[blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

[Jo Elizabeth Pinto]

Isn't that the way it goes--it's harder for us to leave than it is for our 
kids to have us gone.  Kids are amazingly resilient and adaptable.


Jo Elizabeth

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a 
song."  Maya Angelou

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Tammy" <tcl189 at rogers.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 8:16 PM
To: "Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide

> Hi,
>
> I left my 1 year old with a friend while I went to get my last guide, and 
> he barely missed me at all.  Honestly, it was harder for me to leave 
> because at the time I was a single parent and although I knew his physical 
> needs would be met, I always worried he'd miss me or need me for something 
> while I was away, and it wasn't like he'd have his dad there to help with 
> that.  But it turned out fine and we'd still have that dog if he hadn't 
> gotten sick.  I'm actually applying for a new dog now, but I'm in no hurry 
> and my circumstances have changed alot since then, so I wouldn't worry 
> about leaving my children with my husband.  But some of the things I did 
> for Colyn when I went to get my dog are that I made him a tape of me 
> reading stories and little messages for him.  There was one message a day 
> from me, I was only gone 10 days but it seemed like forever, and I made 
> sure that his favourite toys went with him, and I took the sheet off 
> Colyn's bed with me so the dog could scent Colyn before we got home so the 
> dog would know the scent.  If I remember anything else I'll post on the 
> subject again, but if you look in the archives of this list, around 
> January 2005 you should find all my messages on the doggy subject and 
> subsequent replies.
>
> Tammy
>
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Erin Rumer
> Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 8:49 PM
> To: NFB blind parent listserv
> Subject: [blparent] leaving family to get a dog guide
>
> Hello list,
>
>
>
> Thankfully, my current guide is only 4.5 years old and doing well, but I 
> got
> to thinking about when it does come time to get a new guide, what will 
> that
> mean for my family and particularly my son.  Assuming my guide now works a
> nice long life and retires around the age of 10, my son will then be 
> around
> 6 or 7.  I know that in-home training may be a possibility depending on 
> the
> circumstances, but have any of you gone through having to leave young
> children with family or friends while off getting a new guide and if so, 
> how
> did your kids fair?  Working at GDB for 3.5 years before my son came along
> gave me the opportunity to work with lots of folks coming through for a 
> new
> dog who have kids at home, but since I rarely got the chance to speak with
> the grads after they went home, I never really got the full picture of how
> the separation affected the kids, especially if the parent leaving was a
> stay-at-home mom or dad.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Erin
>
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