The holidays are here again

Although it’s a joyful time of year, many of us find ourselves swamped with changing routines, shopping in crowded stores, decorating our homes, and keeping busy with preparations for entertaining family and guests. If we think we’re overwhelmed with all the holiday festivities, just think how our dogs must feel.

It never hurts to be reminded that not only do our pooches pick up on our excitement, they also pick up on our tension as we rush around here and there trying to get everything done. You may find it helpful to pay a little extra attention  to your dog at such times. Many of the articles I’ve read suggest making an effort to remain as calm as possible, especially when snowed under with so much to do. It helps to lessen your dog’s anxiety.

Remember to watch out for chocolate and other holiday treats that can be harmful to our dogs. Did you know that poinsettias are also poisonous? And watch out for tencil. I know of several dogs who had problems after eating some.

Do any of you have other tips to help our dogs stay safe and enjoy the holiday season?

How many of you give your dogs gifts? I still have to shop for Cleo. Any ideas?

What can I do when someone harasses me or my guide dog? In Florida, like many other states, there is a specific law to protect you and your dog. If a person or their dog interferes with the use of your service animal, they can be charged from a misdemeanor to a felony under Florida Statute 413.081. Any interference includes intentional obstructing, intimidating, or jeopardizing the safety of you or your guide. If someone or their dog is convicted of intentionally or with reckless disregard, injures or kills your service animal, they are required to pay restitution. This restitution must include but not be limited to medical expenses, the value of the guide, replacement and training costs for you and the animal, and any other expenses directly incurred by you. Review the law below and know your rights. If you have trouble, call 911, immediately!! Florida Statute 413.081 Interference with or injury to a service animal; penalties; restitution.— (1) A person who, with reckless disregard, interferes with, or permits a dog that he or she owns or is in the immediate control of to interfere with, the use of a service animal by obstructing, intimidating, or otherwise jeopardizing the safety of the service animal or its user commits a misdemeanor of the second degree for the first offense and a misdemeanor of the first degree for each subsequent offense, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. (2) A person who, with reckless disregard, injures or kills, or permits a dog that he or she owns or is in the immediate control of to injure or kill, a service animal commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. (3) A person who intentionally injures or kills, or permits a dog that he or she owns or is in the immediate control of to injure or kill, a service animal commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. (4)(a) A person who is convicted of a violation of this section, in addition to any other penalty, must make full restitution for all damages that arise out of or are related to the offense, including incidental and consequential damages incurred by the service animal’s user. (b) Restitution includes the value of the service animal; replacement and training or retraining expenses for the service animal and the user; veterinary and other medical and boarding expenses for the service animal; medical expenses for the user; and lost wages or income incurred by the user during any period that the user is without the services of the service animal.

26th Annual WALKATHON Saturday, March 3, 2012 Vinoy Park - Saint Petersburg, Florida It is happening again and in a beautiful new location. Come be a part of this year’s exciting event. Support our school. Join us for food, music, fun, companionship and a wonderful 3K walk. Tell all your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers about SEGD and the Walkathon to raise money. And be sure to sell raffle tickets. The Walkathon helps Southeastern Guide Dogs continue providing services for us after graduating and dogs for new students. Think about the life-changing gift of mobility Southeastern gave to us. Remember how special we felt, how grateful we were to everyone who trained, fed, and supported us for those few weeks. Now, its time for us to help each other and to share the life-changing gift of mobility with someone else. We need to be champions for ourselves, for our dogs, and for our wonderful school. The annual walkathon is one of the best ways we can do this. Of course, not all of us can afford to attend because of travel and hotel expenses, but this doesn't mean we can’t get involved for our donation to count. We can send our donation and raffle ticket money in a check to SEGD and include a note saying that it is our contribution for the Walkathon. Need some ideas to raise money? Here’s what some of us are doing. Try one or all of these. It is easy. Create your own donation web page at Sitstaygive.org. We can help you set it up, or someone at the school can help as well. We don’t have to be afraid to ask for support to do this. We can send notes to all our friends on Facebook. We can go to all the businesses we frequent where they have seen us with our guides, the grocer, our favorite restaurant, where we buy our clothes and ask for them to “play it forward”. We can e-mail all our friends in our address books. We can throw a party and ask for a donation as an entrance fee, and while everyone is there, sell raffle tickets (the first prize is $10,000). We can come up with more ideas, so let everyone know them. Blog back your thoughts. Need more help or have questions? Contact SEGD at 941.729.5665, www.guidedogs.org or fundraising@guidedogs.org

