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

Sun Apr 17 21:31:08 UTC 2011

Dear R.J.,
The questions you are asking are mostly unknown at this point as the school 
has not been forthcoming with answers to those questions.  What was it that 
she did wrong?  Why did they take the dog?  We don't know and they will not 
answer.
As for Southeast, I have had my dog Jack for a year and a half and any time 
I have called the school, with an issue or a question, they have answered 
and they have had a trainer come to my home twice just to see me and my dog.
All my issues were very minor ones and we have them straightened out.
  I had a common issue called "fence biting."  This is where the dog barks 
or trys to get through a fence to get out or at another animal on the other 
side.  The instructor told me what to do and we fixed it by giving Jack a 
strong leash corrections , along with the word "NO," when he would do this 
behavior.    The other issue was with overhanging tree branches in front of 
a house on my block.  We let him lead me into the branches, then gave him a 
sharp leash corrections yelling "NO" and grapping the branches to show him 
what he did wrong.  We then backed up a few yards and approached the 
branches again and he stopped to signal me that there was something in the 
way as he is suppose to do.  I praised him and told him he was a good dog.
I had some questions about my dog and his interaction with the 3 other dog 
pets I have, one of which is a male pit bull.  They told me how to introduce 
Jack to my other 3 dogs and it worked to.
Jack and Buddy are the best of friends and buddy waits faithfully every day 
for Jack and me to get home from work so they can play.
Jack and I commute some 43 miles, one-way each day from work.  Jack is great 
and I love him to death.
You can not expect to have a perfect , problem free experience.  They can 
not fix everything before you go home with your dog.  You have to do some of 
the adjusting after you get home.

If you want to get a guide dog, consider Southeast Guide Dogs.
I know 8 other people in my area who have dogs from Southeast.
You need to have good cane skills to attend most any guide dog school worth 
it's salt.
A dog is not the answer to every mobility problem.  The methods are 
different from one to the other.  There are some advantaged to each as well 
as drawbacks.  You need to figure out what is best for you and your 
situation.
I was a cane user for over 20 years before I got a dog.  If I could still 
see a little, instead of being total now, I likely would still be just using 
a cane to get around, even though I love my guide dog Jack.
I do not take Jack with me every where and still use my cane to get around 
from time to time.  I do not want my cane skills to go bad from disuse.
Jack can help me do things that I was having trouble with as I lost all of 
my remaining vision.  He is trained to find and recognize things like doors, 
elevators, escalators, curbs cuts, steps and stairs, he can find me a seat 
or chair, a table or counter, the sink, stall or urinal and other landmarks. 
He knows over 40 commands and is a great companion as I travel.  If I have a 
stressful day, he knows and understands and makes me feel better.  Petting 
him really does lower my blood pressure.

David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "RJ Sandefur" <joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2011 2:56 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Fidelco Guide Dogs: Dreams of IndependentTravel 
Become Nightmares of Sorrow

> I've heard from some one who got trained from South eastern, and they said 
> they had problems once the dog was brought  home. However, could it also 
> be argued that the orientation and mobility skills could come into play 
> here? For example, How much does the school place an emphasis upon 
> orientation and mobility? What does the seeing eye require concerning 
> orientation and mobility? What about the girl in the article? How were her 
> orientation and mobility skills? Could the school argue her skills were 
> lacking, so they had to take the dog back? Sincerely, RJ
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2011 5:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Fidelco Guide Dogs: Dreams of Independent Travel 
> Become Nightmares of Sorrow
>
>
>> 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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>>>> blindtlk at nfbnet.org
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>>>> blindtlk:
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>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
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