[nagdu] some advice

[Lyn Gwizdak]

Yeah, Bibi, I used to watch those Animal Cops shows.  My favorite one was 
the NYC one.  It is true that so many of the dogs they brought in were very 
badly abused or neglected.  Many of these dogs were great pets and were 
grateful for the new person in their lives who rescued them.  Yes, others 
have been so emotionally damaged that they could not be made safe for 
another person to adopt.  The kindest thing to do was to put them down.

Larry, I volunteer at my local Humane Society and I know that they will NOT 
put a dog down if they can help it.  They will euthanize an animal if it is 
very sick and suffering and cannot be made well or they are too dangerous to 
the public to adopt them out.  Most of the animals we get in are owner 
relinquished and not strays.  SD Animal Control gets the strays and ones 
taken from abusive homes.  We sometimes housed some of these animals when 
there is no room at Animal Control.  We share a campus with them.

When tempermant testing the dogs - or any animal - they don't do mean things 
to it.  They will do things to it that many people will do.  Things like 
awkward petting, handling feet, ears and tail.  They will test for food or 
other object guarding. These tests are very similar to the tests the schools 
put the guide dog puppies and adults through before and during training.

When a person wants to adopt, they meet with a Adoption Counsellor to 
discuss the suitability of the particular animal and the prospective 
adopter.  The idea is to not get the animal back because it doesn't work out 
in that particular home.

The dogs get training and are sometimes put into foster homes to get 
training and socialization if needed.  The methods are cruelty-free and 
positive enforcement methods - no choke collars or leash corrections that we 
use with the guide dogs.  They are trained with "click and treat" methods.

If a pet is so damaged that it bites or attacks, then sometimes euthanasia 
is needed for that animal.  Some of the large dogs can kill a human.  It is 
negligent for the HS to release a dangerouos dog to someone.  The HS staff 
leans over backwards to try to salvage an animal but at times it doesn't 
work out.

When we get new animals for the P-AT  program, we temperment test all 
animals we are considering - that means even the guinea pigs and rats.  They 
have to be the right animals that will enjoy the going out to nursing homes 
and places for disabled kids and adults to be played with and enjoyed.  We 
do another test for our program even after the HS gives the initial testing. 
We put our own dogs through this test to be allowed to use them for the 
program.  Even Landon went throuogh their testing - and passed with flying 
colors!  At each site we visit, we are constantly monitoring how the animals 
are being treated by the patients or students.  Any kind of rough handling 
is nipped in the bud at once and the animal is removed from the offending 
person at once.  Safety to the people we visit and animals is utmost in our 
minds.

There are many fine animals that are looking for good "forever" homes and I 
always recommend checking out the animals in the HS or other good shelters 
rather than buying from breeders.  At the shelters you get an animal already 
spayed or neutered, medically healthy with up to date vaccinations - and 
tested for good temperment.  A great deal and you save the life of a good 
animal!

Landon has a cute rat friend at our program.  It is "Vanilla", a cream and 
white Hooded Rat.  Vanilla loves to walk over to Landon and they greet each 
other by touching noses.  Vanilla wants to climb onto Landon but Landon 
draws the line at that!  I wish I could get pictures of the two of them 
touching noses - Landon's HUGE nose to the rat's tiny one!  Too cute!  We 
aren't allowed to take camera to visitation sites because of the Privacy Act 
so I've had to miss many a Kodak Moment with Landon and the rats.  Oh well!

Lyn and Landon


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Criminal Justice Major Extraordinaire" <orleans24 at comcast.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2011 4:17 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] some advice


> Hi, Larry,
> I usually watch Animal Cops shows on a daily basis and the work that the 
> humane societies do is really good.
> They do have to put the dog through behavioral tests before it can be 
> adopted out.
> There are some dogs that do get put down, not because of the humane 
> society, but more, because of what their previous owners did to them.
> No matter how much the behavioralists work with the dog and try, some 
> problems are too far gone to be fixed.
> If rescue organizations are willing to step in and take the dog to work 
> with it as they do have lots of time on their hands, then they will 
> happily do so in a way where that dog gets another chance.
> I do give all the humane societies lots of credit for making sure that 
> each dog ends up with the right family who will love them and care for 
> them along with making him/her an important member of the family.
> Many of the stories have been awesome to hear with a great ending and good 
> success.
> I grew up with dogs all my life since I was a baby off and on.
> Of course, my parents taught me how to respect dogs.
> I know that I always have touched my guides when they were eating their 
> food and neither became aggressive or annoyed when I did this.
> I've also practiced feeding my dogs by hand which also increasing exposure 
> of them eating a treat.
> More people are adopting dogs these days rather than purchasing one from a 
> breeder, due to the cost and also, they figure that there are lots of dogs 
> in the shelters waiting for a great home to come around.
> If I were able to, I'd gladly adopt one.
> I did forget to mention that the humane societies do allow people to go 
> meet the dogs in person along with bringing their whole family and other 
> dogs if they have one as it is just to see how first dog will get along 
> with the new one and if dog is able to get along with kids.
> Bibi and Odie
> the happy spirited bounty labra wolf
>
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