ABOUT US
Sara Conrad, EditorSara Conrad is a 2018 J.D. (Juris Doctor) candidate at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She holds a Bachelor's degree in special education from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sara enjoys writing and editing advocacy blogs and has a beautiful dog from the Seeing Eye named Renee. Sara created Seeing Life Together in February 2015 upon receiving Renee in an effort to educate the public about guide dogs. She now edits and manages the blog for the same purpose.
Writers
Adele from Ontario
My name is Adele Rousselle-Farough. I have been either totally blind or visually impaired all my life. My current mobility aid of choice is a guide dog, specifically, a female yellow back cross named Mimi, from The Seeing Eye. She is my fifth dog.
I am currently a retired public servant and musician. I had many different positions when I worked for the federal government of Canada, including switchboard operator, word processor operator, teacher of English as second language, editor, writer, and official languages policy officer. In my life as a musician, I have done everything from playing accordion in a Klezmer group to classical singing. Right now, my current musical activity consists of functioning as a classical pianist. I live in Ottawa Ontario, the capital of Canada. I graduated from Carleton University with a bachelor of arts (B.A.) and a bachelor of music (B.Mus.).
Andrea from Oregon
I suffer from a very rare auto immune eye condition that has taken the vision in one eye and left the other eye legally blind with some blind and white spots all over. I have been a white cane user for 6 years... and always hated it. I should have been cane trained way before that.. but i was not ready. I have been working my first guide Dog Bali, like the island, from Guide Dogs for the Blind for less than a year. We live in a small town in Oregon, but go into bigger towns almost daily. I am currently working towards starting my own business helping the low vision, but for right now i volunteer a lot and enjoy walks with my girl. I am a mother if a 16 year old daughter... and an other mother to a guinea pig. I have been blog writing for years about my battle with my eye condition, my chemo treatment for my eyes, and now my adventures and Life as a Guide Dog Team.Annie from New York
Hi folks, my name is Annie C. and I am a poet and writer living in New York’s lower Hudson Valley. I have been working guide dogs since 2009, being matched with an intelligent and sweet black lab named Verona at age 40-something. I have since retired her and now I am partnered with Bailey, a lively yellow lab. I have published two books, FOLLOW YOUR DOG A STORY OF LOVE AND TRUST and UPWELLING: POEMS. I devote much of my free time editing and fencing pieces for other online journals and magazines. I write a guide dog handler column for the Consumer Vision Magazine; my poetry book has been reviewed in Dialogue Magazine, and my work has been featured in the online disability journal, Breath and Shadow, among others.I love being a writer, it satisfies the Muse within and I hope you enjoy my writing. I write about the human-dog relationship and hope that sharing this beautiful and special partnership will promote understanding and acceptance about blindness and working dogs.
My personal website is www.annchiappetta.com and my personal blog is www.thought-wheel.com
Ashley from North Carolina
My name is Ashley. I’m from North Carolina. I enjoy reading, writing and music. Landon, my guide dog, and I have been a team for about eight years. We enjoy traveling together. We’ve been to various places including spending some time at college where I pursed a degree in special education. Now, I’m doing more writing and working on building my business. I look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone.Aziza from Colorado
My name is Aziza Rodriguez, and I am happy to serve as the human half of an amazing team, led by female Yellow Labrador Marna. In the years since we were matched by Guide Dogs for the Blind, we have shared many adventures and laughs. We’ve made our home in the state of Colorado, with my boyfriend of several years, where we work and play with equal enthusiasm. I work as a Home Health Aid and Child Care Provider, where I strive to make a difference in people’s everyday lives and development. When not working, I do my best to share the insight I have gained by going through life without sight, both before and after I met my guide. With Marna as my eyes and confidence booster, we have visited amusement parks, different states, concerts and plays, activist marches, museums and zoos. By sharing our experiences, I hope to educate others about service dogs, our rights, and the true difference one of these amazing dogs makes in their human’s lives. I have written for various school and local newspapers in the past, and have completed a number of freelance writing assignments. I am most excited to be a part of a collaborative project that aims to outline the importance and differences between emotional support and service animals, as well as raise funds for those unable to manage emergency vet care for their companions.
