[nagdu] NFB's view on guide dogs

Sun Feb 22 01:16:43 UTC 2009

Ed,
    I question why you would still want to be a part of the NAGDU list while 
urging people to join another organization whose views are not only very 
different than the NFb but who actively opposes NFB initiatives just because 
they are NFB initiatives. I don't appreciate you trying to recruit members 
for the American Council of the Blind on this list. Fortunately, Dan is a 
strong Federationist who knows that he can voice his differences of opinion 
without being chastized for having his own opinion, something the ACB 
contends cannot be done in the Federation. You are welcome to participate in 
this list, but you are not welcome to recruit from it.

Fraternally,
Marion Gwizdala


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ed and Toni Eames" <eeames at csufresno.edu>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>; <gdui-friends at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 8:31 PM
Subject: [nagdu] NFB's view on guide dogs


> Dear Dan,
>
> You are a refreshing voice in NAGDU.  Ed and I were NFB members for almost 
> 15 years.  We did our best to change attitudes about guide dogs, but when 
> the resolution came up to defend the Iowa Department for the Blind, we had 
> to leave, publicly decrying NFB's position.
>
> Dan, we suggest you follow our lead and become active in GDUI.  At least 
> we know it is an organization promoting the guide dog blind person bond. 
> Stefanie wanted Braille and computer lessons, not o&m instructions.  What 
> a travesty that NAGDU defends NFB!!
>
> Toni and Ed Eames
>
> At 11:14 AM 2/20/2009, you wrote:
>>The Iowa Center, I presume, is in the United States and there is an ADA 
>>and
>>state laws here, it's not an island unto itself.
>>
>>If the Iowa Center were called the Iowa Cane Center, and only cane 
>>training
>>and no other skill were offered, than maybe I could see it.  Still I would
>>advocate for the dog being allowed to accompany the individual on the
>>premises.
>>
>>Laws aren't just made for the rest of the world, blind training centers 
>>must
>>abide by them, too.
>>
>>Referring to the dog as a visual aid  is misleading.  Obviously, the dog
>>sees, if the dogs were b lined we probably wouldn't be using them--smile.
>>Every guide dog program teaches us that we're supposed to give commands to
>>our dogs, I assume.
>>
>>The guide dog issue, or rather what I perceive the NFB leadership's 
>>approach
>>to the guide dog issue, is the one serious divergence I have with the
>>Federation.  This is from someone who got involved when he was a 
>>teen-ager.
>>
>>Well, also I'm not favorably inclined to the NFB's position on audible
>>pedestrian signals, also, but that's another subject.
>>
>>The obsession with white cane travel and the tacit implication that those
>>who don't use a cane are somehow less capable, together with what I've 
>>seen
>>as a tendency to discourage people from saying anything glowing about the
>>dog while glorifying the cane doesn't sit well with me.
>>
>>The guide dog and the cane are different mobility aids.  I personally
>>believe the dog to be superior for my situation and my type of travel,
>>There are things I can do easily with a dog that I would be hard-pressed 
>>to
>>do with a cane, such as cross streets in a straight  line.
>>Anyway, I've gone a bit beyond the question you posed, Rebecca.  My short
>>answer is that, as I said state rehab centers and even NFB centers should,
>>and in my opinion, must accommodate access with a guide dog.  I view it as
>>an access issue and access denial.  Could it be  that some people 
>>discourage
>>the use of guide dogs because they, the dogs,  see and for no other 
>>reason?
>>I'm not sure that's true, but I'm posing the question to stir up the pot a
>>bit.
>>My personal approach to life isn't to prove that I'm able to do things all
>>the time independently, I mean without help.
>>
>>I would say that as an adult, I do have some idea of what my skills are 
>>and
>>if I felt my cane skills are adequate, wanted to work my dog, and received 
>>a
>>closed-minded  access denial, I would be loathe to patronize such a 
>>program.
>>What would happen if I just wanted to attend such a program, for say, my
>>computer skills?
>>
>>Now, for the record, nothing in this post is meant to cast aspersions on 
>>any
>>of my list friends, these are just my opinions, strongly held ones, of
>>course.
>>
>>Cordially,
>>
>>Dan W.
>>
>>
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>
>
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