[nagdu] some advice

[Jennifer Piening]

Hi!  I will relate my experience to you to explain why I wouldn't live 
in a place in which the people were reluctant to let me get a guide dog, 
even if they agreed with it after a while.
      When I got my first guide dog, I lived in a co-op with 8 other 
women.  There were also 4 cats living there at the time.  I decided I 
wanted a guide dog, and had a GDB representative over, and also talked 
it over with the people at the co-op at one of our usual long, drawn out 
meetings.  LOL  Many of the people were reluctant, because they didn't 
like dogs very much.  However, they agreed after I answered all of their 
questions about the safety of the cats, and my responsibility for the 
dog, etc.
      After returning from GDB, I realized I had made a big mistake by 
not moving before I got a guide dog.  My housemates' were unwilling to 
close their doors, so that Leonard could have some time to explore the 
house.  There were cat boxes and cat food in so many rooms, and Leonard 
loved eating it all when he got the chance.  If he would get away, which 
he never missed the chance to do, since he didn't get to run around much 
at all, he would immediately go into their rooms and eat the food.  he 
was like a tornado since he didn't get to run around  off leash at all, 
so they told me that he couldn't be off leash in the house at all. The 
only time he could be off leash in the house is when we were in my small 
bedroom.  We did a lot of walking, but since he never had time to just 
be a dog and get used to his environment, he was always looking for 
opportunities to break away and run free.  I took him to dog parks, but 
sometimes it was difficult to get him to come back.
      Since he could only run around and play in my bedroom,  the 
hardwood floor was made of pine, and we had other dog visitors, the 
floor got damaged, and I had to pay to have it replaced.  Other dogs 
would also go to the bathroom in front of our house, and they blamed the 
mess on Leonard.
      The experience was so stressful that I am pretty sure it 
contributed to Leonard's constant diarrhea and other stomach problems. 
His health problems became so problematic that I had to retire him after 
10 months.  I didn't realize how stressful the situation was until I 
moved.  He ended up living with some friends, and they said that he 
rarely had any stomach related problems at all.
      I had to learn the hard way through this experience that if the 
people with whom I live have reservations about a dog at all that it is 
imperative that I move before getting a dog.  I never want to go through 
what I went through with Leonard.  it was an awful and heartbreaking 
experience.  If the people with whom you live don't want a dog around, 
then by all means, please don't make the mistake I made and stay, 
thinking it would get better in time.  Having a dog is an adjustment in 
itself, and you don't need the added stress of dealing with other 
peoples' issues as well.
      After retiring Leonard, I waited 8 years before getting another 
dog, and the experience has been so much better!
      Sometimes I still feel ashamed of what happened with Leonard, 
because I feel like I should have known better.  I just thought that 
once I went to class and learned the correct things to do, and once my 
housemates' met Leonard and saw how we worked together that things would 
just kind of fall into place. If I knew that things would have gone so 
wrong, I would have moved before considering a guide dog.  I guess I 
lived and learned, and I am pretty sure Leonard had a great life living 
with my friends'.  he was always really happy and well taken care of.
      Take care,
      Jenny