[nagdu] Man's dogs will set blind kids free

cheryl echevarria cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com
Sun May 16 12:21:05 UTC 2010


Oh I totally understand, it happens to all of us, I hope we all realize 
opinions are opinions and everyone has a difference of them and we should be 
working together and not jumping down each others throats.  There have been 
many a time I want to leave this list and others because of the rudeness 
people put on each other, but then I say what is that going to accomplish. 
I am an officer within the NFB and I have a responsibility to help others 
and not put them down.

So no worries Michelle, I was just trying to help and not write out of being 
mean and not understanding what you are going through.

Cheryl Echevarria
Independent Travel Consultant
C10-10646

http://Echevarriatravel.com
1-866-580-5574

http://blog.echevarriatravel.com
Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel CST-1018299-10


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michelle" <m-johnson at bigpond.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2010 11:24 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Man's dogs will set blind kids free


> Hi Sheryl,
>
> I agree with you with that one. However there are always the fraction of 
> the
> percentage of people who somehow manages to get out even when they haven't
> used a cane for a long time. I'm sure that if that's the case those people
> may not be coping very well, I don't know how I'll cope when my dog 
> retires.
>
> For me, the cane was good but not as good as a dog. I couldn't cross roads
> in a straight line, and I needed a lot more help with the white cane, not
> pushing opinions onto those who feel differently of course! (smile).
>
> Sorry about the other day, it just makes me upset sometimes when I read 
> the
> discussions and feelings and ideas get shoved around instead of being
> discussed over.
>
> Keep well,
>
> Michelle
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "cheryl echevarria" <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 9:56 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Man's dogs will set blind kids free
>
>
> > Michelle:  Totally understand, some of us walk faster with a dog and 
> > feel
> > more independent, but at the same time, what happens with those people
> > that when there dog retires or gets sick, they can't leave the house or
> > have to wait for someone.  I use my cane and always keep up my skills, I
> > don't always take the dog so that I can keep up my skills.
> >
> >
> > Cheryl Echevarria
> > Independent Travel Consultant
> > C10-10646
> >
> > http://Echevarriatravel.com
> > 1-866-580-5574
> >
> > http://blog.echevarriatravel.com
> > Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
> > Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel
> > CST-1018299-10
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Michelle" <m-johnson at bigpond.com>
> > To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> > <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> > Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 7:56 PM
> > Subject: Re: [nagdu] Man's dogs will set blind kids free
> >
> >
> >> Sorry, but although I agree with some of the stuff you said, there are
> >> other
> >> bits I disagree with. Without trying to be rude of offensive, sure most
> >> blind people aren't pitiful, but some are. And excuse me, but I'm one 
> >> of
> >> the
> >> blind people, the few I might add, that despite being instructed by a
> >> professional instructor, getting around wasn't as good a deal as when I
> >> got
> >> my guide dog. I had trouble with my white cane, it didn't stop me from
> >> bumping me into stuff most of the time, because as a total, how can I
> >> know
> >> when to suddenly put my hands up to protect myself all of a sudden? My
> >> dog
> >> prevents that and rarely lets me bump into things. Being blind isn't so
> >> easy
> >> for some, and I don't like how some people on here have decided that 
> >> just
> >> because they get angry with the stuff in the article and the like, they
> >> can
> >> say that blind people aren't so pitiful. As a whole they're probably 
> >> not,
> >> but please don't forget the ones who are having trouble, despite all 
> >> the
> >> help! (Stern but not intentionally rude and judgmental).
> >>
> >> Michelle
> >> ----- Original Message ----- 
