banana pudding, (all prepared by Chuck Heller and the United Methodist Men).

Dixie Land's Secretary/Treasurer, Laurel Jean delighted everyone with her music and quips.  She even included some of the kids she serves with her Chaplaincy for Blind Youth.

Brianna was quite a hit on her violin and Shelby and Taylor amazed our diners with their vocals.

Here, Taylor entertains our guests, accompanied by Laurel and assisted by Grace Youth Director, Bruce Philpott.

 

Some folks really got into the spirit of the evening and continued the ordeal of trying to eat by touch.  Some could only handle a few minutes of eating while blindfolded.  Some gave up on using utensils and began shoveling the spaghetti strands in their opened mouths with their sauce-covered fingers. All had a great time and walked out with a new-found understanding of some of the challenges the blindness community confronts daily.  Indeed, our "Dinner in the Dark" has accomplished the original goal of being an awareness-raiser; yet, with all the laughter and jubilant faces, apparently it was also a "fun" raiser as well.

"Paws" to Educate at Top Dog, Orlando!

Fellow Dixie Lander, Pastor Tim Barrett, offers a special, individual blessing to one of the guide teams attending Top Dog, 2011 in Orlando, FL.

We'd been planning this weekend for months.  Indeed, we'd been diligently participating in all Dixie Land fund  raisers in an all-out effort to attend Top Dog, Orlando-2011!  Kathleen Trutschel, President of GDUF, asked us to arrive early so we could share our new "Paws to Educate" initiative with the others attending.  Two of Dixie Land's officers, Laurel Jean (Secretary/Treasurer) and Audrey (Vice-president), along with Tim Barrett (a new Dixie Land member), were scheduled to officiate in the "Blessing".

As the time drew closer, our beloved President, Nancy Moore, received the bad news that she could not attend because of medical reasons.  Saddened by her absence, but encouraged by her spirit, we continued with our plans to forge ahead without her.

Finally, "D" (departure) day arrived!  The van was packed to capacity with dogs, a piano, sound equipment, written materials, luggage and, oh, yeah, people!   We actually even had enough room to include 2 local blind teenagers, Brianna Murray and Taylor Jones, both of whom assisted us with the Blessing.  This was really looking towards being a very successful trip.

Here, Brianna reads Scripture for the Blessing.

We arrived at the Four-Corners Sheraton around 6pm that evening.  Immediately, as we walked into the check-in area, we encountered other handlers and their guides, patiently waiting their turns to get their room assignments.  We could tell the desk clerks were somewhat overwhelmed, but they still provided us with excellent service as they learned to "hold their hands in their pockets" and give us directions to various areas.

After checking into our rooms and making our way around dozens and dozens of working, retired and future guide dogs, we found our way to the Top Dog, Orlando-2011 registration desk, where Kathleen and Sally greeted everyone with warmth, love and a smile.  Proudly, Kathleen presented us with the very special "doggie" bags she'd worked so hard to fill.

Shortly thereafter, Kathleen and I met with several others from New York, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida to discuss our "Paws to Educate" initiative and how important it was for all handlers to know their legal rights, responsibilities and recourses when those rights have been violated.  We also noted that it was equally important for business owners to understand that they, too, have rights to protect their establishments and patrons within when we fail to exercise our responsibility to maintain complete control over our guides' behavior, appearance and demeanor. We had a very successful meeting and we all walked away much better prepared and informed.    Friday, it seemed everywhere we went, someone would corner us and ask about how they could spread the word in their hometowns.

There was plenty of time for fun and fellowship. Here, Pastor Tim and Taylor are playing Uno in the Hospitality room!

Taylor's great-grandfather (Jerry Stebbins) who drove us, and our secretary Laurel Jean (with her long, white cane, Slim) pose for a photo as they watch to see who will win that Uno game!

Saturday night's banquet was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend! Our Laurel Jean provided dinner music as we were being served.

Here, devoted puppy raisers and grateful handlers all from Guide Dog Foundation enjoy the evening together.

Thank you, Association for the Blind, for helping Dixie Land to be able to participate in such an enlightening and fun event!

Dixie Landers Give The Gift of Life

 

Dixie Land Officers Audrey Gunter (with guide Jesse) and Laurel Jean (with long, white cane Slim) “give the gift of life” at this Red Cross Blood Drive, held at Citadel Mall, Charleston, SC.

Miss Audrey is working on her third gallon, while Miss Laurel is shown here as a first-time donor. Both are grateful for their ongoing Christian Faith, physical health and personal independence—all of which make possible their commitment to this community outreach.

We hope that this will inspire others to do the same!

Our Paws To Educate Initiative

Proudly sponsored by the Charleston, SC Association for the Blind!

