IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                            Contact:  Jean Leier (704) 432-0496

GUIDE DOGS LEARN TO HELP OTHERS RIDE THE BUS

Charlotte, N.C., April 15, 2008 - For hundreds of residents, getting to and from work each day isn't the easy task many of us take for granted.  People from across the Charlotte area who are blind or visually impaired depend on successful partnerships between private and public businesses to help them maintain their independence.  Join the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) and Southeastern Guide Dog Inc. on Saturday, April 19, at 10:00 a.m. as they work together to help familiarize approximately 12 future guide dogs with CATS' Special Transportation Service (STS) buses.  The training will take place at STS, which is located at 545 Spratt Street in Charlotte.

As part of the training, the dogs must guide their owners on and off the bus by positioning themselves by the bus steps and learn how to ride on the lifts used for boarding and unloading passengers.  STS buses will take the dogs and handlers on a trip around the city so the dogs can get comfortable with different vehicles and know where to be inside the bus. 

Since 1982, Southeastern Guide Dog Inc. has provided more than 2,270 professionally trained guide dogs, at no charge, to visually impaired men and women throughout the United States.  Some of the common breeds of guide dogs include Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds.  If you are interested in becoming a puppy raiser for Southeastern Guide Dog Inc., please call 1-800-944-3647 or log onto their website at www.guidedogs.org.

STS provides door-to-door transportation for individuals who are certified as eligible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  In FY2007 STS operated 85 vehicles and provided 228,911 rides.

For more information about CATS and its services, call 704-336-RIDE or visit us on the web at www.ridetransit.org.