[nagdu] Public Perception

[Marion Gwizdala]

Dan,
    I was at WalMart the other day when my pup ran me into something. I 
corrected him and a woman expressed her concern that I was not treating him 
well. I told her very politely that I appreciated her concern but it was my 
dog's job to keep me safe and that included making sure I avoided such 
obstacles. I told her today it was a chair; tomorrow it could be a moving 
car. I assured her that he was treated very well, knelt down and gave him a 
big hug. I got a sloppy lick in return. I think she saw that he is a happy, 
well treated dog!

Fraternally yours,
Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan Weiner" <dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 12:49 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] a couple questions


> People are interesting, a aren't they?
>
> I'm wondering if they'd  say  the same thing if they saw you discipline 
> your
> kids or whatever?
> I've often wondered,  whether these people think the dog is more important
> than we are.
> And this is someone, yours truly, who loves dogs and would hate to see
> abuse.
> I also really enjoy having a dog and have been in situations where I've 
> had
> to be firm with my dog based on the situation.   .
>
> I suppose the only thing to remember is that these folks aren't blind and
> don't have to depend on the dog's work for the team to be a success,
> obviously.
>
> When their safety depends on whether a dog is distracted or not, then I'll
> worry about their opinion.  Having said that though, it still isn't easy 
> to
> deal with. You don't know when someone's watching and plus you may be in a
> situation where the ignoramus might be a colleague, friend, family member,
> or someone you have to deal with.
> My only solution is this: I've found that if I don't let myself get upset,
> don't overreact, just act calmly when dealing with these bozos, it usually
> goes away.
> Now, should we have to be saintly and patient all the time? No, absolutely
> not.
> Let's see, when I had my first dog I had to be very strict about
> distractions...actually this is happening with my present pup.
> With my first dog I did get people saying "Why are you beating that dog".
> I would:
>
> 1. just ignore them
> 2. Explain calmly
> 3. If they didn't get it go on my way or say something like "I'm sorry you
> feel that way, have a wonderful day". In Dan's parlance, when I say that 
> in
> a certain tone it really means "Go fornicate with yourself".--smile
>
>
>
> Dan
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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/blind411%40verizon.net