[nagdu] occupaws ownership policy

Fri Feb 27 23:02:02 UTC 2009

Yeah, Angie, I agree with you on ownership.

A couple of years ago, a friend who has a GDA dog was to have surgery.  Her 
dog went with a local GDA puppy raiser to "vacation" while her owner was in 
the hospital.  The owner then died without ever letting anyone know her 
wishes for the dog. She had the dog for several years and it wasn't really 
ready for retirement.

Instead of the woman's friends taking the dog, GDA wanted the dog back and 
the puppy raiser sent the dog back.  I called the school and asked what was 
to become of the dog sinse I knew of someone who might want to adopt her. 
The school told me that if anyone wanted the dog, they'd have to apply for 
her.  I never did find out where the dog eventually went for her permanent 
home - she was too old to re-issue.

Sooo, so much for real "ownership" (grin!)!

Someone, I forget who, wanted to know how would a dog being neglected or 
abused would be reclaimed by the school. I think the abuse would be brought 
to the attention of the local humane agency and they'd investigate the 
situation.  If they deemed it abuse, the humane agency would take the dog 
into custody just like any other similar situation with the general public. 
This is how it is with Seeing Eye.

Regards,

Linda and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Angie Matney" <angie.matney at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 6:52 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] occupaws ownership policy

> Hi Allison,
>
> Thanks for your post. I don't mean to minimize the concerns that prompt 
> some schools to retain ownership, but there are ways to remove a dog from 
> an abusive situation, whether it is a guide dog or a pet.
>
> I personally am glad to have ownership of my dog because I know that at 
> the end of the day, I can make important decisions about her future 
> without consulting a third party. I don't mean to imply that I would never 
> ask the school's advice. I just think that there are situations in which 
> I, as the handler, know much more about the individual dog than the most 
> well-intentioned staff of my school, who might not have interacted with 
> her for some time.
>
> Will you be able to place Gilbert when he retires? Most schools do allow 
> the grad to do this, even if they retain ownership; but in some 
> situations, the graduates' wishes are not respected. And, if the worst 
> should happen, would your family have any say in what happens to Gilbert? 
> It is comforting to me to know that if something happened to me, the 
> people who are most prominent in Yani's recent memories would be able to 
> make decisions concerning her future. I know of an instance in which a 
> handler was killed when s/he was struck by a car. This person's family 
> hoped tthat the guide dog could be reissued. They wanted to adopt the dog 
> if it could not be reissued. As it happened, the dog was unable to work 
> after the accident. But because it had been with the handler for less than 
> the time provided for in the school's policy, the dog was offered to its 
> raisers instead of the handler's family. This created an additional source 
> of grief for the family.
>
> I could cite other instances where handlers who did not own their dogs 
> encountered problems when they and the school disagreed about what should 
> happen. In all of the instances I'm thinking of, all parties agreed that 
> the dogs were unable to continue working.
>
> These are a few of the reasons why I am glad to own my dog.
>
> Best,
>
> Angie
>
>
>
> Sent from my Nokia N82.
>
> -original message-
> Subject: [nagdu] occupaws ownership policy
> From: Allison Nastoff <anastoff at wi.rr.com>
> Date: 02/26/2009 12:07 AM
>
> Hi List,
> I have been reading your discussion about ownership policies at
> the various schools, but I have a different perspective.
> I received my dog from Occupaws, and the policy at Occupaws is
> that they technically own the dog until he is retired.  My
> trainer said the reason for this policy was liability.  While it
> is rare, unfortunately some people do mistreat their dogs, or do
> not make wise judgements about when it is time to retire them,
> and the decision of Occupaws to maintain ownership of the dog is
> simply a precaution.  At first when I learned of this policy, I
> was disappointed.  But I soon realized that while Occupaws has
> legal ownership of him, in every other regard, he is my dog.
> Occupaws has contacted me every couple of months to make sure
> things are working out, but they have never interfered in any
> way.
> Personally, I support this precautionary measure.  In the rare
> case that a dog is mistreated, it would not be fair to the dog,
> or to another handler who would appreciate this dog and take good
> care of him, if the school gave full ownership to a handler, and
> then was powerless to reclaim the dog from a handler if it came
> to the school's attention that there is a problem.
> I realize that some of you will be furious with me for saying
> this, but it is my personal opinion.  The fact that I technically
> don't own my dog has not prevented me from bonding with him, or
> interfered with our work as a team.  I think that legal ownership
> is just a technicality, and that emotional ownership is what
> really matters.
> Allison and Gilbert
>
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