Hello, Let us introduce ourselves: we are Graduate Partners for Southeastern (GPS). Like you, we are alumni of Southeastern Guide Dogs. Our purpose is to share our stories for advancing recruitment, outreach to graduates and the public, marketing, and fundraising to help Southeastern furnish more dogs to those in need. We are also here to help you with any guide dog concerns you may have or to help celebrate and share your successes. We are a diverse group of people, and while we don’t pretend to have all the answers, it is likely that there are at least one or two of us who have encountered the same guide dog issues as you, or we have dealt with the same questions. We are glad to share with you what we have learned, and we look forward to hearing about some of your own experiences. GPS also provides support, encouragement and insight in the use of a guide dog to applicants who have been accepted into the Southeastern Guide Dogs program and potential applicants who are interested in obtaining a dog guide. With another focus on marketing and fundraising for our school, GPS works to promote the raising of money to help provide dogs for new and returning students. Our goal is to reach out to organizations, businesses, and individuals to demonstrate the value of independence that working with a dog brings to each person. We use our communication skills for making presentations through the SEGD Speakers Bureau to help accomplish these goals. Will you help us help others? We welcome articles from you on guide dogs, ADA, or other items that you believe your fellow grads would enjoy. Be sure to visit the Southeastern Guide dog blog to share your experiences with other graduates. Let’s try to stay upbeat and positive. We want to encourage each other to be successful. All GPS members are available by phone or e-mail. Our contact information is: Dulce Weisenborn, Chair, Miami, Florida and Portland, Oregon , dmw@lifedesigns-inc.com 305-829-9008, Kati Lear, Vice Chair , Port Orange, Florida, mailto:kati386@bellsouth.net%20 386-788-0463, Dolores Myers, Secretary , Port Orange, Florida, dmyers46@cfl.rr.com 386-756-1883, Alan Preston, prestonad542@comcast.net 561-358-5313, Kathy Champion, Gulfport, FL, Kathrynfchampion@Yahoo.com 813-447-0629, Shirley Tracy , Sun City Center, FL , mailto:stracy5@tampabay.rr.com%20 813-260-3081, Janet Deluca , North Fort Myers, Fl, janetsyear2010@gmail.com 239-995-6645, Bob Smallwood, Key West, FL , bskye@bellsouth.net 305-509-2184, and Christina Holtzclaw, Rome, GA, chclaw@disabilitylink.org 706-236-9906.

Halloween Tips for your Furry Companion ~Keep dogs out of the candy bowl. Dispose of candy wrappers before your pets get to them, since the wrappers can cause choking or intestinal obstruction. Make sure the dogs can't get into the trash.

~Walk your dog before trick-or-treaters start their visits. Keep a firm grip on the leash; many dogs are frightened by people in costumes ~Place a dog gate in front of your front door to block access in case someone accidentally lets your pet out of the place where he's confined. Many dogs will run after trick-or-treaters ~Halloween costumes can annoy animals and pose safety and health hazards...so think twice before dressing up the dog. Make sure the dog can breathe, see and hear, and that the costume is flame retardant. Remove any small or dangling accessories that could be chewed and swallowed. Avoid rubber bands, which can cut off the animal's circulation or, if accidentally left on, can burrow and cut into the animal's skin. ~Halloween candy is absolutely forbidden for pets – lollipop sticks can get stuck in a throat and candy wrappers can cause an obstruction. But the animal in your life likes a treat, too, so here is a recipe that is healthy for your pet – and tasty, too.

Hall-O-Paws Dog Ice Cream Recipe

32 oz. plain yogurt 1 mashed banana 2 T peanut butter 2 T honey

It’s true dairy products aren’t good for dogs, but yogurt contains much less lactase than regular milk and the live cultures are great for your dog’s digestive system. This dog ice cream recipe is delicious and good for your pet! 1. Mix all these ingredients in your blender, then dump into ice cube trays, paper cups, or even a kong toy to freeze and serve. 2. If you want to go all out for your mutt you can freeze these homemade hall-o-paws just like you would homemade ice cream. A salt-less automatic ice cream maker makes this as easy as using any other appliance in your home and the frosty paws will be ready to serve in 10 minutes. For the ultimate treat, appropriate for dessert at a Halloween party, follow steps one and two, then take the mostly frozen dog ice cream product of number two and spread it 1” to 1½” thick on wax paper. Freeze for five minutes and then remove dog ice cream from freezer. Next, use a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter to cut a pumpkin shaped “hall-o- paws”, remove ice cream around edges, and return pumpkin shapes to the freezer to freeze solid.

Southeastern Guide Dogs Class #5 Feb/March 2010 Starting from left to right

Roger Brannon & Bobbie Rhonda Mawhinney & C.C Trainer Mersereau Stephanie Fish & Chase Robin Thorsen & Florence Larry Turnbull & J.T. Eric Kallal & Scout Robert Braze & Baxter Trainer Mancini Michael Hartley & Charley Trainer Karen Gloria Dimon & Caesar’s Joy Richard Piepenbring & Mike

Congrats to our first class of 2010 from left to right

Karin Watson, Debra Williams, Kyle Schulhfer, Christie Sullivan, Talibah Adisa, Pam Parker, Marisa Gerlach, Sandra Hires, Terry Scove, Raymond Hurley, Edward Schell