[nagdu] New member

Hope Paulos hope.paulos at maine.edu
Sat Nov 29 13:45:43 UTC 2008


Hehehe.  My dog does that, and she's a little girl! Smile.  It's 
kind of ambarrassing though! But when in harness, she's always on 
a mission and eager to work.  She always has to be at the front 
of the line!

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Jeffrey Schwartz" <sidney.schwartz at sbcglobal.net
>To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:20:28 -0500
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] New member

>When I trained with my first dog, Cairo, the trainer had a dog in 
his string
>that had come away back to Fidelco as the owner had passed away.  
The dog
>was relatively young and he was getting him ready for another 
blind person
>He said that it might have been the largest Shepherd Fidelco had 
ever
>placed.  Generally they give the really big ones to the State 
Police as they
>have trouble getting under tables in restaurants and the like.  
This dog had
>worked in New York.  The trainer said that he was the perfect New 
York dog.
>When he got to a corner and there was a crowd waiting for the 
light to
>change, he would push his way to the very front.

>-----Original Message-----
>From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On Behalf
>Of Ted Shelly
>Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 9:50 AM
>To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] New member

>Jeff,

>I wouldn't call Manhattan a nightmare, more like a frustration.  
I love New
>York City and its vibrant streams of humanity.  I like to move 
fast, which
>sometimes leads to running into people or getting my cane stepped 
on (I
>break 2 or 3 canes a year this way).  I've heard from some guide 
dog users
>about zipping through crowds and around obstacles and that sounds 
good to
>me.  But I also have realistic expectations and I know it will 
take a lot of
>hard work with a guide and even then things won't be perfect.  I 
love a
>challenge and I think I'm ready to take this one on.

>Ted

>-----Original Message-----
>From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On Behalf
>Of Jeffrey Schwartz
>Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 5:08 PM
>To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] New member

>Ted,
>This must be real culture shock after living on the West Coast.  
People are
>so much more relaxed out there.  The area between Boston and NYC 
is Type A
>alley.  Your variety of RP is the rarest, and accounts for only 
about 5% of
>all cases of RP.    Manhattan must be a nightmare for you.  Years 
ago,
>before I even had a cane, I was walking in the Village and almost 
fell into
>one of those openings that restaurants and blubs have in the 
front leading
>down to their basements.  You'll really have to work with your 
dog to help
>you avoid those overhanging branches.  One of my trainers told me 
that it's
>the hardest thing to teach them and the first thing that they 
forget.  It
>makes sense when you consider that their eyes are about 30 inches 
above
>ground level.  If you don't mind me asking, what kind of work do 
you do in
>the city?
>Hope you had a nice day,
>Jeff

>-----Original Message-----
>From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On Behalf
>Of Ted Shelly
>Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 12:22 PM
>To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] New member

>Jeff,

>I'm originally from Washington State and lived most of my life on 
the west
>coast.  We moved out here in 1990 for my job.  We like it here, 
but our
>families are mostly out West still and we sometimes think about 
going back.

>I know about the wait with Fidelco.  This is not urgent for me, 
so it is not
>a big problem to wait.  I've also applied to Guide Dogs for the 
Blind, just
>in case.  GDB has a much shorter wait and from what I have 
learned, they
>have a good program.

>I have what I believe is referred to as an X-linked version of 
RP.  The
>males on my mother's side of the family get it but the females 
pass it on.
>I have several uncles with the condition and one brother (2 
brothers do not
>have RP).

>I still have some vision and I do alright with the cane, 
especially during
>the day.  At night I can usually only see light sources, which 
makes
>navigation much slower.  I work in Manhattan and finding my way 
along
>crowded New York sidewalks after dark is not much fun.  I think a 
dog will
>be a great help in those situations and also keep me safer on 
subway
>platforms and street crossings.  I'm also tired of hitting my 
head on
>overhead branches here in Stamford and occasionally smacking into 
things
>like street signs.  I'm sure that no guide dog will be perfect, 
but it's
>bound to be an improvement.

