[nagdu] Places A Guide Dog Can't Go-- Commercial Kitchens

[Elizabeth Rene]

I'm glad someone brought up the idea of a guide dog user working in a 
commercial kitchen.

I've cooked in church kitchens and, for several months, in the kitchen and 
bakery of a Christian service community in the South that fed luncheon 
guests every day and shipped confections nation-wide.  While working, I left 
my guide dog in my living quarters, which were just steps away from the 
kitchen.  I didn't feel the kitchen was a safe place for my dog, and the 
bakery, which we swept every day because nuts and candy could fall to the 
floor, was too much of a potential temptation.  It was also federally 
inspected for health hazards on a regular basis, and I, a volunteer and 
guest, didn't want to jeopardize the bakery's functioning by having a dog 
there in case an inspector walked in unannounced.

I loved those cooking experiences, and have often thought such work would be 
a great way to help defray the cost of post-graduate study.  Friends have 
even encouraged me to go to culinary school.  But I don't know what I'd do 
with my dog during work hours.  I wouldn't want to leave him unsupervised 
for long periods or where others could interfere with him.

Any suggestions?

Elizabeth