In This Edition
Are your Details Up To Date
A Bit of Humour: Guide Dogs
From Our Reflections Page- Talk about Dogs Behaving Badly
Retirement- Our time came to an end – Scott N
Report your Dog Guide refusal
For Your Viewing Pleasure –From Guide Dogs Australia
Point to Point Commissioner NSW
Last Words.
Disclaimer:
A Message from the Editor
Welcome to the spring 2022 edition of the DGHA Newsletter.
 You will notice a few changes, as to the set out of the newsletter.
 Hope you find the information in this newsletter helpful and enjoyable.
 Feedback is important, to ensure the newsletter is successful.
Contributions from members and those with an interest in Dog Guides is essential to ensure the newsletter can continue. 
Please send any stories, article or ideas to newsletter@dgha.org.au .
 Let’s make the DGHA Newsletter great together.

Dog Guide Handlers Australia 2023 Conference - Save The Date!!
The next DGHA conference will be held on 5 and 6 August in Brisbane!  
Planning is well underway and we'll be sharing more information in the next few months. Watch this space!

Who are we?
Dog Guide Handlers Australia (DGHA) is a national association which provides a voice for Australians who are blind or vision impaired, and who are dog guide handlers.
DGHA is an independent association of dog guide handlers, and is not affiliated with any dog guide school.
DGHA strives to foster, represent, promote, enhance and protect the interests of Australians who are blind or vision impaired, and who are dog guide handlers.
DGHA draws on the experiences and varied knowledge of its members, to provide peer support, systemic advocacy and information to dog guide users throughout Australia.
What are the benefits of becoming a member of DGHA?
Life time member one-off joining fee
Unite your voice with other dog guide users and have a say to service providers 
Share your experiences as a dog guide handler and learn from other handlers
Join in 3 monthly online meetings to chat and enjoy presentations from experts on topics all about dog guides 
Take part in the DGHA bi annual conference 
Are your Details Up To Date
Have you changed your address?
Have you changed your email address? 
Have you changed your phone number? 
Have you updated your dog guide details? 
If you answer yes to any of the above details shoot us an email, providing us those updates. Email us at dgha@dgha.org.au

R U OK Day – Thursday 8 September 2022.
A conversation can change a life.
R U Ok inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with the people around then and start a conversation with those in their world who may be struggling with life.
Use these 4 steps and have a conversation that could change a life.
1.	Ask are you Ok?
2.	Listen
3.	Encourage action
4.	Check In.
Got a feeling that someone you know or care about it isn’t behaving normally would? Perhaps they seem out of sorts? More agitated or withdrawn? Or they are just not themselves. Trust gut instinct and act on it.
By starting a conversation and commenting on the changes you’ve noticed, you could help that family member, friend or workmate open up. If they say they are not Ok, you can follow our conversation steps to show them they’re supported and help them find strategies to better manage the load. If they are Ok, that person will know you’re someone who cares enough to ask.
 For more information visit https://www.ruok.org.au/how-to-ask 
A Bit of Humour: Guide Dogs
Two guys were out walking their dogs on a hot day when they pass by a bar. The first guy says, “Let’s go in there for a pint.”
The second guy says, “They won’t let us in with our dogs.”
First guy: “Sure they will, just follow my lead.”
He goes up to the pub, and sure enough, the bouncer says, “I can’t let you in here with that dog.”
He replies, “Oh, I’m blind and this is my guide dog.”
The bouncer says, “Ok then, and come on in.”
The second guy sees this and does the same thing. The bouncer says, “You can’t come in here with a dog.”
He replies, “I’m blind and this is my guide dog.”
The bouncer responds, “You have a Chihuahua for a guide dog?”
The second guy exclaims, “They gave me a Chihuahua?”
From Our Reflections Page- Talk about Dogs Behaving Badly
I had just graduated with my Seeing Eye Dog, and was visiting family for the weekend.
On going to bed, I removed my artificial eyes, carefully wrapped them in a tissue, and placed them neatly on the bedside table.
In the morning, I reached out for the eyes, only to find them missing. Picture myself, and my wife, both of us blind, crawling around on the floor on our hands and knees, searching for the eyes.
We noticed my seeing eye dog proudly parading around the room, head and tail held high, with a triumphant gleam in his eyes, as much as if to say, “You can stop looking, I found them!”
