[nagdu] Hello from returning member

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Welcome back, Gail!  I must have joined after you left the list.  I'm tami, and I live in Oregon with an owner-trained poodle guide named Mitzi, who turns 4 tomorrow.  I can still hardly believe she's a grown up, but there it is.

Over the past few years, it has seemed like guide dog schools are becoming more and more open to applicants with additional disabilities, although I don't know how rigid they are about the boundaries between crappy vision and actual legal blindness these days.  It probably depends on the school.

I know there are others on the list with balance issues to go along with their vision issues, so they should be able to steer you in a useful direction.  A couple of the other owner-trainers have  cross-trained dogs for two or more issues, including balance.

Good luck.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gail
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2010 6:23 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nagdu] Hello from returning member

Hello all!





 Its been a few years since I was last here, but I'm back and full of
questions again! The deal is, my last SD retired herself, and with my vision
gradually taking a nosedive, I'm investigating getting a guide dog this time
 So this means going through the process of doctor exams, determining if I
am legally blind or just low vision, etc. I have a second Humphries test
next week, which should tell the tale. I'm hoping, as odd as it sounds, that
I fail it, because I cant get a service dog from programs like CCI, since
they wont touch people with visual problems, and I'm frankly afraid to go
anywhere without the help of a dog. I've tried going out with my husband,
using both my forearm crutches (normally only use one), using one to feel
out danger spots, but I have to creep along that way. And its so scary to
not know what is on the sides, because of the blurry. 



  I've got a cane, but no training, and with budget cuts here in Kansas, I
havent yet found anyone who teaches it. And it would be difficult to use,
since I am using both crutches for balance-before this, the pull on the
harness of my SD kept me balanced. So I have to figure things out somehow.



 So here I am again!

          Gail  

»§«.,¸¸,.·´¯`·.,¸¸,.»§«

Stand up for what is right, 

even if you are left standing alone.