[nagdu] Explaining to parents that guide dogs are useful

Tamara Smith-Kinney tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Mon Feb 15 20:31:57 UTC 2010


Wayne,

No, you're not exaggerating on the attention some dogs get.  When I had the
brilliant idea to go poodle, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
/smile/  I keep threatening to replace her with an ugly mangy mutt just so I
can pop into the corner store without all the celebrity.  /grin/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Wayne Merritt
Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 8:43 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Explaining to parents that guide dogs are useful

Hi all. I'm coming to this thread late but lots of people have made
good points to think about. Here's some I thought of when reading
through the thread:

1. I'd agree with the idea of taking a year or two between when you
start college and when you get your dog. The initial year or two of
college can be quite a trip if you're not ready for it. There's a lot
to adjust to.

2. Mark, if you get the dog when at home and living with your parents,
don't let the dog become a family dog or family pet. This means that
you will need to be the one to handle the dog, feed it, take it out
all the time, and so forth. I know you can take care of a dog by
reading your messages on the topic. But by handling all the duties
yourself, even when you don't feel like going out in the cold, and not
sluffing the duties to a relative, that helps cement the bond between
you and the dog. Years later, my mom has admitted to me that my first
guide,a  Lab, became the family's pet to an extent, since several
people in the family had a ball playing with him, giving him commands,
and I'm sure getting someone every so often to take the dog out didn't
help matters much. That first year of having the dog can be critical
in determining what kind of relationship you'll have. Now that I'm "on
my own" and live in another city, and more importantly that my parents
and family can't do those things on a daily basis with my second dog
that they did with the first one, I've developed a tighter bond with
the second dog. If all that makes sense. My current guide will still
romp and play with my family when we visit, but she knows who her
master is and always comes, eventually, when called. Of course, only
staying a weekend, a few days, or a week rather than several weeks or
several months, also has helped our bonding process and rpevented the
dog from getting those deeper ties with the family. Don't get me
wrong, the family and my first guide loved each other in every sense
of the word, but I can definitely see a difference in my bond with the
current guide, and in my family's relationship with the guide since
we're not living at home anymore.

3. Be careful what you wish for. You said at one point that you'd
wanted a dog since that would in affect help you appear more
socialable with the public. If you have a Lab or a dog that looks
cute, you'd be amazed at how much recognition you get when going
places. I distinctly remember dreading trips to the grocery store
during the day, since whenever I walked in the store with my yellow
Lab, kids from every direction would suddenly exclaim in near unison,
"Doggie!" Think I'm exaggerating, try it, grin. Okay, maybe
exaggerating a little, but not much, grin. On the street it's not much
better since there were many times in college when I would be kindly
explaining to someone why they couldn't pet my dog, and then turn
around only to find someone else kindly giving my dog a rub down.

4. Early in the thread, I read where you had said that a dog would
help you to move faster. Remember, speed is relative. I used to think
that this was true as well, but over the last 15-20 years, I've seen
my share of people who were fast and slow with both a dog and a cane,
many of whom were young or middle age.

5. Finally, when you go to choose a program, keep in mind the
program's longevity in comparison with it's distance. In other words,
the closest program may not necessarily be the best one, especially if
that program has only existed for a short time. I'm defining short as
being less than 40 or 50 years. I live in Austin, Texas, and there's a
relatively new program that I've been hearing about in the last year
or so located about 90 minutes away in San Antonio called Guide Dogs
of Texas. This program has been in existance for only about 20 years
or so. This might seem like a long time, but it pales when compared
with programs like The Seeing Eye that have ben operating for over 80
years, or even Guide Dogs for the Blind or Leader Dogs, which are
around the 60 year point. Not to imply that Guide Dogs of Texas is a
bad program, but a program that has been around for 80 years is by
definition going to have more experience than one that's only been
operating for 20 years.

I hope you're taking notes from all this great insight you're getting,
grin. It's not often that you can have a discussion such as this, in
the main society anyway, and get such great feedback. You'll have
plenty of time to enjoy that dog. So just bide your time, graduate
from high school, go to college, and it will happen at the right time,
whether you're in your parent's house or not.

Sincerely,
Wayne Merritt

On 2/13/10, Mark J. Cadigan <kramc11 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Marion,
>
> I think I will apply to the Seeing Eye for any future guide dog. From what
I
> here, that would be best for me. It is not only close to ware I live, but
> you own your dog when you leave. These are just a few of the reasons I
think
> I will make that choice.
>
> I have not yet applied to any colleges. I am however starting to look at
> colleges in and around Boston. I will only be entering my seamier year of
> high school next year. That's why I say I am not eligible for the
> scholarships. I am however eligible for the first time convention attendee
> scholarship. I think I will apply for that. For now, I am not able to do
> anything regarding the convention or the application process for the dog.
I
> will do all that dreaded paperwork as soon as I am finished with my 4 term
> papers, the SATs and eagle project. LOL.
>
> By the way, that advice you gave in a previous email about smiling and not
> stressing out over things is wonderful. I should do that more often. LOL.
> But, as you can tell by this rambling email I am not currently doing so.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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