[nagdu] Hello from returning member

Gail deerskin at oct.net
Sun Jun 13 21:16:51 UTC 2010


Thank you for the welcome!

  Actually, I wouldnt need a dog with extra training, since the ordinary
pull of the dog walking forward is the perfect counterbalance for my Meniere
s Disease. I only use the right hand crutch to prevent possible problems. A
forearm crutch is essentially a cane you can hang on your forearm, with
better mechanics.

 I trained all my own dogs till now, but with things getting visually
spookyer, I  am afraid to risk it now.  I trained for some guide
work-showing me places I could fall over/into or slip on, and kept me from
crashing into things when I thought the area we were walking was safe. I
wish I could just hunt up a good canidate for training, and go to it, but I
m 50 now, and not in as good a shape as I was 10 years ago when I started. I
m hoping I can go to GDB in California...for one thing, I know the weather
there is such that it would be *much* easier to train in, having grown up in
southern Californa, and vacationed often in the north. Its also a school I
know more about....the funny thing is that, growing up, my career choice was
to apprentice there as a trainer! I had done all the studies they suggested
I do, but when I was old enough to move out, family problems prevented it.
so its really odd to come to a time in my life when I am on the other end of
the situation. Distinctly an odd feeling! <wry grin> But I hope it works
out!


Gail 
 
 
 
 
-------Original Message-------
 
From: Tamara Smith-Kinney
Date: 6/13/2010 11:30:01 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Hello from returning member
 
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.
 
 
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