• "Can you take your dog everywhere you go?"


• "Does he bite?"


• "Why do you have that dog in here?"


• "Can I pet your dog? Why not?"


• "What's that dog doing in here?"

If you are a handler, I'm sure you've heard these questions repeatedly. In fact, you're probably getting a little tired of answering them, right? You're probably wondering when folks are actually going to learn about the Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA), and how it applies to service dogs.

If you are sighted and have ever come across a guide team, you have most likely asked at least one or more of the above questions, if only out of curiosity.

So many times, we guide dog users enter a business, restaurant, or public building and one of their less-informed employees approaches us negatively, questioning our legitimacy and, ultimately asking us to leave.

Unfortunately, it seems the only times we hear anything in the news about guide-dog users is when their rights of access to a public facility have been denied by an uninformed individual and a lawsuit ensues.

Dixie Land Guide Dog Users recognizes the need to be pro-active and has organized a new initiative called, "Paws To Educate" program that reaches out to various businesses, schools, hospitals and civic organizations in an attempt to offer sensitivity and awareness sessions to their staff. This interesting and informative program touches on the 3 R's: Rights, Responsibilities and Recourse" of the handler as well as the business owner.

We have found that most folks who know about our rights to have our guides with us anywhere the public is invited don't know that we also have specific responsibilities to maintain to be able to usurp that right. They are also ignorant of the fact that, if we fail to maintain those responsibilities, that we can, in fact, be asked to leave their places of business without fear of discrimination.

Of course, valid documentation (preferably from local law enforcement) is vital whenever we are fighting for our rights of access or when the business owner is striving to protect its clientele.

So many times we have been shopping in a major department store when we hear a muffled bark of a small dog someone has sneaked in, claiming it to be a service dog or, we hear a scary growl from what seems to be a large animal just as it lunges at our dog. Store managers and employees approach us sheepishly, telling us about various individuals who bring their filthy, nasty, stinky dogs into these stores saying they are service dogs. These questionable characters allow their canines to urinate and defecate in the stores and laugh aloud as they walk off and leave the mess for a store employee to clean up. One man in the Charleston area has successfully passed off his 3 large Newfoundlands to be "seizure" dogs that work as a team! If they are, indeed, service animals, then he is certainly not fulfilling his obligation of keeping them under control.

Dixie Land recognizes there are many problems regarding these matters and has organized its own "Paws To Educate" program in an effort to better educate both the blind handler and the sighted business owner so that everyone can understand and appreciate our rights, responsibilities and recourse.

These sessions are available to any business, church, school or civic group within the state of South Carolina at absolutely no cost. Of course, donations will be accepted, though. We contour our programs to be as long or as short as necessary, always with allocated time for questions and answers.

To schedule our "Paws To Educate" program for your group, simply  Email the Dixie Land Guide Team.

Or call (843) 608-6890.

We look forward to seeing YOU soon!

Dixie Land Guides Support National Braille Challenge!

Brianna Murray, Charleston, SC spends time with her mom, dad and sister as she takes a break from the intensive competition of the 2010 National Braille Challenge in Los Angeles, CA. Blind since birth, Brianna is an honor student preparing to enter her senior year at the Charleston, SC School of the Arts, as a Violin Major.

The Braille Challenge is Braille Institute's national reading and writing contest in Braille. It is a great way to motivate blind and visually impaired students to practice their literacy skills. Students test their skills in reading comprehension, Braille speed and accuracy, proofreading, spelling and reading tactile charts and graphs. More than 500 students from first through twelfth grades participated throughout the US and Canada on the regional level, in the Preliminary Round. The top-scoring 65 went to the national competition in Los Angeles, in June for the Final Round—two days of competition, camaraderie and fun!

 

Brianna was among these 65 students, the First-Place winner in the 20-10 South Carolina Regional Braille Challenge, Varsity Division! Here she is, holding up the “Varsity” sign as she poses with her peers in Los Angeles.

“Although I did not win,” Brianna says of the national Braille Challenge, “it was a great trip in a number of ways. I talked to a lot of blind friends, read a lot of Braille, and even received a new Braille book. I learned a few more ways of Braille graphing, and a great deal just in general.”

In 2008, Dixie Land Guide Dog Users voted unanimously to offer an annual scholarship in the amount of $100 for the first South Carolina student to contact us, with qualification for the current year's National Braille Challenge. The Dixie Land Guide Team was truly honored to help sponsor Brianna’s trip to compete in California this year. We believe in the encouragement and support of a strong, positive presence within the blindness community and among the community-at-large. We promote Braille literacy, taking pride in the hard work and accomplishments of South Carolina's blind youth.