Blaise from New York
I live in Albany, NY with my seeing eye dog Flash; a five-year-old black lab who’s been my best friend for the past 3+years. I have a BA in Communications with a focus in Journalism from The College of Saint Rose in Albany. Currently, I work at a local Independent Living Center as an Advocate and Employment Specialist. The ultimate goal is to be on the radio; though Flash might just take my show away from me like a treat from my hand. We do a frequent amount of traveling; using the city bus system and the train for getaways. We’re looking forward to being a part of the blog, and reading from our fellow humans and pups.
Bonnie from New Zealand
Bonnie Mosen is a Georgia Peach, who has had the privilege of living all over the South and East Coast of the United States. While living in Boston, she fell in love with a Kiwi man and was whisked off to Wellington, New Zealand with three humongous suitcases, two laptops, and her Seeing eye dog. Bonnie has a background in public relations, having worked for The Seeing Eye—providing educational outreach, articles for its publications, and media relations. One of her most memorable moments was being interviewed by a muppet type creature for a children’s tv show. She has also worked as a vocational rehabilitation counsellor. In 2015, she wrote a book on job seeking skills for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Bonnie is a partner in Mosen Consulting www.mosen.org, and provides web content writing for clients. A lifelong horsewoman, Bonnie edits and writes two equestrian newsletters and has contributed articles on the equine industry. She serves as publicity officer for Romance Writers of New Zealand and one day hopes to finish a romance novel. Bonnie’s been a Seeing Eye graduate since 1990 and is attached to a still very active ten yo black Labrador, Lizzie. Together they enjoy traveling, snuggling, and searching for the best coffee shop in the southern hemisphere. She is excited to be a part of the Seeing Life Together team and has a special interest in advocacy, emotional aspects of working a dog, and sharing humorous stories.
Brittni from Ontario
Born in the West-Indies and raised in Canada, Brit Williams is no stranger to travel. She was a freelance artist for a number of years before pushing illustration on the back burner due to her increasingly poor vision and chronic illnesses. Since being paired with her second dog, a multipurpose service dog, a beautiful Golden Retriever named Xia, she has embraced this new found freedom and independence.Brit now travels frequently all over Canada and the USA, attending events conferences and leisurely with confidence. Without Xia, her quality of life would not have blossomed into what it is today.
Crystal from Pennsylvania
My name is Crystal Lynn, and I’m thrilled to be part of Seeing Life Together. I’m working my second dog from The Seeing Eye, named Eddie.I have a BA in English, an M.Ed. in English education, and an MA inEnglish literature. Writing is my passion, and so are guide dogs. Ilook forward to writing for all of you!Dimitrios from Texas
My name is Dimitrios Kouniaris. I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana but I currently live in Austin, Texas. I have a guide dog. Her name is Ms. Margery as I like to say. I got her from Guide Dogs for the Blind in November of 2013. Since that time Margery and I have been on many adventures. We have even gotten the opportunity to travel to Chios Greece. Our most recent adventure was back in July! Margery, and I visited Niagara Falls! We are always going on new adventures and letting the good times roll!I am majoring in hospitality specializing in hotel, and restaurant management. My dream is to open a resort either here in the United States or maybe in Greece. I also love advocating for equal access. That is another passion of mine. I have written many speeches for the Greek Orthodox Oratorical Festival in New Orleans, and I am constantly writing speeches for my classes that I am currently enrolled in, and that I have completed.
Outside of school, and advocating I like to hang out with friends, and when it is football season I thoroughly enjoy both college, and NFL football. I also enjoy cooking and discovering new places! I am looking forward to bringing my perspective to this blog and sharing my experiences!
Jenna from New Jersey
Although Jenna has been legally blind since birth, she went to The Seeing Eye for the first time in May of 2017. There she was paired with a beautiful, young, and sassy German Shepard named Flo. It was love at first touch. When Jenna called Flo’s name, Flo came running into the room giving Jenna lots of kisses. Since that fateful day, Jenna and Flo have been inseparable; they’ve traveled to Philly, explored college campuses, and walked dozens and dozens of miles together. Now that these two are a guide dog team, there is nothing Jenna cannot do.
