[nagdu] in regards to the article of the person on NPR

[Ann Edie]

Thanks, Julie, for clarifying the issues for Marsha and perhaps others. 
You're correct that I was not saying, and have never said, that a guide 
horse is better than a guide dog in all ways and for all people.  I do think 
that there are some ways in which a guide horse is better, at least for me. 
And the article in the NY Times Magazine upon which the NPR Interview was 
based did state some of the advantages and disadvantages as well of 
miniature horse guides.

Marsha is correct that the things that impressed the writer of the article 
are not things that can be done exclusively by miniature horse guides.  But 
I do not have control of the writer's mind.  I was asked to show her how 
Panda and I work, and that is what I did.  What the author sees and writes 
is her own perspective.  She gathered information from many sources besides 
myself, and she organized and arranged the information as she saw fit.

I believe that the writer needed to do more observation and look much more 
closely to try to evaluate whether the other animals mentioned in the 
article were serving as service animals, and whether it was good for the 
animals or society to have these animals in public places.  Her doubts can 
be found in a careful reading of the NY Times article.  But as she said, she 
had no doubts that Panda was doing a legitimate job as a guide animal, and 
she was very impressed by Panda's work and her evident joy and enthusiasm 
for her work.

I do think Panda does as good a job of guiding as the best of guide dogs, 
but that is my personal opinion, based on my experience.  And it is 
indisputable that the life spans of horses are at least twice those of dogs, 
on average.  So I can expect Panda to be working well into her twenties, at 
the least.  I have a 31-year-old Arabian horse who is still eager to come 
out and work every day, although he is not a guide horse, but a riding 
horse.

As to whether psychiatric disabilities qualify as legitimate disabilities 
under the ADA, I think that bipolar disorder with psychotic tendencies 
(which the man with the parrot has) and agorophobia (which the woman with 
the monkey has) certainly can and do limit many basic life functions, like 
working, socializing with others, being able to go out and perform tasks 
like shopping, banking, etc., and simply functioning safely in society.

As stated in the article, the final regulations have not been published yet. 
So we are all waiting to see what the DOJ will decide in the end.  But I 
think this article is the first to really lay out many of the issues 
surrounding the proposed changes to the ADA regulations for the general 
public.

Best,
Ann

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julie J." <jlcrane at alltel.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 12:42 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] in regards to the article of the person on NPR


> Marsha,
>
> I don't think the article was trying to make the point that these other 
> types of animals are better at performing certain tasks than dogs. I think 
> the author was trying to make the point that there are many types of 
> animals that can be used to perform many types of tasks.  Ann, the guide 
> horse user from the article, is on this list.  I'm sure she will agree 
> that there are both benefits and drawbacks to using a guide horse, just as 
> we all agree that there are benefits and drawbacks to using a guide dog. 
> The same things could be said about using a white cane too.  To me it's 
> all about finding what works for you and having the freedom to utilize 
> that option.
>
> The argument that an individual with a psychiatric disability could use 
> some device to mitigate their disability could also be applied to blind 
> people. We could all use white canes.  Sure that isn't what we guide dog 
> users want to do,  however it is irrefutable that many, many blind people 
> travel quite safely and effectively with only a white cane.  I don't see 
> how folks with other types of disabilities should be limited in their 
> choices if we are not subject to the same limitations of choice.
>
> Then there is the topic of who exactly is disabled.  I think that is the 
> real problem.  Too many people think that because they have anxiety going 
> to new places or stress meeting new people or any manner of other issues 
> that they are disabled and therefore qualify to use a service animal.  The 
> ADA defines disability as a limitation of a major life activity.  Examples 
> given are seeing, hearing, walking...  But is a fear of going outside a 
> major life function?  I don't know.  That has been left up to the courts 
> to decide. Most service animal related court cases that I know of were 
> lost on the basis that the person was not disabled and therefore not 
> entitled the use of a service animal in the first place.
>
> JMHO
> Julie
>
>
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