[nagdu] Guide Dog Handler Bill of Rights

[Cindy Ray]

As far as you are concerned emotionally, when the dog's ownership is transferred to you after a year or so, it doesn't matter. You already owned him--your heart owned him. It is an argument of principle. If you are accepted into a school after a fairly extensive application process, and if you are trained and complete the program successfully, then the dog should be your certificate of completion with no strings attached. If that is an issue, then the schools need to make their application more rigorous. You need to be able to pass a Bible exam and be fluent in Greek and Hebrew. OOPS! Wrong topic. LOL. Anyway, if you have passed their standards to get the dog in the first place, then it should be yours when you leave. If the dog doesn't work out for you, then you should have say into what becomes of it. At TSE in the first year they make an adjustment and don't charge for the second dog, but that would be like a warranty. You would need to return the dog to them in exchange for the adjustment dog. If you send the dog back after two years, you are on your own. I believe I could have decided after the two years that I would keep the dog or give him to someone who wanted him. I elected to return him in the event that evaluation of him would render him useful to someone else, and I think that may have happened. So that becomes an act of stewardship.

CL

On Jan 31, 2011, at 12:01 AM, Nicole B. Torcolini at Home wrote:

> Ownership is definitely an interesting and, at times, frustrating topic. One thing to consider is the exact meaning of ownership. Yes, I own Lexia, but transition of ownership to me did not really change anything that I had signed in the contract. Just food for thought.
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jennifer Piening" <pienings at comcast.net>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 9:35 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide Dog Handler Bill of Rights
> 
> 
>> Hi!  When I was a student at BLIND, Inc., we could go anywhere we wanted to go.  If I had wanted to take a tour of the city of Minneapolis upon my arrival, I wouldn't have had to ask for permission; I would have just left and did what I wanted to do.
>>     I am not sure of the specific policy at GDB, but i know two people in my class went out with their families and friends who lived in the area. I was so tired at the end of the day that I really didn't want to go on any nightly excursions.
>>     I've also been at events at the National Center, and even though people could go and do things at night, most people just stayed around the center and hung out after an emotionally and intellectually stimulating day.  Were we on lock down?  Of course not.  I think that maybe the same could be said about schools.  They don't plan a whole lot of unstructured off time activities, but i think that people could leave if they wanted to.
>>     I would like there to be a bill of rights, but how can we even formulate a bill of rights, when we don't even agree on which rights we should and shouldn't have?
>>     I personally would like to have total and complete ownership of my dog.  I never really thought of it till I got my second dog.  However, I'm wondering if we might have more success if we compromised a little. Maybe if the school could retain ownership for a year if they felt they needed to retain some kind of ownership.  Then after the year, if everything was going according to  the terms of a  signed contract with clearly written terms and no ambiguity, then the person could own the dog.
>>     It's unfortunate to have to give a little on an issue about which people feel so strongly  but this is what collective bargaining is all aboutt.
>>     I think it is important to try our best to remain unified, so that we can collectively work toward change.  If we fight among ourselves about who is and who isn't a "good" guide dog handler, then we will never get anything accomplished.
>>     Jennifer
>> 
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