[nagdu] o/t PETA article

[cheryl echevarria]

Animal Advocate Calls Blind Guide Dog Users Cruel &unfit, PETA, Off-Base or 
Playing to Public Fear?
Donna W. Hill March 07, 2009 "We oppose most seeing-eye-dog programs," says 
Daphna Nachminovitch, PETA's vice president for Cruelty Investigations, in 
an interview with the LA Times´ "LA Unleashed."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/01/when-we-first-r.html

E mail PETA at: DaphnaN at peta.org

Nachminovitch´s objections go beyond PETA´s distaste for breeding programs. 
"They are kept in harnesses almost 24/7, people are prohibited from petting 
or playing with them and they cannot romp and run and interact with other 
dogs." PETA also claims that schools force blind people to return their 
retired dogs.

Nachminovitch doubts the fitness of most blind people to care for their 
animals, "A deaf person can see if a dog has a medical issue such as blood 
in her urine, a blind person living alone cannot." PETA´s solution would 
return blind people to lives of dependence; "The human community should do 
more to support blind people, and give dogs a break. ."

Outraged guide dog handlers and puppy raisers from many schools commented on 
latimes.com refuting every point. Letters to the editor and Op-Ed pieces 
were submitted to the Los Angeles Times. Some people, like Tampa-based 
clinical hypnotherapist, professional musician and speaker Marion Gwizdala,, 
president of the National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU) 
http://www.nfb-nagdu.org/

wrote to Nachminovitch directly.

"The biggest problem we face as blind people," writes Gwizdala, who holds a 
Master of Science degree in mental health counseling and has been in 
practice since 1996, "is misunderstanding and lack of information. It is 
unfortunate that you choose to promulgate the myths that create barriers to 
our full inclusion in society. "

Are Nachminovitch´s comments adding to an underlying bigotry toward blind 
people? Unemployment among working-age blind Americans is seventy percent. 
Blind Americans are also more likely to be underemployed and living in 
poverty. Nonetheless, there are blind lawyers, engineers, chemists, doctors, 
mechanics, teachers, parents, etc.

Why the disparity? Many believe that it all boils down to the changing 
nature of what it means to be blind. Throughout history, there have always 
been blind people who have insisted upon living productive and independent 
lives. The ancient Greek poet Homer, English poet John Milton and American 
author James Thurber were all blind. Most Americans are familiar with the 
accomplishments of Helen Keller. The fact, however, that she is the only 
blind woman most people can name and that she died over fifty years ago 
speaks volumes about the added obstacles society places in the paths of 
blind women.

PETA's solution of having sighted people take over for guide dogs, insulting 
as it is, simply mirrors the prevailing social attitudes. Despite changes in 
legislation and a revolution in technology which allows blind people to 
participate more fully in all aspects of modern life, popular sentiment 
continues to paint blindness as a sentence to dependence and uselessness. 
The truth came out in a Louis Harris poll done in 1991. The National 
Organization on Disability (NOD) commissioned them to find out what America 
really thought about people with disabilities. The survey summary, quoted 
from NOD's 1992 book "That All May Worship," edited by Ginny Thornburgh, 
states, "The public views disabled people as fundamentally different than 
the rest of the population, feeling admiration and pity most often. 
Embarrassment, apathy and fear are also common."

We will probably never know PETA's true motivations for making these 
statements. Nachminovitch's remarks are so all-inclusive, so concise and so 
thoroughly off-base that it is hard to believe they were not deliberately 
calculated to prompt donations from dog lovers who are either unfamiliar 
with guide dog programs or uncomfortable with blind people and misinformed 
about their capabilities. It is possible, of course, that she nurtures a 
habit of willful ignorance and is not inclined to investigate anything she 
speaks about. In either case, PETA's bullying of blind people seems a waste 
of resources.

The thought that schools would force blind people to give up their beloved 
helpers is anathema to many guide dog users. Schools have retirement 
programs but they are voluntary. They exist to take up the slack in cases 
where a blind person can neither keep their retired guide nor find a 
suitable home among friends and family.

"More often than not," Gwizdala continues, "our dogs live out their lives 
with their blind caretakers. My previous guide dog worked until he was 
fourteen years old and lived out the remainder of his sixteen years with 
me."

Gwizdala, who is also the music director at New Life Unity Church in Tampa, 
is working with Louiza, his twelve-year-old German Shepherd/Collie mix. He 
performs under the stage name "Marion & Martin" - a reference to his Martin 
guitar - and is recording his second solo album, a collection of original 
songs, covers and contemporary arrangements of traditional music in the new 
thought genre. Visit Marion's web site at: http://marionandmartin.com

Cheryl Echevarria (42) of Long Island, New York is a certified medical 
insurance specialist and medical biller. Maxx, her three-year-old black 
Labrador retriever from the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (Smithtown, 
NY), is Cheryl's first guide dog.

"Hold on there," she says in response to PETA's idea that guide dogs aren't 
given any affection and are forced to wear their harnesses 24/7, "Yes I use 
my dog when I walk to the bus and go out shopping, or any place I go to be 
independent. But even when I am at work, Maxx has a nice comfy spot under my 
desk. No, he doesn't need to be tied down, and no, he doesn't sit there all 
day with his harness on. I take it off and he sleeps or chews on his bone 
until I need to go somewhere with him."

