Day 1 I flew out to Sacramento on Sunday, with a connection in Salt Lake City. I love Salt Lake City’s airport. So bright, with floor to ceiling windows everywhere which provide the natural sunlight and a view of the mountains surrounding the Salt Lake Valley. Just gorgeous. And, the men’s restroom has a ledge in front of the urinals where a traveler can rest his carry-on luggage without placing it on the floor of the restroom. Brilliant. From Houston to Salt Lake, I sat next to a gentleman named Brad from Kalispell, Montana. Brad works as an announcer for the PBR (Pro Bull Rider) circuit. Wha ..read more

Day 1 Houston to Atlanta to Lexington. Another first for me, as I’ve been through Kentucky, but don’t remember ever staying here.  On the hour drive down to Bardstown, every exit was either a Civil War battlefield, or a bourbon distillery.  This is gonna be a difficult trip… I’m here in Bardstown to work with Jen, who attended O&M training on campus back in September but decided that she would like some assistance in solidifying some routes back home. Jen worked with Hannah, another one of our excellent O&M specialists on campus, so she’s sure to have a strong foundation of s ..read more

Day 1 This was a crazy one, just getting to this day. Long story short, my scheduled trip to western Illinois got cancelled really late. Like three days before I flew out late. I called the lovely ladies on Leader Dog’s client services team and within a day’s time, they had me connected with a gentleman whom had just been approved for services the day before! I gotta tell you, those ladies (Melissa, Laura, Paola, Shadelle, Julianna, Allison, Deena, and Lori) are just great. If any of you reading this need something, need to know something, or need to get something done, call client services. M ..read more

Day 1 I flew into St. Louis this time. Carbondale, IL is about a 2-hour drive from the airport. I had a window seat and had a great view of the Mississippi River, the Arch, and Busch Stadium. It’s a completely different view from the first time I went over the Mississippi toward Busch Stadium. The old Busch Stadium, built during the era of unimaginative, cookie cutter ballparks, all decked out Astroturf. My family were on the last leg of the great American vacation. We’d pulled our Rockwood pop-up camper all the way to Michigan from Texas, and Dad had planned our return trip around a game in S ..read more

Day 1 Travel to north central Florida from Houston means a trip through Atlanta. Connections were all good, the plane train didn’t disappoint, nor did the automated soap dispensers and water faucets in Terminal B. Gainesville is a very small airport, which was refreshing in the fact that it was NOTHING like Atlanta. I’m headed to Gainesville for the week to work with JJ, who is a guide dog user but is looking to shore up her orientation & mobility (O&M) skills as she is contemplating retiring her current dog, Fergie. It’s another week in another town to which I’ve never traveled, which ..read more

Leader Dogs for the Blind today announced the appointment of Melissa Weisse as its new President & Chief Executive Officer, following an extensive, national search process. Weisse will replace Susan Daniels, who in May of 2023 announced her intention to retire.  Weisse is an industry-respected nonprofit executive with over 20 years of experience in fundraising and senior management leading staff and services that support people who are blind or visually impaired. Weisse has served as the chief philanthropy officer at Leader Dog since 2008. During this time, Weisse has grown total phil ..read more

When asked what they’re most afraid of, a lot of people answer that it’s going blind. In fact, studies and surveys have shown that people are more afraid of vision loss than cancer; stroke; heart disease; loss of hearing, memory, speech, or a limb; or even premature death. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 6 million Americans have vision loss and 1 million are blind. More than 1.6 million Americans with blindness or vision loss today are under the age of 40. The National Eye Institute expects the number of people who are blind to double by 2050. As we age, we are increasingly ..read more

Day 1 I flew out of Dallas instead of my usual airport, Houston, so that I would be closer to my son’s water polo match upon my return. Weird flying out of another airport. I know exactly where everything is in Houston: parking, gates, caffeine, etc. It felt odd, but planes still fly from Dallas, just like they do from Houston and, apparently, the DFW-ers know how to make an automated faucet work. It’s the small things. I flew to Chicago for my connection to Knoxville. The time between flights was very short and the terminals at O’Hare are long. The flight attendant asked everyone with quick t ..read more

Day 1 The trip this time is a little bit different. I’m making a stop in three major Wisconsin cities. I’m flying into Milwaukee, driving to Madison, then to Green Bay. (Just in case you were wondering, the Brewers are out of town, the Badgers haven’t started their season yet, and the Packers are in pre-season training camp. No sports joy for Barry on this trip.) I flew out at a seriously early time so I could get into Madison in time to get a lot of work done before it got too late. I landed in Minneapolis with plenty of time to make my Milwaukee connection, but we sat on the tarmac for thre ..read more

The International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) and Assistance Dogs International (ADI) recently released a joint statement on the ethical training and care of guide and assistance dogs. As a longstanding member of both the IGDF and ADI, Leader Dog adheres to and endorses this statement. We wanted to take this opportunity to reaffirm our own commitment to the highest standards of care for our dogs in and out of the harness. From the moment one of our puppies is born, they receive top-notch veterinary care, proper nutrition and enriching socialization experiences. This foundation sets the stage ..read more