[blindlaw] {Spam?} Re: Guide dog verses white cane

[Jim McCarthy]

I think David is right that much of the professional acceptance of either method is based on the comfort or confidence the blind person has with the method chosen. I have not practiced law, but when to law school and have worked in a professional setting following that experience. While in law school, I got my first guide dog and he accompanied me into my early professional career. At the time of his passing, I switch jobs and moved cross country electing a cane for travel. That was fine and I did it for 12 years. I once again have a dog. To me the dog is probably more distracting. People take notice of the dog; some understand it is correct not to take notice; some can't help but take notice; some want to ask all the questions about what in fact the dog does for me; many conclude I couldn't get up in the morning if it weren't for the dog, that though the dog makes sure I get up to feed him just like dogs in any home do and so forth. If one chooses a dog, managing those attitude issues is an obligation he must take on in furtherance of his career, social life and so forth. A cane takes very little space and very little energy. It gets noticed and forgotten. It tells others that you are blind and their responses are to the blindness, not to the cane. The dog does the same in that sense. I can't have a dog in most places unless I am disabled and most people don't bring their pets, even really well behaved ones, into professional meetings. To me there is more that can go wrong with a dog in professional circumstances than with a cane, but I also have very high expectations of proper behavior from my dog and think that in the main, I am at my best with a dog. There are situations when I think I prefer the dog and others when I prefer the cane and I rarely leave home without both. 
Jim McCarthy
-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David via BlindLaw
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2016 7:51 AM
To: Blind Law Mailing List
Cc: David
Subject: [blindlaw] {Spam?} Re: Guidedog verses white cane

Dear Paul,  I am partially sighted with about 5 degrees of central vision.

1.  I can't help with the crawling baby issue from a personal experience standpoint, but I've seen dogs around babies without issues.  Your question is a good one for your guide dog school.

2.  I used a white cane during the last 9 years of my career as general counsel of an insurance company.  I met with senior executives and general counsel of some of the largest corporations in the U.S.  My white cane was an issue for about the first 10 seconds of first meeting someone.  It is also a non-issue in court.  I traveled as much as 80,000 miles a year.  I did lose two canes to limo drivers in Manhattan.  The only other negative experience I had was one time when meeting a corporate general counsel, he shook my hand with his left hand. I stupidly asked him if he had hurt his right hand.  He raised a leather covered fist prosthesis and said, "Here."  The meeting was toast.

In my opinion, your acceptance of the white cane by others depends entirely upon your attitude, how you feel about it, and how you carry yourself.  I find it is the same with a guide dog, but except for bar association and board meetings I have not used a guide dog in professional settings.

David and Claire Rose in Clearwater, FL

On 7/21/2016 11:13 PM, Paul Harpur via BlindLaw wrote:
> I have a professional and personal question I wanted to ask for people’s views.
> I am totally blind and went from using a white cane to my first 
> guidedog back in law school in 2000.  Since then I have always used a 
> guidedog.  I tried for a while to use a white cane when my first baby 
> came home and now that he is 1 I put my name down for a dog again.  I 
> am not sure how:
> 1.	A guidedog will go with a crawling baby; and
> 2.	How I will be received using a white cane in the profession.
> Has anyone had experiences good or bad they could share with me?

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