Thought Wheel

From the mind of Ann Chiappetta

The Guide Dog Book Club 💖 🦮

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs writing

Greetings from the Guide Dog Book Club Team,

 

We hope your fall is off to a great start and full of plans for fun times with your dogs, family, and friends. A big woof and wag to the cooler temperatures!

 

Jumping off from the awesome discussion with Sharon Peters on “Trusting Calvin,” we are gearing up for another book club read and discussion. The next meeting of the club is scheduled for November. As always, all are welcome to join. More details to follow on exact date and time.

 

Our next book selection is…(drum roll, please, and hold the appaws):

 

“Forward Together: An Inside Look at Guide Dog Training” by Christie Bane

 

The book is available on BARD and other electronic book services. Get a copy today and start reading for another informative guide dog book club discussion.

 

Here’s a recent amazon review:

 

“This was such an amazing book. The explanations were well thought out, but not overly descriptive. The author was honest and realistic. The writing was down to earth and a pleasure to read. I would seriously urge anyone who has anything to do with the guide dog community to read this. It will increase knowledge and understanding for puppy raisers, handlers, GDMI applicants, other staff, and even the general public. I really really enjoyed this read!”

 

You can also review a synopsis here: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/53548729

 

To help keep us in touch and encourage conversations in the virtual world, we’ve created a new email list serve just for the Guide Dog Book Club community. That’s right, we have a list serve dedicated to our book discussions. Please check it out.

 

To subscribe to the list, send a blank email to guidedogbookclub+subscribe@groups.io. Or request an invitation to be sent to your inbox by emailing guidedogbookclub@gmail.com.

 

We can’t wait to share more information with you, so get those people-paws tapping on your computer or smart phone and sign up! We would also appreciate it if you could share this announcement with other guide dog handlers, puppy raisers, GDMIs, guide dog program staff and family and friends who support the partnership between human and guide dog.

 

Please let us know if you have any questions. Until we chat again, happy reading and wagging,

 

Guiding Eyes Graduate Council

gebgradcouncil@gmail.com

 

 

News Flash 🦮 big Yellow Dog Retires

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs pets and people writing

 

Bailey, my second Guiding Eyes dog guide, has hung up the harness. He is now the senior adopted dog of house Chiappetta and for him, at least the change is good. It’s a push and pull of relief and regret for the humans, though. But hey, he’s almost eleven, has bounced back from lung cancer and enjoys napping in the sun in his new back yard.

 

Yellow lab Bailey one year old standing at the shor in Maine

Yellow lab bailey posed with blue skies and clouds in the background.

We met in 2015 and during the second week of class I returned home with a serious case of RSV. A month later, when we reunited, he flew into my lap and nibbled my cheek as if to say, “Finally, we’re together again!”

 

Our first year was exciting and focused. His energy and love of working became infectious. He approached it all with curiosity and confidence. This is his best trait. The most difficult one to control is his scavenging and I hope his successor is not as intense in this category.

 

He is a great swimmer, doesn’t play fetch, drools profusely waiting for his meals and tolerates our cats with quiet dignity. He loves learning new tricks and learned to roll over, spin and  balance a treat on his nose.

 

Amusing quirks:

  • When he barks, which isn’t often, he scares himself.
  • When exiting a vehicle in a new location he needs a moment to scent the air before moving on.
  • Loves to sleep under my desk
  • Expresses impatience by sighing like a person
  • Walks on the tips of his toes and spreads out his toes when excited.
  • Air licks if he can’t get to your face.

 

The most significant saves while working were clearing us from a dangling wire hanging from the ceiling in an office building and a utility wire laying on a sidewalk. Avoiding e-scooters more than once while crossing a street. Plus numerous traffic checks on the block leading to my former office building .

Annie with pink mask and Bailey close up

Ann and Bailey on bench: Both looking straight on

 

Doggone Good

By Ann                                                                             Chiappetta

 

Good dog

Guide dog

Love what you do

Cool dog

Goofy boy

So much respect for you

 

Yellow dog

Poochie-poo

with a big brown nose

 

Steps out,

Nostrils flared

Catching

Air-scented code.

 

Guide dog

Good dog

There’s so much we do

In you

There is acceptance

loyalty

My moods don’t have you fooled

 

Big dog

Bigger heart

Grateful to be a pair

Stepping out

I want to shout

I trust in your care.

 

Good Dog

Guide dog

My heart is full

Love you

To the moon and back.

Glad to be matched with you.

 

 

As with the retirement of my first dog, Verona, I am posting my call for a new canine partner. My needs have changed over the past ten years yet the drive to be independent has become stronger as I age. I am cognizant the next dog will most likely be the last guide dog for me. Here’s to the next potential partnership and adventure.

