[nagdu] UK: Heartbreak' as bitten Newport guide dog must go

Fri Apr 29 20:24:13 UTC 2011

Tracy,

Yeah, I always wonder about the "can't" in these sorts of articles.  It
seemed to me he did mention having cane skills and that he was using them to
go about his daily life, but he was out of practice using the cane full time
so didn't get out as much because travel was currently taking so much extra
effort and energy and he was moving more slowly so had less time.  So he was
curtailing some of his activities and, thus, feeling like a prisoner at the
moment.

So that all adds up to what?  You got it!  Poor blind guy can't do a thing
with a dog to lead him around by the hand.  Now he's sad.  Sigh.

Whereas, here in America, we're just cutting and slashing away at any kind
of protective laws we might still have and ripping money away from those who
are supposed to be enforcing them...  We're not spending it on
infrastucture, safety or schools...  I spend a lot of time, actually,
planning each and every day to try to figure out a way around the results of
all that in a good-sized urban area so that I do not have to be a prisoner
in my own home because of how unsafe so many aspects of what's around me has
become...  It's getting to where people who live along our stretch of road
are choosing more and more to just stay home because it is no longer safe to
even drive a mile down to the store.  So we stand around comparing notes and
toting up the number of ambulances and body bags we've all seen (well, they)
this year as opposed to how many last year...  

Needless to say, we plan to relocate when we can, but with working salaries
dropping and employers free to treat their people as they will, along with
no COLA in SSD and still being much to rich to even look at the social
safety net...  We feel a little grim.  We're getting there, but...  Ugh.

So glad I don't live in a third world country!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tracy Carcione
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 5:49 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] UK: Heartbreak' as bitten Newport guide dog must go

This is an older gentleman.  He may well have become blind when cane
skills were not really taught, or taught with a short cane.  Or, I don't
know about in the UK, but in the US, many older people have trouble
getting any kind of blind guy training, including cane skills.  Or, the
ever-present possibility, the journalist is playing up the poor blind guy
angle.
When I'm between dogs, I *hate* going into New York with my cane.  I can,
but I sure don't like it.  If I said as much to a reporter, wanna bet he'd
turn "don't like" into "can't"? And GDBA seems to play the poor blind guy
card way more than any school here could get away with, IMO.
And Lisa, while I appreciate your sentiments, the UK is not a third-world
country!
Tracy

> Your completely correct, oh the poor blind man, who can't navigate with
> out
> his dog. This is the same ploy that most of the guide dog schools play
> into,
> if you get this wonderful amazing dog, you will be this super blindie, and
> be able to go any where and do anything. LOL I am sure he needs his pup,
> jus
> like all of us think we need our pups. And yes it might be true that he
> may
> not have good cane travel skills. But again this is something the school
> should have made sure BEFORE giving him a dog.
>
> Just my two cents!
> Marsha
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Brittney N. Mejico
> Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 7:47 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] UK: Heartbreak' as bitten Newport guide dog must go
>
> I don't know what to say I like the fact that Mr. GRANVILLE Vaughan  is
> trying to do something about loose dogs and that's sad his dog had to
> retire. I have one issue him saying
> "I try to get out with my cane but it's not so easy. I've hardly
> been out recently. I feel like a prisoner here."  Makes us blind people
> look
>
> helpless without them smart dogs to lead us.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ginger Kutsch
> Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 6:39 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] UK: Heartbreak' as bitten Newport guide dog must go
>
> Heartbreak' as bitten Newport guide dog must go
> Wednesday 27th April 2011
> South Wales Argus, UK
>
> GRANVILLE Vaughan and guide dog Nadia have been inseparable for
> five years - but he must now give her up after she was attacked
> by a loose dog.
>
> Now 66-year-old Mr Vaughan, from Somerton Park, Newport, is
> calling for people not to let dogs run loose on the streets, and
> for laws on dog ownership and control to be tightened.
>
> Nadia, a black labrador, was bitten by a Jack Russell terrier on
> Cromwell Road, several weeks ago, and has since become wary of
> other dogs, unable to focus on the vital job of helping Mr
> Vaughan get around.
>
> She has now been retired by the Guide Dogs Association and Mr
> Vaughan must wait to get another dog, a process that can take
> several months.
>
> "It broke my heart when they took her harness away, but she won't
> work on it anymore. She's spinning around looking for other dogs,
> and could knock me over,"
>
> said Mr Vaughan, who is completely blind due to an hereditary eye
> disorder.
>
> "She was seven earlier this month and had a couple of years left
> before retiring. I've had her five-and-a-half years, and she was
> my eyes.
>
> "I try to get out with my cane but it's not so easy. I've hardly
> been out recently. I feel like a prisoner here."
>
> Nadia will be re-homed in Newport, with someone who takes her in
> when Mr Vaughan is ill.
>
> "This is a waste, a real shame, and it shouldn't have happened.
> People don't realise what can happen, letting dogs run loose.
> It's irresponsible and something should be done," he said.
>
> Source: http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk
> <http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/>
>
>
>
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