[Blindtlk] NFB Guide Dog School
Kelby Carlson
kelbycarlson at gmail.com
Sat Mar 23 22:16:36 UTC 2013
Marion,
Speaking as a guide dog user myself, I think their is more than
paternalism going on in some ownership policies. Ownership
retention, at least at GDB, is not simply about "proving" you're
capable of taking care of a dog. (Although, to be honest,
considering the time and money invested in these animals, making
sure a handler is able to work well with a dog in their normal
home environment seems like a good idea to me.) I will have to
look up the mission statements of my school, as I don't remember
hearing a phrase such as "a guide dog gives a blind person
dignity." (A dog gives me a lot of things, but probably not
that.) I would echoe your concerns about that kind of statement,
though they certainly wouldn't be strong enough concerns to make
me disassociate myself from my school on the spot.
Kelby
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sat, 23 Mar 2013 18:05:16 -0400
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] NFB Guide Dog School
Kelby,
I will admit that there are times when it may be better for a
consumer
to go home with a dog on a trial basis before transfering
ownership. This,
however, should be the exception, rather than the rule. When the
"rule" is
that ownership is not transferred to anyone until after a
specific
probationary period, I believe it is paternalistic. what
justification is
there for such a blanket policy other than "blind people need to
prove they
are capable of properly caring for their dog and we are going to
monitor
their ability for x months"? If a blind person has satisfactorily
completed
training, they should be given ownership of the dog upon such
satisfactory
completion.
By the way, you asked the question of which programs are
closest to the
NFB's philosophical perspective. I think there are several that
are close
and many that are very far away. Though one way is to inspect
their
ownership policies, not all that transfer ownership upon
completion of
training do well in other consumer areas. Those who transfer
ownership upon
completion of training include Guide Dogs of America, Guide Dogs
of the
Desert, Guide dog Foundation, Southeastern Guide Dogs, and The
Seeing Eye.
Though Fidelco says they transfer ownership after six months, the
truth is
that they retain the right to remove a dog at any time and for
any reason.
They may call it ownership, but that doesn't sound like any type
of
ownership rights I have ever heard of!
Nearly every program states that a guide dog gives a blind
person
dignity. Dignity is not something that is given to another; it
is an innate
quality. It is no less dignified to use a white cane than to use
a guide
dog. Though not perfect, The Seeing Eye and Guide Dog Foundation
have the
best policies for handling complaints against consumers by not
accepting
anonymous complaints and referring complaintants to the local
animal
services agency.
So, there are many factors to consider and, I believe, one
day a
majority of the training programs will be congruent with our Bill
of Rights.
Until then, we will continue advocating for the rights of
consumers and
urging training programs to treat blind adults like, well,
adults!
Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kelby Carlson" <kelbycarlson at gmail.com
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 9:16 AM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] NFB Guide Dog School
Thanks, Marion! I think I understand where you're coming from.
What about
schools like GDB who retain ownership for a limited time in case
of a bad
match or problems with the handler/dog, but cede ownership after
a year?
Due to the large amount of time and money invested in the dogs
by a lot of
people, this seems like a reasonable solution. I totally
understand your
concerns over inappropriate behavior from the schools and do not
want to
condone such a thing. But I'm also not sure we can reduce
retension
policies to mere paternalism in all cases.
Kelby
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:09:52 -0400
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] NFB Guide Dog School
Kelby,
I appreciate your input and asking the question. The
challenge is
that,
without ownership, we have few rights to protect ourselves. AS
NAGDU
president, I have witnessed some very despicable behavior from
training
programs that do not transfer ownership upon completion of
training.
Furthermore, failure to transfer ownership sends a message that
blind
people
are not capable of caring for and making decisions about their
dogs.
There
are community provisions already in place that protect the
interests of
the
training programs and the dogs, so retention of ownership is
nothing more
than paternalism at its worst.
Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kelby Carlson" <kelbycarlson at gmail.com
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 1:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] NFB Guide Dog School
Seriously, what is the big deal? Perhaps I haven't been a guide
dog user
long enough, but I see no problem (and actually some advantage)
in at
least a period of ownership retension. This is as much
practical as it is
"paternalistic". And do you seriously want blind people to
picket guide
dog schools over this? That will certainly help the NFB's image
among the
blind community.
Kelby
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:29:09 -0500
Subject: [Blindtlk] NFB Guide Dog School
Hello Cheryl and everyone,
I've discussed this with Marion privately and suggested that
an item
concerning the creation of an NFB-run guide dog program be put
on the
NAGDU
agenda to no avail. I was at last year's NAGDU Meeting and was
very
disgusted with the reaction of the audience when Marion
addressed the
group
concerning the continued practice of ownership retention by
guide dog
programs. Few if anyone applauded his remarks and there was
hardly any
call
for a more aggressive response to ending this practice. If
things have
changed when I see picket lines go up in front of the grounds of
guide dog
schools that still retain ownership of the dogs it places with
its blind
students than I'll know there is a new spirit of concerted
action within
NAGDU. I'll be watching the Braille Monitor for this year's
NAGDU Agenda
to
see what new item will be included or if it's going to be the
same-old-same-old!
Peter Donahue
----- Original Message -----
From: "cheryl echevarria" <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Canes and Dogs, the In-House Checkup
The only way any of this is going to happen is to come to
national
convention and come to the NAGDU meeting and work on it
together. We are
an
organization, and we should all work together, and if that
doesn't work
then
you get the people in that division that will do it.
Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY State
Leading the Way in Independent Travel!SNG Certified - Accessible
Travel
Advocate!Cheryl Echevarria,
Ownerhttp://www.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations@eche
varriatravel.comhttp://www.echevarriatravel.wordpress.com2012
Norwegian Cruise Line University Advisory Board Member.
Affiliated as an independent contractor with Montrose TravelCST
-
#1018299-10Echevarria Travel and proud member of the National
Federation
of
the Blind will be holding a year round fundraiser for the
http://www.NFBNY.org after Hurricane Sandy and other resources.
Any
vacation
package booked between November 6 2012-November 6, 2013 and
vacation must
be
traveled no later than 12/30/2014 a percentage of my earnings
will go to
the
affiliate. Also is you book a Sandals for couples or Beaches
for families
and friends resorts vacation, $100.00 per booking will go to the
affiliate
as well. You do not need to be a member of the NFB.org, just
book through
us.
From: justin.williams2 at gmail.com
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:04:07 -0400
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Canes and Dogs, the In-House Checkup
No, pamper the dogs. They work hard and they deserve it. I
like the
other
stuff you said though.
-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Julie J.
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 9:08 AM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Canes and Dogs, the In-House Checkup
I think the answer to protecting the dogs is two fold. First I
would
like to see a more in depth background investigation of the
blind
applicant. Do a criminal background check, require more
references, ask
the neighbors...whatever it takes. Adoption agencies place
children
into homes surely we can figure out a way to more accurately
know what
sort of situation the dog will be placed into. Secondly, I
think there
are already agencies in place for dealing with animal abuse, the
police
and animal control. I don't see any reason why these agencies
can't be
used in cases of neglect or abuse.
In regard to cost and the blind applicant absorbing the cost of
the dog
in order to own the dog outright is an extremely valid point.
We have
to stop expecting everything for nothing. I like the Seeing
Eye's
concept of charging the student. I do wish that the cost had
increased
over the years with the cost of living. It has been $150 since
the
beginning of the school in 1928. I think that's the right year.
$150
was a very different sum of money then and now.
I also think that guide dogs can be raised and trained for
substantially
lower sums of money than $60,000. If you look at the various
guide dog
programs and how much each claims it costs to train a dog, the
numbers
vary widely. All those buildings, fancy food, excessive
equipment and
other niceties cost money.
Julie
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