 

Situation Wanted

A sixty-something white female who just happens to be blind is seeking a highly motivated working dog. If you are a Labrador retriever and are willing to work with me, please read the job requirements. Only serious applicants need apply.

Males preferred but will consider a female if all other character and personality traits are met.

  1. Height: over 20inches; weight: 75 lbs. Color: no preference.
  2. I am a moderate walker, use a support cane and travel in all modes of transportation. This includes paratransit vans and public buses. I also fly at least once a year and ride passenger trains. I stay in hotels and motels. I visit cities and live in the suburbs. I shop and attend social gatherings and meetings.
  3. My new partner must be experienced in offering a kind and gentle nose to other furry critters including cats and guinea pigs and other dogs as well as children. You will be filling the paws of my current partner, who is retired. He has been an amazing worker, friend, and part of our family for over ten years.

If you have read these requirements and feel that you have the right combination of breed, personality, manners, strength, adaptability, affection, drive, and possess intelligent disobedience skills, and wish to work with a human who will trust and love you the best she can, please send your contact information to Ann Chiappetta, Care of: Guiding Eyes for the Blind 611 Granite springs Road, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

Yello lab Bailey age 10 laying on his side in the grass in our new back yard enjoying his retirement.

 

 

 

A DNR for My Dog Guide? 😨🦮

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs pets and people Relationships

Whoa, pups and people, first of all, this is not a shock jock kind of post. It is my attempt to express the feelings and observations during the events of the past three weeks. We are all okay, so it is safe to keep reading.

🦮

Bailey, my 75 lb. yellow lab raised and trained by Guiding Eyes for the Blind, was diagnosed with a tumor in his lung. It was discovered in a routine vet visit and I am so grateful for the  staff veterinarian at Guiding Eyes for  listening to me and ordering the Xray and referring us to Animal Medical Center in New York City for  a CT and needle biopsy confirming the diagnosis.

 

We are now waiting for the surgery date  to remove it. During the examination of the CT scan/biopsy procedure authorization, I read the DNR clause. It said CPR would be administered unless directed otherwise by the owner. Of course I wanted lifesaving procedures to be performed, my dog  is showing very little symptoms and isn’t ready to check out.

 

I stopped, thinking, OH, shoot, a DNR? And it hit me just how serious this was and  how sick my sweet 9.7-year-old lab really is. He showed only a mild cough after playing and slowing down a little when we were out and about. I’m not sure why but  Bailey’s diagnosis brought me back to our Mom’s lung cancer and the mind-numbing period of time during her surgeries and treatments. Because of the consultations and  speaking with medical oncologists during our Mom’s illness, I believe I have a better grasp of Bailey’s chances and risk factors. I am not saying a dog is the same as a person, but I am thinking that Mom’s passing provided insight and strength for me and my husband to be better equipped to handle whatever comes after Bailey’s upcoming surgery and convalescence. Then again, maybe I am saying a life is worth fighting for, human or non-human.  Mom did not differentiate among two or four-footed family, and neither will I.

yellow lab Bailey in our livingroom

 

 

 

 

Remembering Verona 2006 – 2020  🦮

| Filed under Guide dogs pets and people Relationships

 

It’s January, a month of memories.  I look back upon those who have died and I also look forward to keeping them close to my heart through recalling the special times we’ve shared together. My Dad, Bob, and his being a neat freak and a talented carpenter and mechanic and lover of nature. I also recall my mother-in-law, Carol and  the way she loved my kids and feeling blessed I survived her erratic  driving and feeling relieved  I did not have to see  the close calls because I am blind. 😓😱 .

 

Although we lost both my Dad and Carol in successive January  dates, both on the sixteenth of the month, I want to also celebrate the life of another family member, my first guide dog.

 

In  January 2009 I met and trained with my first guide dog, Verona and this post is being written and shared to honor her life. I am fortunate to be part of the Guiding Eyes graduate community and because of it I take part in  occasional grief and bereavement  Zoom meetings.  We share how much our dogs mean to us, the bond  of trust and love and how much they mean to us even after they die. I always feel better after one of these meetings because I spent the time with other handlers who understand the lifetime bond developed with these incredible dogs and the indelible  imprint they have upon our hearts.

 

Here is one of my favorite stories about Verona, a sweet sixty lb. black lab. My husband, Jerry, took over her care and handling once I retired her and submitted my application for a successor dog. She was seven years old and  full of energy but she developed  cysts in her eyes and it began effecting her ability to guide me. One day Jerry took her upstate     during turkey hunting season. She was a great field dog and not a bit gun shy. He set up the blind, telling Verona to lay down. He soon shot the turkey and  got out of the blind, saying “Let’s go get it!” and Verona ran out of the blind and ran for the turkey,  grabbing it’s neck.  He asked her to let go and she did but  kept trying to grab it. After he called me and told me the story, I laughed and   between giggles, said, “Well,  you told her to go get it and she’s a lab, what did you expect?”