Cheryl works at Sunrise Medical and was the first visually impaired person 
to graduate from Branford Hall Career Institute in medical billing. She is a 
member of New York's Association of Guide Dog Users, and treasurer of the 
Greater Long Island chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of New 
York: http://www.NFBNY.org

She recently started a group for one of her favorite activities, cooking. 
The Blind Cooks e mail list is a place where people can exchange ideas about 
techniques, equipment, accessibility issues and other topics of interest to 
blind cooks as well as professionals in the culinary arts and those who wish 
to enter the field. For more information go to, 
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-cooks_nfbnet.org

Guide dog schools all teach handlers not to allow people to pet the dogs 
when in harness. There is a difference between work and play, and it is 
safer when people respect that. Guide dog handlers regularly report that 
people approach them while the dog is in harness and pet the dog without 
even saying hello. Most people ask to pet an unfamiliar dog and respect the 
person´s wishes. If they say no, they don't pet the dog anyway or assume 
that no one ever pets that particular dog. The fact that this is what 
happens when strangers encounter guide dogs is evidence that blind people 
are not respected as independent adults.

"When we are home," says Echevarria, who has a twenty-year-old daughter, 
three grown stepchildren and four grandchildren, "he runs around the house 
like any dog. Plays in the backyard, and gets spoiled by my husband and my 
daughter and any friends that come in contact with us."

Cheryl, who is legally blind due to diabetic retinopathy, had a kidney 
transplant from a living donor in 2005. She belongs to the Diabetic Action 
network (DAN): http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Diabetics.asp?SnID=2100697185

DAN is a resource for all diabetics especially those with vision loss. Blind 
diabetics can and do accurately draw up insulin and monitor blood glucose 
levels.

Are blind people, many of whom monitor their own serious health conditions 
like diabetes, unqualified to meet the health needs of their dogs as PETA 
implies? The comments made to me by my first guide's vet in Philadelphia 
echo across the decades. One of his professors at the University of 
Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine said that if a blind person 
brings in their guide dog and tells you they think something's wrong and you 
can't find anything, keep looking.

For a less anecdotal and more current perspective, we need look no further 
than the November 2008 report "Guide Dog Health Survey" by the Morris Animal 
Foundation (MAF): 
http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/pdf/GuideDogHealthSurvey-FINAL_12-12-08.pdf

MAF, which was started in 1948 as the Buddy Foundation to address the health 
needs of the first guide dog, has since funded over 1,600 research studies 
benefiting animals around the world. Concerned that health information for 
adult guide dogs was scarce, they conducted a survey, not of veterinarians, 
spouses, parents or the lady down the street but of guide dog users 
themselves. It is the first of its kind and intended to serve as a base-line 
for future surveys. Their care in preparing and pre-testing an online survey 
that was easy for screen reader users to complete was matched by not only 
the breadth of the study but the many opportunities for guide dog users to 
comment freely about their concerns and experiences. The 1,000+ survey 
participants gave over 11,500 open-ended comments, prompting the report's 
author, Patricia Olson, DVM, Ph.D. (MAF's President/CEO), to write:

Block quote

Guide dog teams have been referred to as the gold standard for a bond 
between a person and his or her dog. Handlers provide love and care to their 
dogs; the dogs provide independence and loyalty to their handler. The 
overwhelming response to the survey made it abundantly clear just how much 
guide dog handlers appreciate and love their dogs. Any work that allows 
these wonderful teams to enjoy even better health and wellness is very 
important to MAF. After all, it was important in our past to help Buddy and 
remains important in our future to give all guide dogs better health.

Block quote end

Blind people share PETA´s concern for unwanted dogs. PETA, however, doesn´t 
acknowledge that most guide dog schools have already tried using shelter 
dogs. Too many shelter dogs failed the programs, adding to the cost of 
training. Breeding programs provide healthier dogs with the aptitude and 
temperament for the work. Guide dogs perform advanced tasks, avoiding 
overhanging obstacles, navigating public transportation and moving safely 
through crowded pedestrian and vehicular traffic. They can find specific 
locations, when trained with patience and praise.

Here again, comments from MAF's survey underscore the validity of dedicated 
breeding programs, "In fact, guide dog schools have often been a model for 
evaluating health trends and reducing disease through appropriate breeding."

this was written by Donna Hill.

A form letter from Heidi Parker, PETA´s Mail Coordinator, sent to people 
like Gwizdala and myself, back-pedals on Nachminovitch´s remarks. "Our 
comments were not meant to reflect badly on people who use or train guide 
dogs."

One wonders whether Ms Parker actually read her boss's remarks. If she did, 
what else does she think Nachminovitch would have had to say, if she had 
"intended" to reflect badly on guide dog programs and those who benefit from 
them? . From the selfless people who raise them as puppies - the family of 
the Hudson River hero pilot Sully Sullenberger among them - to the 
volunteers in the kennels and the trainers themselves, many dog lovers 
participate in the care and training of guide dogs. If cruelty was endemic 
in the programs, wouldn't someone have spoken out before now?

Echevarria has some advice for the LA Times, "people who write such articles 
should go to the schools and speak to the professionals about the training." 
She also has parting thoughts for PETA, "I hope you never go blind and need 
a dog. I also say that you should learn from the experts before you open 
your mouths and stick your foot in."

PETA has not seen fit to make a public apology, and the LA Times has yet to 
respond.
Cheryl Echevarria