My dog approached me, and pushed his face against mine. I put out my hand to find his cheek with suspicious bulges, much like a squirrel hiding nuts in his cheek. I stuck my finger in the dog’s mouth, to discover his tightly clenched teeth, and hooked out a very soggy tissue, and retrieved the eyes, praying that the dog would not swallow.
After that event, we renamed him “Artificial Eye Dog.”
From DGHA member Colin
Retirement- Our time came to an end to soon. – Scott N
I was given a guide dog by guide dogs 2 years ago, it was the best thing that happened to me. 
 I had a pal and a great mate to keep me company at home and get out n about.
Everything was going well with Windsor just shy on 2 years he started to get some bad habits in ways he took me off course and I mean by that he took me off foot paths where he should not have done.
He had anxiety, and when in company of other guide dogs, which happened quite a lot, he had the urge to misbehave with them. Occasionally he could be very lazy, but some days he was a soldier and did his job properly. With some days he wasn’t a guide dog and be completely different.
We tried our best with him, to get him back on track, but nothing worked.
I was pulling my hair out with the issues. I discussed the issues with my Guide Dog instructor and it was decided for Windsor to have a further assessment and go from there.
The assessment didn’t go well, so I left it in guide dogs hands to make a decision.
After a meeting with my trainer and guide dogs it was decided to retire him.
It was a sad day hearing that decision, but a sadder day was to come, Friday 1st April 2002, the date of his retirement.
So now Windsor has gone back to his puppy raisers and is a family dog and appears to have settled in nicely.
Now I’m waiting on a new guide dog. The decision to get another guide dog was not easy. I’ve requested a girl this time with certain conditions and qualities, and this I know means a bit of a wait. Hoping to have her soon 
Scott N 
Report your Dog Guide refusal
Dog Guide Handlers Australia would like to hear from you if you’ve been refused service or access because of your Dog Guide. 
The Dog Guide Handlers Australia (DGHA) board is becoming acutely aware of the need for advocacy around Dog Guide refusals in Australia with continuing reports on social media channels and from members facing refusals to taxi and rideshare services, hospitality venues, accommodation providers and various other businesses and services.
As part of DGHA mission to foster, represent, promote, enhance and protect the interests of Australians who are Dog Guide handlers, they are asking people who use Dog Guides as mobility aids across Australia to share the details of any refusal incidents to support their advocacy work. DGHA aim to capture a detailed picture of the scope of this discrimination problem so that they can address the legislation at Government level.
There are two ways you can report your experience: 
1.	To report individual refusals, please visit the DGHA website and submit the details of your refusal via the Google Form or by emailing a downloadable Word document to DGHA. 
2.	To report your experience of the Dog Guide access problem generally, please continue reading.
The DGHA committee have anecdotal evidence that they may not be capturing the whole picture with individual refusal incident reporting form and would like to invite those who have adapted or found workarounds to frequent Dog Guide-related refusals to tell them how you are managing. The opportunity to share this information will close on Friday 30 September.  
Here are a couple of questions to prompt you to share information that will be useful for them to share with the Disability Royal Commission and other avenues they may take to improve accessibility for Dog Guide Handlers. Please share as much detail as you like. 
1.	What kind of refusals have you experienced? (for example, taxi/rideshare, eatery, accommodation, retail/business, public transport)
2.	What impact have Dog Guide related refusals had on you?
For Your Viewing Pleasure –From Guide Dogs Australia
Below are the links to all 8 episodes of the series “Born To Lead”.
All episodes are audio described.
Born to Lead Audio Described links
Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZf-s0oZGx0&t=19s 
Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtbuEcTYF14 
Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD0HPV9uzxk 
Episode 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l_ZVLPPV3g 
Episode 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUyM92PtMWM 
Episode 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRv6YAKijbQ 
Episode7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOXq8YTYlKs 
Episode 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfZXXEW1h3M 
Point to Point Commissioner NSW
The Point to Point Commissioner covers not only Taxis but also the Ride Share industry
If you have been discriminated against because of your Dog Guide Report the incident. 
There has been a trial of Smart CCTV taking place in the Sydney area of NSW with a number of these cameras in place at various taxi ranks. It would appear that the program will be further rolled out across other taxi ranks.
Will the footage captured be secure? 