Kaitlyn from Kansas
Hi Everyone! I am Kaitlyn and my partner in crime, formally known as my Seeing Eye Dog, is a black tan and cream-colored German Shepherd named Olga. We have been working together for just over 5 years, and she just celebrated her 8 th birthday on the 10 th of February. We have lived in Manhattan, Kansas since January 2013, and like it most days.A bit more about me... I lost most of my functional vision when I was 9 years old due to a combination of things, but mostly my eye condition. It is rare, and most have never heard of it, so if anyone wants to know, I can make it a separate post later. I am now getting ready to graduate college and then turn 28. I have a certificate in Conflict Resolution, and will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Family studies and Human Services with a minor in Conflict Analysis and Trauma Studies. After this, I am taking a year off school and plan to work and hopefully find a part time internship. I also plan to take the GRE, Graduate Record Exam, and apply to graduate schools. I want to get a masters in Couples and Family Therapy, and eventually specialize in areas such as Sex Therapy, trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and possibly a few others. I look forward to writing and hearing from others. Good-bye for now.
Katherine from Wisconsin
Katherine Schneider, Ph.D. is a retired clinical psychologist living in Eau Claire, WI with her ninth Seeing Eye dog. Katherine has published a memoir To the Left of Inspiration: Adventures in Living with Disabilities, a children’s book Your Treasure Hunt: Disabilities and Finding Your Gold and a book for seniors, half of whom will develop disabilities, Occupying Aging: Delights, Disabilities and Daily Life. She originated the Schneider Family Book Awards for children’s books with disability content through the American Library Association and an award for superior journalism about disability issues through the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.Locally, she started the Access Eau Claire fund through the Eau Claire Community Foundation to help non-profit organizations work toward full inclusion of people with disabilities. She’s a passionate advocate for access for all to the good things of life. Subscribe to her blog http://kathiecomments.wordpress.com for details.
Patty from Tennessee
Hello: I am Patty L. Fletcher. Self-Published Author of: Campbell’s Rambles: How a Seeing Eye Dog Retrieved My Life, Bubba Tails From the Puppy Nursery At The Seeing Eye, and two short-stories, Rescued and Bubba Tails: Wish of the Wee Golden, published in two anthologies, who’s information can be found at the links shown below. I am the owner ofTell-It-To-The-World Marketing, where we support talented authors, as well as successful business owners in their marketing, by marrying social media, with more traditional approaches, and I write full-time as well. I'm a single mother with a beautiful daughter, of whom I am very proud. I have a great son-in-law and five beautiful grandchildren. Three girls, and two boys. I hope to be able to write more about them later on. I own and handle a Black Labrador from The Seeing Eye™ named Campbell Lee—a.k.a. Bubba Lee or King Campbell, to give just a couple of his nicknames. Currently, I live and work in Kingsport, Tenn. I used to work for CONTACT-CONCERN of Northeast Tennessee, Inc. I left that position in order to spend time with family and pursue my writing full time. Having had many interesting and at times challenging adventures since coming home with Campbell who is my first ever guide, I hope to both educate and entertain by sharing my writing here at: Seeing Life Together.
To see all my work please visit: http://campbellsworld.wordpress.com/And: https://www.amazon.com/Patty-L.-Fletcher
December Awethology Light https://www.books2read.com/u/3yPZvB
A Treasure Chest of Children’s Tales https://www.books2read.com/u/bzaAML
Shea from Tennessee
Shea Welch is a writer and musician in Nashville, TN. From poetry to articles to fictional stories, Shea has written all her life. She currently co-writes a series of fantasy books with her sister, and enjoys contributing work to various blogs and organizations on a regular basis. As seems appropriate given her interest in fantasy, she notes that, “Writing is a sort of magic. One minute, there’s a blank screen that means nothing, and the next, there are letters and words and whole pages of meaning that bring things into existence that never would have been otherwise.”
Shea loves to use that magic to share her life and faith on her personal blog at OpportunityUnleashed.com
She feels passionate about educating others about blindness and guide dogs. Her Guiding Eyes labradors, Oleta and Prim have both been prominent inspirations for her writing and Shea is glad to continue this tradition at “Seeing Life Together”.
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