> >> From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
> >> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
> >> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> >> Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 1:44 AM
> >> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Man's dogs will set blind kids free
> >>
> >>
> >> >    I'm sorry, but this whole perception of the pitiful blind person
> >> > whose
> >> > life would be depressing and worthless without a guide dog only 
> >> > serves
> >> > to
> >> > reinforce the assertion that such organizations as Mira Foundation 
> >> > are
> >> > less
> >> > interested in disseminating accurate information about blindness and
> >> > more
> >> > concerned with saying whatever they need to say in order to gain
> >> > support
> >> > for
> >> > their cause! I have never counted steps in my 30 years as a blind
> >> > person
> >> > and
> >> > can't even tell you if I know a blind person who does! And why did 
> >> > this
> >> > guy
> >> > run into light poles? Perhaps because he had absolutely no O&M
> >> > instruction
> >> > before getting a guide dog!
> >> >    Such drivvle only serves to marginalize those blind people who do
> >> > not
> >> > use a guide dog, which happens to be the vast majority of the blind!
> >> > Furthermore, the schools that do not give guide dogs to young people 
> >> > do
> >> > so
> >> > with very sound reasoning. However, one thing better than a poor
> >> > pitiful
> >> > blind man is a "poor pitiful blind child" to get donors to dig deeply
> >> > into
> >> > their pockets! Ugh! JMHO!
> >> >
> >> > Fraternally yours,
> >> > Marion Gwizdala
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> >> > From: "Ginger Kutsch" <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
> >> > To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog 
> >> > Users'"
> >> > <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> >> > Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 8:22 AM
> >> > Subject: [nagdu] Man's dogs will set blind kids free
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >> Man's dogs will set blind kids free
> >> >> Published Thu, May 13, 2010 05:02 AM
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> SOUTHERN PINES -- As a blind man, Bob Baillie walks down busy
> >> >> Broad Street often enough to know it is 75 steps from the corner
> >> >> of Pennsylvania Avenue to the first dip in the sidewalk. When he
> >> >> hits the first crack, it's 60 steps to the corner.
> >> >>
> >> >> This intimacy with the concrete would be impossible without
> >> >> Devon, a 110-pound Bernese mountain dog who works for cookies and
> >> >> ear scratches. Before Devon, Baillie would knock into light
> >> >> poles, wander into traffic and curse the surgical accident that
> >> >> left him in the dark three years ago.
> >> >>
> >> >> Freed and inspired by his wet-nosed companion, Baillie, a
> >> >> Southern Pines businessman, decided to connect blind people
> >> >> nationwide with their own guide dogs, focusing on children as
> >> >> young as 11. In a little more than a year, his Aberdeen-based
> >> >> Mira Foundation USA has arranged trained animals for an
> >> >> 11-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, and five North Carolina
> >> >> teenagers wait in the pipeline.
> >> >>
> >> >> "I thought it was a wonderful idea," said Cricket Bidleman, the
> >> >> 11-year old, in San Diego. "I'll be a lot safer at school, and
> >> >> I'll have a friend to talk to at home."
> >> >>
> >> >> Baillie's work is expensive and uncommon. Guide dogs cost roughly
> >> >> $60,000 once training is complete, putting their help beyond the
> >> >> reach of many families. Also, guide dog groups often require that
> >> >> blind children be 16 or at least in high school before getting
> >> >> dogs, making rare exceptions.
> >> >>
> >> >> For Baillie, it's a chance to lift depression out of his own life
> >> >> and fill a gap for potentially hundreds more. He hopes his
> >> >> foundation will grow into a charity that places 30 dogs a year,
> >> >> one wagging tail at a time.
> >> >>
> >> >> "Very few of us get the opportunity to really do something for
> >> >> human beings," said Baillie, 66. "Just the fact that you can get
> >> >> up in the morning, grab your dog and go for a walk by yourself."
> >> >>
> >> >> In North Carolina, more than 200,000 people report visual loss, a