 

Verona lived a great life, succumbing to old age in February 2020 at age 14.  I could not have had a better first guide dog and  since  walking our first  route together I haven’t  looked back. Thanks, sweet girl for being able to give me back my independence.

If you want to read more about our adventures, pick up my memoir,

Follow Your Dog a Story of Love and Trust .

 

close up of Black lab with snow sprinkled on her nose and head. She is looking at the camera with large, brown inquisitive eyes.

close up of Black lab with snow on her face

One Dog’s Life 🦮 💖

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs writing

Second place winner! this essay will be in the December 2022 issue of the National Federation of the Blind’s  Writer’s Division Literary magazine, Slate and Style.

 

One Dog’s Life

 

2011

 

Verona and my daughter play in the lake for an hour. the funniest thing is the way Verona blows water from her mouth after dropping the stick. It makes a loud, spitting sound that can be heard from the patio.

 

When the assorted waterfowl horde realizes she is visiting, it waddles   in masse from grass to the lake weeds beside the dock. Labrador nose dilates, a front paw lifts, instincts override even an offer of a cookie. for just a little while she is the retriever, the soft-mouthed hunting companion, not a guide dog.

 

Each and every year we have together is a blessing, a time for me to feel unfettered. I try to think back on the way life was before training with Verona but my mind veers from those dark moments and I let them go. We are here, being warmed by the late afternoon sun. We are dog and woman, partners for however long time and fate permit.

2013

Four humans and two dogs fill the little red sedan. I sit in front, along with Mom, who is driving. In the back seat, Music’s furry butt crushes my sister, who, until now has suffered in silence.

“Thank God it’s a short ride,” I hear her mumble from somewhere behind us.

 

We reach our destination, extract ourselves from the little red sedan. Verona’s excitement is palpable. Once inside the gate, loose dogs run up to us, but I make her ignore them and sit until I’m ready. With a word she’s off. We claim a bench in the warm California sun. moments later Verona lopes by us, a pack of dogs giving chase. I listen for the pack to turn back and run past us again, Verona in the lead.

 

California 2013

Pebbles and shells litter the meandering path to the beach. The air resonates with surf and sea birds. I release Verona and she lopes off, nose to the ground

 

Music, my sister’s Golden Retriever, chases Verona into the water. As she turns to give chase, a huge wave crashes down and for a moment she is engulfed, Sucked away by green sea and foam. my heart skips a beat in arrested panic; The wave spits her out onto the beach and she runs to me, weaves in-between my legs and soaks my pants. I look like incontinence has gotten the best of me.  Thereafter, Verona avoids the waves and prefers a safer splash in the wet sand and tidal pools instead.

 

It’s important that Verona has the opportunity to be a dog; so much responsibility is put upon her when waring the harness, it seems that this is the best way to let her know.   As she digs a hole in the sand and flops down to dry off, my heart is content because she is doing just what she’s supposed to be doing, living a dog’s life.

close up of Black lab with snow sprinkled on her nose and head. She is looking at the camera with large, brown inquisitive eyes.

close up of Black lab with snow on her face

 

 

 

Stepping In It 💩

| Filed under Guide dogs Poem

I thought I’d share a slice of life with our best friends.

Poo on a shoe

By Ann Chiappetta

 

 

The day began in good faith and plan

Rising at six a.m.

Busy with brewing dark roast

coffee aroma disguising the odiferous

Tang of poo

Deposited   along my route to the office

Unknowingly I cam across it

And tracked the goop hither and yon

And blithely carried on

 

It was the second time that did it

My sneaker stepped in the middle

Of the big pile with a   squelch

And  , slip and slide

Then the smell arrived.

 

Dog shit on my best Merrills

And stuck in this muck

What was I going to do?

I, of course yelled down the hall for my husband

And as we coordinated the clean-up

With gagging and nose plugs

He said,

“Honey, why did it have to be you?”

Dedicated to the family dogs, Bailey and May

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ann M. Chiappetta, M.S.

Making Meaningful ConnectionsThrough Media

914.393.6605 USA

Anniecms64@gmail.com

All things Annie: www.annchiappetta.com

 

 

Reactions like this are Real

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Relationships

We walked into the holiday party. I was already anticipating a good time with friends after the imposed bouts of social isolation as a result of Covid.

 

We were greeted and directed to our table by a pleasant staff person. Bailey, my guide dog, was excited to see our good friends and greeted one of them. I pulled out my chair, settled my coat and bag and asked Bailey to lay down under the table when the two women to my right became hysterical upon noticing him.

“I can’t stay here, the dog will eat all my food,” and “That dog is going to bite me,” and “I can’t relax with that dog so close,”.

My heart sunk and I put on the blank face.  The face that tries to hide the disappointment and frustration brought on by ignorance and fear of my guide dog by others.