The footage captured on Smart CCTV cameras will be securely stored and deleted after 30 days. Footage deemed necessary for investigation will be managed in a secure system by an Authorised Compliance officer in line with current Point to Point Transport Commissioner compliance and privacy policy and procedures.
Can footage captured by taxi rank Smart CCTV cameras be supplied as evidence in court? 
Only original footage that has been deemed necessary for investigation can be accessed according to provisions under NSW privacy laws and specific legislation. All other transferred images captured by Smart CCTV at a taxi rank will be de-identified.
How will the footage captured help to keep the community of NSW safe?
The smart CCTV will provide statistics of travel behaviours including vehicle type, de-identified passenger data and key travel times. The smart CCTV will also capture passenger and driver behaviours such as unsafe drop off and pick up of passengers. With this data, it will be better understood how data derived from Smart CCTV might improve safety outcomes, customer experiences and transport management. This will be done through reducing passenger wait times and optimisation of traffic to help promote better connectivity to and from city centres leading to more efficient passenger journeys, focusing on vehicle safety and compliance
If I know of a taxi rank that could benefit from a Smart CCTV camera, who should I contact?
If you know of a taxi rank that could benefit from the installation of Smart CCTV cameras, please email smart.cctv@transport.nsw.gov.au  stating the location and reason why you feel this taxi rank would benefit.
The Point to Point Commissioner takes complaints very seriously, so it is worth reporting. Report your Dog Guide Refusals online in the first instance.
https://www.pointtopoint.nsw.gov.au/contact-us 
List of Current Smart CTTV Taxi Rank Locations
City - 243-257 George St (Bridge St Light Rail Stop) Sydney	
Castlereagh St, Sydney	
York St & Erskine St, Sydney	
Pitt & Park, Sydney	
Victoria Ave & Railway St Chatswood	
Herring Rd, North of Waterloo Rd, Macquarie Park	
Merrylands Rd & Military Rd, Merrylands	
Sussex St & Sands St, Sydney	
Goulburn St & Pitt St, Sydney	
Dixon St & Goulburn St, Sydney	
Barrack St & Clarence St, Sydney	
111 Sussex St, Sydney	
City - York St - Grace Hotel, Sydney 	
43/57 Goulburn St, Haymarket NSW 2000	
Pitt St, Martin Pl, Sydney	
South Pde, Auburn	
Campbell Pde & Roscoe St, Bondi	
Jane St, Penrith 	
Blacktown Station (4 cameras)	
Market St (opposite Miu Miu), Sydney	
Market St - Sydney Tower	
Belgrave Street, Manly	
Central Station, Sydney	
Frenchs Rd & Willoughby Rd, Willoughby	
Dean St & Kiewa St, Albury	
Dean St & Olive St, Albury	
141 Darby Street (Outside Delaney Hotel), Newcastle	
King St & Darby St, Newcastle	
Extracts for this article have been taken from https://www.pointtopoint.nsw.gov.au/ 
Last Words.
Join DGHA.
Membership of DGHA is in 2 categories. Full Membership: $20.00. Any Australian who is blind or vision impaired, and who is a Dog Guide Handler or Associate Membership: $10.00. Any other person who is sighted, blind or vision impaired, who supports the objectives of DGHA.
If you are not already a member of DGHA and would like to be, please visit our
Website and fill in the accessible form. We welcome full memberships for dog guide handlers and associate memberships from dog guide trainers, puppy raisers and friends and family of dog guide handlers.  The joining page on our website is here:  http://dgha.org.au/dgha/membership/
Sign up for this newsletter.
If you know someone, who might like to receive this newsletter, for example a new dog guide handler, a puppy raiser or your instructor, please send their email address to us (with their permission) by reply email or to dgha@dgha.org.au and we’ll add them to our list.  
Contribute to this newsletter.
we welcome your input into this newsletter.  If you have a story, an idea, a review of a doggy product you love, please contact Bronwyn via the newsletter@dgha.org.au email address to discuss your contribution.  
Dog Guide Handlers Australia.
Email dgha@dgha.org.au
Website www.dgha.org.au
Twitter: @DGHAustralia via https://twitter.com/dghaustralia?lang=en
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/DogGuideHandlersAustralia/
Disclaimer: 
Views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the views of the editor, or DGHA, Any advice is general in nature and should be checked with relevant schools, your vet or other relevant authorities.