DETROIT – Employees at the federal courthouse in downtown Detroit look to their snack shop to take a break and recharge.
But thanks to Craig McGlassion and his black lab, Booker-T, the employees always leave with a smile,too.
McGlassion and his pooch run the snack shop, two doors down from the arraignment room, a place that rarely sees good news. So, the upbeat McGlassion and his friendly lab are a welcome change of pace.
"If you're in a bad mood or have a bad day, you go in there, you talk to Craig and within a minute, have a whole different outlook," said court spokesman Rod Hansen. "I make a point to go in there every day to get a chocolate milk or a pack of gum."
Craig never gets to see those smiles. He has been blind since birth.
He doesn't let that get in his way.
"People will come in here and talk to me for two minutes. Two minutes may not seem like a lot of time, but you'd be surprised how well you get to know someone," McGlassion said.
McGlassion is 57 years old and married with seven children. He said one of his goals in his life is to show the world that blind people are ordinary people. "Most of my regular customers, I know by their voice and they always tell me how much cash they give me," he said.
For those voices he doesn't recognize, he puts the money in a special machine that reads the bills out loud.
McGlassion waits on up to 400 customers a day and enjoys all of the action of the federal court.
Laura Marble, the property manager at federal court, said McGlassion is an asset to the courthouse.
"He's likable. He definitely improves it," she said. "Between his personality and having the dog, it's like a two-for-one deal."