[nagdu] Welcome Haben

[lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com]

Welcome to the list, Haben.

I'm Linda and I live in San Diego - soon to move to Vermont.  Landon is my 3 
year old red Lab/Golden cross from The Seeing Eye.  I got him in the October 
2007 class. I am 58 years young and have not had a paid job in eons. I've 
done lots of volunteer jobs to get experience to put on a resume!  Right 
now, Landon and I work at two pet therapy programs.  One for the Humane 
Society where we visit various facilities for disabled kids and adults. 
Landon is certified by the AKC's Canine Good Citizenship Test.  Landon is 
their program's first actual working assistance dog they've had.  Lots of 
guide dog and service dog pups, but we are their first working team to be in 
the program.  The other one is a program called Paws That Heal that is at 
the Naval Medical Center of SD.  Both Landon and I had to pass a series of 
interviews for this.  We do a combo pet therapy, socialization, and 
reintegration work with our Wounded Warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan.  We 
work mainly with the patients on the mental health ward.

Haben, you'll enjoy this list - it's alot of fun.

Regards,

Linda and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Haben Girma" <habnkid at aol.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 9:27 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Welcome Haben


> Hi Mardi, thanks for the explanations. I love the names of your dogs. I 
> actually don't have a dog, I'm in the application process for a Seeing Eye 
> dog right now. So, I'm patiently waiting to learn my fate.
>
> Cheers,
> Haben
>
> Mardi Hadfield wrote:
>>  Hi every one,     Welcome Haben.   No, I don't live in Alaska.  My 
>> Huskies
>> are "south paws"  We live in Tucson, Arizona.  When I first needed a 
>> guide
>> dog, I was told that the schools did not train for wheelchair users.Since 
>> I
>> already had a service dog, who was a husky, I hired a trainer to help me
>> train Lily  to guide me. I had to retire her at age 8 as she had health
>> issues and she died month later, leaving me with out a guide dog.  I 
>> tried
>> out a border collie and he did not work out as he had been abused before 
>> I
>> got him and he could not handle being out in public. Then I got another
>> husky, Nala,who was a fantastic guide. She will soon be 10 years old and 
>> has
>> health issues now.She has guided me for 8 years and it has been hard to
>> retire her as she does not want to retire. When she sees me getting ready 
>> to
>> go out, she brings me her harness and get all excited. She started 
>> picking
>> fights with Wanagi, the dog that I was training to take over for Nala. 
>> She
>> is a lot happier now that she is working again part time. Wanagi came up
>> lame with a hip problem, so she was  career changed. I am keeping her as 
>> a
>> pet. I have been looking for a dog to take over as my new guide for over 
>> 10
>> months. I think I have finally found a dog.I would love to get a dog from
>> Fidelco,but when I asked about it ,I was told that they don't train for
>> wheelchair users.I would have to pay my way to and from South Eastern 
>> Guide
>> Dogs, which I could not afford, and really can't be away that long. Guide
>> Dogs for the Blind would take me ,but again, I can't be away  from my 
>> home
>> and business that long. So I guess I will just continue to train my own
>> guides with the help of my trainer.  Haben, do you have a guide dog? If 
>> so ,
>> what breed is it? I love hearing from others and about their dogs.  Have 
>> a
>> great day,  Mardi and Nala,semi-retired, and Shaman , possible trainee.
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>
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