>Happy Thanksgiving to you also.

>Ted

>-----Original Message-----
>From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On Behalf
>Of Jeffrey Schwartz
>Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 9:19 AM
>To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] New member

>Hi Ted,
>Are you a native or did you move to Ct?  If you go up to Vermont 
or New
>Hampshire, they refer to us as flat landers and don't consider 
Ct.  to be
>part of Newe England.  You are lucky, if one can use that word, 
to get to
>your age and still be able to get around with a cane.  Perhaps 
you have the
>dominant genetic variety.  Did one of your parents have RP?  Not 
to
>discourage, but it can be a long wait with Fidelco.  They are the 
only guide
>dog school in New England and they also service New York, New 
Jersey and any
>place that one of their graduates has moved and now needs a 
successor dog.
>I have a friend in Chicago.  She got her first dog from Seeing 
Eye, the
>original school, in Morristown, New Jersey.  Her wait was far 
less than you
>can expect from Fidelco, and she was quite pleased with the 
entire
>experience.  It's something to consider.
>Happy Thanksgiving,
>Jeff
>-----Original Message-----
>From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On Behalf
>Of Ted Shelly
>Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 8:09 PM
>To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] New member

>Hi Jeff,

>I'm practically a neighbor of yours - I'm just down the road in 
Stamford.  I
>also have RP.  I'm 57 and have been using a cane full time for 
the last
>decade or so and I'm just now working on getting my first guide 
dog.  I've
>applied to Fidelco and I'm hoping they will accept me without too 
much of a
>wait.  Welcome to the list.

>Ted

>-----Original Message-----
>From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On Behalf
>Of Jeffrey Schwartz
>Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 7:28 PM
>To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] New member

>Hi,
>I just joined this week and was glad to read the digest.  My name 
is Jeff
>Schwartz.  I am a psychologist and have lived in New Haven by way 
of
>Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Scranton.  I didn't know that I had a 
significant
>visual problem until I was about 20.  At that time I was already 
legally
>blind due to the insidious deterioration of my visual field from 
Retinitis
>Pigmentosa.  At age 61, I'm left with little more than light 
perception.  I
>recently received my third guide dog, Faith, from Fidelco.  They 
are a
>superb organization.  The founders, Charles and Roberta Kaman 
have been
>raising German Shepherd dogs for about 40 years.  Originally they 
raised
>them as show dogs.  The story which I heard is that they started 
the school
>after one of the dogs prevented their young son from running into 
traffic.
>John Byfield was their first trainer.  He was my trainer for my 
second dog,
>Webster.  John is from the "old school".  My wife and I called 
him the dog
>Nazi.  He was really tough, as were all of the early trainers.  
The new
>breed, if you'll pardon the pun, rely more on positive 
reinforcement.  I
>really liked the in community orientation, as you get four hours 
a day of
>the trainer's undivided attention.  I don't think that there are 
any bad or
>even mediocre schools.  German Shepherds are fantastic dogs.  If 
I were in
>the position to select a pet, it would be a GSD.  The only 
problem that I
>have encountered is that they tend to be dog aggressive.  Fidelco 
gets its
>breeding stock from Germany.  They are only a generation or two 
away from
>being working shepherds.  Every pure bred dog was selectively 
shaped to
>perform a certain task, even lap dogs.  Centuries ago, before 
central
>heating and indoor plumbing people seldom bathed.  As a 
consequence, they
>had fleas.  They would sit with a dog in their lap because, given 
a choice,
>fleas prefer dogs.  Back to German Shepherds and dog aggression.  
They were
>bred to keep the flock together and protect it from predators.  
Today's
>German Shepherds are "hard wired" to see other dogs as potential 
predators.


>Like all of you, I have had my share of blind stereotypes tossed 
my way.
>When I was younger, slim and walked with a white cane, I went 
into a
>Wal-Mart's and the greeter asked me if I wanted a wheelchair.  
I've been in
>restaurants with my wife and had the service person ask her "and 
what will
>he have"   I guess we have all heard, "you don't look blind".
>Anyway, sorry to have gone on at such length.  I'm glad to have 
joined this
>group and I'm sure that I will enjoy participating.  I don't 
usually talk so
>much.  Just ask my spouse.

