Advocacy at The Seeing Eye

06/10/2026

A bill sponsored by Senator Anthony M. Bucco requiring employer training on rights related to service dogs has advanced in committee. The measure aims to ensure equal access for people with disabilities accompanied by service animals. Bucco has previously worked on similar initiatives supporting gui...

06/10/2026

06/09/2026

And they’re off! 🚴✨

The Pedal for Puppies journey has officially begun! Jim, Glenn, and Victor are currently off on the first leg of the coast-to-coast journey that has been dedicated to support our mission and honor Jim’s late brother, John, and his Seeing Eye dog, Hero.

Pedals for Puppies has opportunities for you to join in on the fun! Whether you opt to ride your own way, start a fundraiser, share your journey, or join in along the route or at celebratory events, you will be considered a part of the team!

Learn more at https://seeingeye.org/you-can-help/events/pedalforpuppies/

P.S. If you want to really get in on the action, join the Pedal for Puppies group 👉 https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1GqcqJ3bp8/

PD: The three riders of the coast-to-coast Pedal for Puppies ride, Glenn Morse, Jim Freiss, and Victor Fassano, pose with their bikes before their hotel.

06/09/2026

Guide Dog Etiquette: Why You Should Never Pet a Working Guide Dog 🐾

When you see a guide dog wearing its harness, it is on the job.

While it can be tempting to say hello to these friendly dogs, petting, talking to, or distracting a working guide dog can take its attention away from an important task. A momentary distraction could cause the dog to miss an obstacle, overlook a curb, or lose focus while guiding its handler safely.

Here are a few ways you can support guide dog teams:

✅ Speak to the handler, not the dog
✅ Give the team plenty of space to move safely
✅ Never offer food or treats to a working dog
✅ Ask permission before interacting with the dog when it is not working

Guide dogs work hard to help their handlers travel safely and independently. Respecting their space helps them do their job successfully.

The best way to show a guide dog love is to let it work.

06/05/2026

We recently returned to Trenton to testify on New Jersey Senate Bill 533, which “Concerns training of employees about access to public facilities for individuals with service or guide dogs.”

Thank you to Senator Jim Beach and Senator Anthony M. Bucco for their sponsorship of this important bill and all of those who worked so hard to strengthen and move it forward.

Educating employees of public facilities, including restaurants, stores, transportation, and more, is the first and most important step toward protecting the rights of guide and service dog handlers to equal access. The bill also aims to support employees of public facilities by helping them identify what is, and is not, a guide or service animal. https://www.senatenj.com/m/newsflash/home/detail/1164

We look forward to its continued progress through the legislature.

PD: 1 - Dave Johnson, Seeing Eye Director of Advocacy and Government Relations, and Melissa Allman, Seeing Eye Senior Specialist of Advocacy and Government Relations, sit together at a wooden desk as they testify.

2 - Dave and Melissa stand outside the New Jersey State House. Melissa's yellow Lab Seeing Eye dog sits beside her.

06/05/2026

New Jersey Assemblywoman Marisa Sweeney paid a visit to our Morris Township campus and was pleased to learn about who we are and what we are doing in her hometown.

We appreciated her time and her genuine interest in the work we are doing to advocate for the rights of guide dog handlers in New Jersey.

PD: Dave Johnson, Director of Advocacy and Government Relations, Melissa Allman, Senior Specialist, Advocacy and Government Relations, and Assemblywoman Marisa Sweeney stand together in the lobby of The Seeing Eye's Main House.

05/26/2026

Thank you for This important legal advocacy on an issue that is of the upmost importance to our community . 

We filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s abrupt delay of critical website accessibility features designed to ensure blind people and people with other disabilities can access essential government and healthcare services online.

“For over fifty years, our laws—specifically Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act— have promised blind Americans and other Americans with disabilities equal access to all areas of life, including digital spaces and services. Yet today this promise remains unfulfilled, and now our government is compounding the outrage by asking us to wait even longer,” said President Riccobono. “We will not wait. We will fight to ensure that the promise of America’s laws, and indeed its founding documents, finally becomes reality for blind and disabled Americans.”

Read the full press release: https://buff.ly/RuMalz9

05/22/2026