[nagdu] rejected by the lions club?

[Michael Hingson]

Wow!  Where to begin!  This person is, as Marion said, very mis-informed.

First, the state has no say over who trains a guide dog.  The ADA makes no
distinction over where and how a guide dog is trained.

Second, as some on this list will show from personal experience, owner
training of guide dogs can and is being done.  The attitudes of the writer
of this letter do help to explain some of the misguided attitudes of schools
such as Leader, attitudes which have been discussed on this list.

Finally, the reality is that any good guide dog user is by definition a
guide dog trainer as training is an on-going effort.  It may begin with a
"professional trainer", but more training occurs after the handler gets the
dog than ever happens during the initial dog training at a school.  If the
organization does its job well then it trains the handler to continue,
improve, and enhance the initial training of the dog.

No, the author of this letter really missed the mark and needs training as
much as the dogs produced by Leader.


The Michael Hingson Group, INC.
     “Speaking with Vision”
                 Michael Hingson, President
                         (415) 827-4084
                   info at michaelhingson.com
                   www.michaelhingson.com


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-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jessica Pitzer
Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2010 12:53 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] rejected by teh lions club?

Hi all,
following is an email I received in response to an email I sent to my
local lions club about asking for help with some of the costs of owner
training. I'm.. not quite sure how to feel right now except baffled as
we have some many owner trainers and I just embarked on this journey
myself.
Thoughts?
On 5/2/10, Rosemary Richert <rosemary at richertnet.com> wrote:
> Hi Bert,
>
> It is highly unusual, and questionably irresponsible, for someone to train
> their own guide dog.  The state only recognizes service animals which have
> been professionally trained.  Any other such dogs may be banned from
places
> which would otherwise allow access to service animals.  Necessary training
> of the dog is very comprehensive and time consuming.  And, subsequently,
> training of the blind person with the dog is, also, very comprehensive and
> time consuming.  For the person's training, alone, three weeks of on-site
> training with the animal determined best suited to their needs is
required.
> The blind person needs to prove their orientation and mobility skills
before
> even being accepted into a training program.  Without proof of the
adequacy
> of those skills, they will not be accepted.
>
> I served on the Board of Directors of Leader Dogs for the Blind for four
> years, and am the person who convinced the facility to become trainers for
> the blind/deaf community...to the best of my knowledge, it remains the
only
> facility with qualified instructors of deaf/blind individuals.  I tell you
> this, so that you may understand that I have a credible background in
these
> matters, and know whereof I speak.  I would strongly caution your Lions
> club, or any other Lions club, about considering involvement with a person
> who thinks they can train a guide dog for the blind on their own.
> Involvement under such circumstances could come back to haunt an otherwise
> well-meaning club.  It would make much more sense for this person to be
> screened as to qualifications; and, if qualified, be sponsored to a
> recognized service do training program.
>
> Thank you for your kind consideration.
>
>
>
> God bless.
>
>
>
> With Lionism at Heart, ©
>
>
>
> PDG Rosemary

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