>-----Original Message-----
>From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On Behalf
>Of lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com
>Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 5:42 PM
>To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users
>Subject: New member

>Hi Mardi,
>I liked the part about "You don't look blind...".  That one had 
me stumped
>for years and years.  I didn't know what people meant by the 
remark.  I
>thoought it was people denying that I was blind.  Well, a sighted 
friend
>finally explained the basis of the remark to me.  He said that 
people look
>at a blind person and see the blindness.  People have this view 
that blind
>people are people who rock, jam their fingers or fist into their 
eye.  They
>walk with a stiff-leggeed gait and don't look at people who are 
talking to
>them.  In other words, the crappy stereotypes people think of 
when you say,
>"blind person".

>Marti, you used to be a sighted person.  Think back on your 
sighted days
>long before you ever met a blind person.  What did your mind 
conjure up? Now,

>me - I've always been visually impaired and I can't and never was 
able to
>see people's faces and the expressions on them.  I had no clue 
about "look
>blind" sinse I've spent a lifetime around blind people.

>My friend told me that when someone tells me that I don't "look 
blind" I
>need to take it as a compliment.  The statement really says that 
you look
>normal - like a SIGHTED person!  You and I do not have the 
so-called "blind
>mannerisms" that so many sheltered congenitally blind people 
display.  You
>learned how to be as a sighted child - what was socially 
acceptable.  As a
>child, I was taught by my parents how to be in public and that 
people can
>see what I do.  So, you and I behave in a normal socially 
acceptable manner.

>We look at people who speak to us.  We don't poke our eyes with 
our fingers
>or fists.  Our eyes may look pretty normal - well - mine wiggle 
with
>nystagmus.  We rock only to music or while seated in a rocking 
chair.

>I don't remember if you are totally blind or are partially 
sighted.  Being
>in a wheelchair, I can see how people think your guide is a 
wheelchair
>service dog.  There aren't too many of you out there.  I know 
several
>visually impaired wheelchair users but they see too much to use a 
guide dog
>and they don't have a service dog, either.

>I know it's annoying when people don't know.  People think you 
are either
>fully sighted - "Oh, you must be faking it!" or you are totally 
blind.
>People still don't seem to grasp the idea of all kinds of partial 
vision in
>between.  I tell them that I have enough vision to be dangerous.  
We then
>have a laugh.

>Hope that helps!  Thank God we are normal people who can give the 
public a
>good impression of who blind people are.

>Take care and Happy Holidays!

>Linda and Landon
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Mardi Hadfield" <wolfsinger.lakota at gmail.com
>To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org
>Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2008 6:52 PM
>Subject: Re: [nagdu] service vs therapy dogs and welcome


>> Hi every one,   I have had similar experiences with Therapy dog 
owners.
>> They seem to think they know it all.  They seem to think,because 
I am
>> in a wheelchair that my dog is not a guide.They can't see beyond 
the
>> chair.  My dog must be a  "wheelchair dog",because I use a 
wheelchair.
>> I am told that

>> I
>> don't look blind.  Can some one tell me what a blind person 
looks like?
>> Do they all look the same? I get so aggravated at these people, 
that I
>> don't even try to explain.  I just roll away and ignore them.  
There are
>> too
>many
>> other battles that are more important to take care of.           
Welcome
>> Ted.  All my guides have been Siberian Huskies except for my 
current
>> trainee,Wanagi.  She is a Husky/Shepherd cross, and I adopted 
her from
>> the pound.  I have trained my dogs with the aid of a private 
trainer.
>> I am sure that whatever school you choose, you will get a 
wonderful,
>> and faithful
>> partner.     Have a great day, Mardi and Nala, retired, Wanagi, 
gdit, and
>> Tokala,gdit.
>> _______________________________________________
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ak%40people
>pc.com



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