[nagdu] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guide dogpolicydoesnotdiscriminate

[Marty Rahn]

Hello Everyone,
I don't mean any disrespect here, but this issue strikes a nerve with me.  I 
was a student at the Colorado Center for The Blind from June of 2000 to 
April of 2001.  While I was there, There were two or three students who came 
to the center who used guide dogs as their prefered mode of travel.  Those 
people were not told that they had to leave their dogs at home, nor were 
they prohibited from taking their dogs to other classes such as Computer or 
braille.  The only stipulation that was imposed was that the guide dog users 
not use their dogs during travel instruction time.  If those people chose to 
leave their dogs tied up in their apartments, then that was there choice. 
likewise, if they decided to leave their dogs tied up to a table or in 
another room while they spent the entire day working with a cane, or if they 
decided to leave their dog in the care of someone while they went off to 
training, that was also their choice.  Everyone is making the NFB centers 
out to seem as though they're completely against guide dog users in their 
programs, and from my point of view, that simply is *not* true.  At least it 
wasn't at the Colorado Center for the Blind.  As a cane user who has 
recently switched to using a dog, I am of the opinion that without good 
orientation and cane skills, that a person is much more limited should their 
dog become ill or injured, or have to be retired for some reason beyond that 
person's control.  Orientation and mobility might be two separate skill sets 
as someone pointed out, but as a person studying to be a teacher of blind 
children, I can tell you that they are more closely related than some of you 
on this list would like to believe.  I know that everyone has their own 
opinion about this and will ultimately  believe what you will, but I 
encourage everyone to look at all sides of this issue.  The lack of factual 
information is often the reason why misconceptions and clouded judgments 
continue to exist.  Think about it.  It is the reason why we as blind people 
are so often judged, stereotyped and degraded in the eyes of the sighted 
public.  to counteract this, we say that we wish to educate the public about 
blind people and their capabilities.  Why can we not also educate each other 
and ourselves about issues before we form an opinion one way or the other? 
Just my thoughts.  I will post no more on this topic because In my opinion, 
I think it's been rehashed to death!
Respectfully,
Marty With leader Dog Monty
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 6:54 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guide 
dogpolicydoesnotdiscriminate


> Dan,
> I agree with you on the guide dogs at orientation centers.  Yeah, Dan, 
> this
> issue does definately stir the pot (grin!).
>
> What does one do with the dog all day (8am-5pm) with the dog home alone in
> the apartment with no one to take it out to relieve during the day?
>
> It certainly is reasonable to not use the dog during the cane mobility
> lessons or have the dog present in the kitchen during the cooking classes.
> But, to make the dog stay alone all day in an apartment is not reasonable.
> It is not reasonable to not allow the dog to go with you for your computer
> class or Braille class.
>
> I do think it is best to attend the centers before getting a dog - you'll
> really learn your travel skills with the cane there.  But that isn't 
> always
> possible if a guide dog user wants to learn some more skills other than 
> cane
> travel.
>
> Regards,
>
> Linda and Landon 

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