[nagdu] new

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Katrin,

Welcome!  I'm Tammy, in case you're using JAWS, but I spell it Tami so now
answer to Tommy as well.  /smile/  I'm an owner-trainer, too, working my
first guide, a poodle named Mitzi.  She will turn 3 in just 2 weeks, so is
really just beginning her career now that her  handler (me) seems to have
gotten it together so that we can be a smoothly operating team.

Like James, she is a lot of fun to live with, and she still keeps me really
busy playing soccer and going to the park so she can run.  We went on our
first hike with her working the trails last weekend, and she was fantastic.
It was really fun.  Now I need to learn where we are when we're hiking so I
can give her good direction instead of letting her pick the turns.  /lol/

I'm sorry your puppy had health issues and had to be CC'd.  I don't plan to
have to retired Mitzi for a good many years, but I'm already wondering how
to manage that given the difficulty of finding a replacement to train and
the sheer statistical likelihood a prospect won't work out after all.  Ugh!
So I still watch what people say about the programs and certainly keep that
option in mind.

As for how the schools would look at your condition in evaluating you for
admission, I can't begin to guess.  Functionally and perceptionally, it
makes no difference whether the blindness is in your brain or your eyeballs.
You can see or you can't, and if you can't see, you're blind.  I hope you
can find a program that will see it that way.  Do you have a good
neurologist or ophthamologist who can write a letter explaining your form of
blindness?  Do you know if your condition has enough recognition that you
can provide informational material to help the admissions staff grasp the
issue?

Good luck, and welcome!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Katrin Andberg
Sent: Sunday, May 24, 2009 8:27 AM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] new

Hi

 

I'm new here and have been reading the archives and this sounds like a very
knowledgeable and interesting group.  I currently am partnered with James,
my guide of 6 years, who I owner-trained. James is a flat coated retriever
and a lot of fun to live with.  I recently had to CC my puppy in training
due to health issues.  I'm considering going to a program somewhere in the
north east when it comes time for James to retire, rather than owner train
again.

 

I'm not legally blind, but I use a guide dog for a sensory processing
disorder.  I have a difficult time visually processing the world around me
at a normal rate due to that, so James is trained to work as any guide
would.  

 

I hope to learn a lot reading here on this list.

 

Katrin & "James"  

 

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