 

My friend tells them the dog won’t do that, it’s trained. Still they go on and I feel the anxiety build. Will I have to leave? I do my best to ignore them, but one person continued to go on about “that dog, will bite me,” “I can’t stay here with that dog,”, etc.

I grope for my water glass and wait it out.

I don’t want to be here, don’t want to eat, I feel like these people just stole it all from me.  I almost got up to leave, was close to tears but I refused to let them see me cry. I had a right to be there, too, and because I am blind, my guide dog did, too.

 

a person sitting on the other side of our table spoke to the person who was now almost yelling about “that dog,” — and quieted them.   It took me some time to refocus on my meal and my friends. My guide dog curled up for a nap under the table.

The rest of the afternoon was fun thanks to a stranger who knew how to handle another stranger’s fear of dogs.

 

The thing is even though I stayed quiet, I was angry. Being subjected to reactions like this, while infrequent, still happen and still affect me in a powerful way. I felt confused and hurt by their reactions.    I hope they will remember how “that woman with the dog,” kept her cool and shared a meal. I hope they will one day understand how much it cost me personally to shelf the feelings and get past their outburst.

Annie with pink mask and Bailey close up

Ann and Bailey on bench: Both looking straight on

 

 

Artificial Divide Anthology

| Filed under blindness Fiction Guide dogs

Hi readers, check out a new #OwnVoice anthology by authors with visual impairment, the first anthology to include one of my short stories plus over twelve other authors. Read the description and you will understand why it’s a pivotal collection. Thanks to Robert Kingett and Randy Lacey for making it possible, along with Renaissance Press.

I hope you and your friends and colleagues support it by pre-ordering the collection. Thanks for your support, we cannot be a success without readers like you.

Release date is September 15, 2021, order now, why wait?

Artificial Divide Anthology by Renaissance Press

 

Step into a world of rogue screen readers, Braille in fantasy worlds, a friend meeting an acquaintance after several years, and more.

This #OwnVoices anthology features fiction by Blind and visually impaired authors showing readers how they thrive, hurt, get revenge, outsmart bullies, or go on epic adventures. Artificial Divide is an own-voices story collection that captures the many layers of Blindness and, for once, puts visually impaired protagonists in the driver’s seat, letting us glimpse their lives.

When we think about it, we’re not really divided. Stories by Eunice Cooper-Matchett, Anita Haas, Rebecca Blaevoet, Tessa Soderberg, Laurie Alice Eakes, Melissa Yuan, Innes – Jamieson Wolf, Ben Fulton, Felix Imonti, – Niki White, M.

Leona Godin, Ann Chiappetta, Lawrence Gunther, Heather Meares, and Jameyanne Fuller. Artificial Divide book cover, featuring bold white letters on a black background. A rolling cane tip slashes through the title diagonally, from the top left to the bottom right. Each I has a round cane tip replacing the dot

 

Links for preordering the paperback, eBook and Audio formats

https://tinyurl.com/b8mk6wxb

 

https://tinyurl.com/s2tz367e

 

Acrostic Poem for Guiding Eyes

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem writing

Hello all-

It’s always a pleasure to put my writing and performing skills to good use, like when helping out Guiding Eyes for the Blind www.guidingeyes.org . Here’s  something I wrote to help them out.

Hi my name is Ann Chiappetta and I am a Guiding Eyes graduate.

I’d like to share what Guiding Eyes means to me

In the form of an acrostic poem.

Guide dog mobility instructors who are the best in the business

Unparalleled   and internationally recognized brood and stud program

Increased independence

Doggone bestest puppy program

Excellent follow up services for graduates and their dogs

 

Developing programs for athletes

, active older adults, and people with additional disabilities

Organization who believes in the potential of it’s clients

Graduates like me who

are recipients of

confident, capable  and loving canine partners.

Thanks for listening.

Click here for the audio:

 

 

 

 

A Match in March

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs

 

This post is for my best friend and buddy, Bailey. He’s full of heart and  has cream colored fur. He’s got a big head and beautiful brown eyes. People say his face is puppy like and his big brown nose and ears make him look both regal and goofy depending on the situation. He is a 75 lb. yellow lab from Guiding Eyes for the Blind. His first family and puppy raiser are from Maine. He loves to swim and play.

 

He loves my hubby and daughter and shares our home with another dog, two cats and two guinea pigs. Last night the cat curled up beside him, it’s paw on his back. 🐾

He’s kept me safe and guided me through so much in life and has been there during some of the darkest moments of it.

 

The unconditional regard of a dog for it’s partner is felt and expressed through the ebb and flow of life and I will do my best not to take this for granted because it is a gift to be honored, cherished and earned.

Here’s to 6 years together, Bailey.

This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative. yellow lab Bailey in our livingroom