[Blindtlk] Fidelco Guide Dogs: Dreams of Independent Travel Become Nightmares of Sorrow

[Marion Gwizdala]

R.J.,
    Every program will have its share of unsatisfied consumers. However, 
most will not rise to the level of disrespect and questionable behavior as 
Fidelco. My best advice to anyone, in light of what has happened at Fidelco, 
is to read, understand, and really agree to the conditions of your written 
agreements with the training program. As I asserted when I was advocating 
for Southeastern Guide Dogs' ownership policy, this is not necessarily about 
the current status of the organization. An agreement is binding between you 
and the training program, not the individuals who run it! As we have seen 
with both Fidelco and Southeastern, when the administration changes, the 
agreements remain the same. I felt confident that my outspoken advocacy 
could not impact my ownership of my SEGDI dog.
    I am of the opinion that there is no valid argument for not transfering 
ownership upon completion of the program. It only serves to demonstrate a 
foundation of paternalism. The training programs that transfer ownership to 
the consumer upon completion of training - Guide Dogs of America, Guide Dog 
Foundation, and The Seeing Eye (if there are others, I would like to see 
this from them in writing) - seem to provide as high or higher quality 
training, support, and follow-up as those who retain ownership for any 
period of time after training. Each have measures in place to deal with 
abuse, maltreatment, or neglect, so the protection of the dog is not a valid 
argument, either!
    I predict that we will see a shift in the ownership policies over the 
next few years as the result of our advocacy on this issue. The best 
agreements are those that protect both parties and that is what we are 
proposing.

Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "RJ Sandefur" <joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2011 5:17 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Fidelco Guide Dogs: Dreams of Independent Travel 
Become Nightmares of Sorrow


> Marion, Have you had any problems with Freedom guide dogs? RJ
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
> To: "NAGDU List" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2011 5:10 PM
> Subject: [Blindtlk] Fidelco Guide Dogs: Dreams of Independent Travel 
> Become Nightmares of Sorrow
>
>
>> Dear All,
>>    When I first circulated my Open Letter to Fidelco Consumers, I 
>> promised a more detailed account of the issues that triggered this 
>> correspondence. An article I wrote for the Braille Monitor is available 
>> at
>>
>> http://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/Publications/bm/bm11/bm1104/bm110402.htm
>>
>> Fraternally yours,
>> Marion Gwizdala, President
>> National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU)
>> National Federation of the Blind
>> 813-626-2789
>> President at NAGDU.ORG
>> HTTP://WWW.NAGDU.ORG
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>
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