> >> >> definition that runs from total blindness to serious difficulty
> >> >> seeing even while wearing glasses, according to a 2008 report
> >> >> from the American Foundation for the Blind.
> >> >>
> >> >> Of that group, more than 11,000 are ages 5 to 17.
> >> >>
> >> >> Blind children aren't typically thought to be mature enough to
> >> >> handle a guide dog before they're 16, though exceptions have been
> >> >> made for 14-year-olds, said William Krol, spokesman for the New
> >> >> York-based Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind.
> >> >>
> >> >> "When you're a guide dog handler, you have a commitment not only
> >> >> to yourself, but also to your dog," he said.
> >> >>
> >> >> Sally Bidleman, Cricket's mom, argued that guide dogs should be
> >> >> provided according to need and ability rather than age. She tried
> >> >> every agency in the country, she said, before finding Mira.
> >> >> Cricket navigates the halls of her school, including the stairs,
> >> >> on her own each day. When her dog arrives this summer, the school
> >> >> will hold an assembly to orient Cricket's classmates on how to
> >> >> approach her companion.
> >> >>
> >> >> "It's like somebody getting eyes, almost," she said. "It's like
> >> >> getting another sense."
> >> >>
> >> >> 'You'd rather be dead'
> >> >>
> >> >> Baillie's blindness struck three years ago during what was
> >> >> supposed to be a simple bypass surgery. The incision cut an
> >> >> artery, he said, and he lost blood to his eyes while he bled. He
> >> >> knew the surgery might be fatal but never received any warning
> >> >> about blindness. To date, Baillie has received no compensation
> >> >> and believes he will have to fight to get any.
> >> >>
> >> >> "Taking a choice between croaking and being blind," Baillie said,
> >> >> "for the first couple of days, you'd rather be dead. Try crossing
> >> >> the street with your eyes closed."
> >> >>
> >> >> Before the surgery, Baillie worked in both dentistry and real
> >> >> estate. For the first year, he struggled with a cane, forcing
> >> >> himself to listen to traffic - a requirement, he said, for
> >> >> getting a dog.
> >> >>
> >> >> "He would just plow into things and he never slowed down," said
> >> >> Kathy Szyja, his director of operations at Mira. "He needed this
> >> >> dog to keep him safe."
> >> >>
> >> >> Devon came from the Mira Foundation in Quebec, and while Baillie
> >> >> was there, learning to walk with him, he learned that children in
> >> >> America rarely get dogs. When he asked about it, he said, he
> >> >> heard an it's-always-been-that-way explanation. So borrowing the
> >> >> Canadian name for his own group, he started Mira USA.
> >> >>
> >> >> 'Dinner in the Dark'
> >> >>
> >> >> It operates as a nonprofit out of an office in Aberdeen with
> >> >> minimal staff. Fundraiser meals and runs boosted its treasury.
> >> >> Now, to raise money, Mira hosts dinners (there's one on Friday)
> >> >> where the guests eat blindfolded. The dogs all come from Mira in
> >> >> Canada and a lot of the expense comes from flying eligible
> >> >> children to Canada, and the trainers to their homes. As Mira
> >> >> grows in Moore County, Baillie hopes to train dogs there.
> >> >>
> >> >> For now, he and Devon rise each morning and make the three-mile
> >> >> trek from his horse-country house to downtown Southern Pines. For
> >> >> the first mile, there are no sidewalks. Before they reach a
> >> >> sidewalk, Baillie and Devon cross four streets.
> >> >>
> >> >> But on Broad Street, everyone knows them.
> >> >>
> >> >> "When you see a person walking up and down the street with a
> >> >> cane," Baillie said, "you're not likely to say hello. But when
> >> >> you walk up and down the street with a dog, let me tell you, it
> >> >> makes a huge difference. People driving by will roll down their
> >> >> window and yell, 'Hey, Devon!' Never mind Bob."
> >> >>
> >> >> Staff researcher David Raynor contributed to this report.
> >> >>
> >> >> josh.shaffer at newsobserver.com or 919-829-4818
> >> >> Source:
> >> >> http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/05/13/v-print/479987/mans-dogs-s
> >> >> et-blind-kids-free.html
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> Ginger Bennett Kutsch
> >> >> Morristown, NJ
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> >
> >> >
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> >>
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