[nagdu] Re my final school selection

[Julie Phillipson]

Hi Mat nice to meet you.  When I first read your message earlier today I 
just was floored.  I can't help but wonder where you got the idea that 
anyone was not respecting Chantel's choices.  I don't know if may be I am 
not getting some of the messages on here or not, but I just went to my 
deleted folder and went through every message about leader dog school 
selection and I did not see any that was discouraging in any way.  In fact 
every one of them said congratulations or good luck.  On this list I think 
that we have folks here who have dogs from every school out there.  We each 
have our own opinions too, and we each naturally believe that our school is 
the best!  Every one of them are good and we need all of them to put out the 
best guide dogs possible to meet our needs.  Some times people have had very 
bad experiences with one school or another.  I don't believe anyone here 
disrespects ones decision on where to go for their dog.  I hope you can 
accept other people's right to have their own opinions.  I've seen good dogs 
from all the schools and some bad dogs from every school, but I think mostly 
good.  Each of us
have special needs in one way or another and some times a bad match is made, 
not intentionally it just happens for one reason or another.  Some times it 
is the dog and some times it is the handler that needs to learn how to 
handle their own dog.  I have just gotten my forth dog and he is different 
than any of the others.  He is a great dog we have only been together for a 
little over 3 months and we bonded almost immediately.  Still we both need 
to do some work on a few things because he isn't quite sure what I want and 
I'm not sure some times how he is going to decide to handle a situation or
what decision he is going to make.  He has a little problem that to me is 
not a problem but to others it is.  He is a very loving and friendly guy, 
and wants to jump up to say hello and give lots of kisses.  He likes to 
climb up on my lap too.  I don't mind that but that same behavior is 
unacceptable to someone else, that doesn't make him a bad guide dog by a 
long shot.  Please do not be so judgmental of other people's opinions. 
Congratulations on your recent graduation from Florida State.
Julie Phillipson
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matt Weihmuller" <saxmatt7 at gmail.com>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2011 4:25 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Re my final school selection


> Hi all,
>    I am Matt Weihmuller and am a new dog guide user.  I am a recent
> graduate of Florida State University, where I received my Masters in Music
> Performance.  I don't usually like to  comment on subjects unless I have
> something very useful to say.  First of all, good luck to you, Chantel, in
> your future training and hopeful  receiving of a guide dog.  It is an
> experience that  will most certainly change your life.  Now, on to the
> matter at  hand.  I am  greatly troubled and somewhat offended by some of
> the comments that have been made on this list regarding the experiences of
> some graduates of Leader Dogs.  I have been gblind all my life and used a
> cane until February of this year, when I received my Leader Dog, Daisy.  I
> have excellent mobility skills and I can tell you that Leader Dogs is one
> of
> the top schools in the nation in my opinion.  Throughout my accademic
> career, I was informed by several different individuals that I would be an
> excellent candidate for a guidedog, and I did not pursue the matter
> seriously until a few years ago.  The reason being that I am a person who
> does not make life altering decisions until I have done a great deal of
> research and have what I consider to be all the facts from as many
> different
> sources as possible. I am sure we can all agree that receiving a guide dog
> is a life altering experience and one should have as much information as
> possible before  making the decision of getting one and from where to
> receive such a  valuable mobility companion.  During my research, I
> contacted every school, and spoke to as many people as I could regarding
> my
> individual concerns about the benefits and drawbacks of getting a guidedog
> .
> After much consideration, I made the decision to attend Leader Dogs
> because
> they were the school that at the time, best fit my individual needs. Now,
> I
> would say   that they were not the  complete "perfect" school, but no
> training program can be.  The trainers try to make the best decision about
> what dog best matches the candidates' needs and personality.  I am sure
> they
> don't always get it right, but in my case, I can say with most certainty
> that I received the best dog for me!  I have traveled all over the state
> with Daisy, and she always does a good job to date.  She always stops at
> every obstacle, and obeys all commands I give her.  If anyone would  like
> to
> state to the contrary, they are welcome to accompany us on our many long
> travels throughout the day.  My point in  saying all of this is that, in
> my
> opinion, there is no "one size fits all" guidedog school.  While, there
> are
> other schools that I am sure are just as qualified, and might be possibly
> better than Leader Dog in  one's opinion, doesn't mean that others who
> decide to choose Leader Dogs as there school of choice are wrong, and
> therefore, shouldn't be discouraged from doing so. I don't really
> understand
> why certain individuals felt the need to severely criticize a certain
> school.  Every client is different, and therefore, there will always be
> those who have extremely good experiences and those who have extremely bad
> ones.  These schools graduate hundreds of teams every year, so just by the
> numbers, there are bound to be a few misplaced teams.  Just because an
> individual may have been the unfortunate victim of such a bad experience
> does not give that individual the right to tell others that it is the
> "wrong"  school for them. When you make such comments, you may give new
> up-and-coming dog guide users the wrong idea about things.  Furthermore,
> you
> discourage Leader Dog graduates from joining and participating in NAGDU,
> the
> NFB and other such organizations who I believe the soul purpose is to
> advocate for the blind.  I am sure many of you may disagree and may even
> be
> offended by what I have had to say today.  I appolygize for my long winded
> post, however, I feel very strongly about this matter, and would  please
> urge anyone who posts to this list to please think about the message they
> are trying to send.  Afterall, at the end of the day, does that message
> really help or hender the progress of the matter at hand.  Thank you all
> very much for your time.  Take care all.  Warm wishes.
>    Matt Weihmuller
>    MMP 2010
>    Phone: 813-541-4012
>    Email: saxmatt7 at gmail.com
>    Twitter/Skype/Aim: saxmatt7
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