[nagdu] Introduction

[Joy Relton]

Hi David,

Welcome to the list. Of course, we are not offended if you are on the list
and do not have a dog. How can you decide whether to get one if you don't
check it out. Besides, we are not exclusive.

My name is Joy. I am currently working my fourth Seeing Eye Dog Belle, a
beautiful yellow lab who is almost white she is so light. She has a lot of
personality and I love her very much. We've been working together for six
and-a-half years now. I do not currently work outside the home since I have
been recovering for a medical issue that caused me to stop working and
rebuild many skills lost. I am currently working on getting back into the
work force. I have to get out and work Belle daily but I don't have to walk
major miles to keep her active. I usually walk between 1.5 and four miles a
day plus the work she gets when we shop or go to various activities. I do
know that dogs work best when they are worked. I love the freedom of being
able to walk down the street and focus on the direction that I am going and
the traffic instead of worrying whether I'm walking straight enough, will
trip over something or just not being as tense as I would be with a cane.
Both the cane and the dog are good mobility tools. I think good mobility
skills are essential to traveling whether with a dog or a cane. I have used
dogs to travel alone in Europe, across the United States and in various
neighborhoods where I've lived. I don't have any usable sight except to
check for lights in a room, so I've never had to deal with the question of
whether I can see too much. I mention these things only to say, that it's a
personal decision. If you are interested talk to the dog guide schools and
find out how much vision is too much. Then, maybe meet some folks who have
dogs and watch them interact. I think that you'll find dog guide users run
the whole range of levels of activity, fitness and to some extent vision. I
hope that you will learn a lot from the list, but please don't be hesitant
to ask anything. There are no stupid questions and we are a pretty good
group in terms of answering questions and sharing experiences. 

Again, Welcome. 

Joy with Belle who is ready to take off to walk the three miles to Star
Bucks.
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of David Baker
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 3:47 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] Introduction


Hello, list members.  My name is David Baker and I have been lurking for a
few days and wanted to introduce myself.

I live in Atlanta, GA.  I am 69, retired, in good health and spend my time
cooking, gardening and web-surfing.   I have very poor night vision and have
become more insecure lately when in stores and around groups of people.  I
have late onset RP with substantial remaining vision -- just over 10 degrees
with good acuity after cataract surgery.  I have a fairly dominant
personality and find it hard to let go of things, but realize that my vision
has ideas other than those I might wish for.  I am not ready for a guide
dog, because I am concerned that I have too much vision to let a dog lead
and my current living situation is such that I may not get out and about
often enough to maintain his or her training level.  Perhaps I'd get out
more with a guide dog, but I'll have to think on that.  We currently have an
18 month old female 50 pound lab husky mix who is a real sweetheart.

If no one is offended, I'd appreciate just being able to sit back and listen
as people talk about their guide friends to get a better feel of your/their
world and an idea of what kinds of things I need to be looking at as I get
closer to needing help beyond my cane.

Thanks for listening,  David

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com 
Version: 9.0.700 / Virus Database: 270.14.47/2478 - Release Date: 11/03/09
02:36:00



_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/jrelton%40verizon.net