[nagdu] Since we're doing the "what would you do" thing

Thu Apr 5 22:16:22 UTC 2012

buddy, good for you! 73s hal 

----- Original Message -----
From: Buddy Brannan <buddy at brannan.name>
To: the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing List <nagdu at nfbnet.org>,
Date: Thursday, Apr 5, 2012 11:14:50 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Since we're doing the "what would you do" thing

>
>
> OK, since we're doing "What would you do", here's one I'm currently dealing with. It's slightly uncomfortable, but we've already decided what we're doing.
> 
> You may remember that in 2010, when I got Leno, I thought that Chet may not handle some other dog doing his job very well, so we were looking for another home for him. Melanie's cousin took him temporarily, and that seemed to be working out pretty well. So, in the interest of not messing with a thing that seemed to be working, we asked if she'd just like to keep Chet. Since she was then unemployed, we told her that we'd pick up Chet's vet and food expenses until she got on her feet and could take them over herself. 
> 
> Fast forward a year and a half. We're still paying Chet's vet and food expenses. I'm still clipping Chet's nails when she brings him by. 
> 
> In the past year and a half, there are three tmes that we are aware of (who knows how many we aren'ment) that Chet has left their unfenced yard and gone visiting the neighbors. It was upon the occasion of the last of these that we decided to take action. Saturday, Melanie and Alena were with her cousin and one of her cousin's daughters going to a baby shower out of town. The dousing got a phone call from her neighbor, and she knew that it was about Chet being out and at the neighbor's house. So cousin called her daughter (who was home watching the dogs), hollered at her about where Chet was, and so on. 
> 
> Melanie's cousin has told us before that she just lets Chet out to the yard to park and watches him. We're supposing the girls don't watch him as closely. When Melanie told her that she really should be taking him out on leash, she said that "he wasn't used to that". 
> 
> We've seen several other occasions when she was out with him, at our house, coming into our house, and at other family gatherings, where she didn't have him on a leash. Because "he's so good". 
> 
> However, cousin's niece told us once that she "hated Chet", because he jumped up and stole a sandwich right out of her hand. He stole another sandwich from where someone had left it. Cousin has told us about Chet getting into her garbage at least a couple times. Because she doesn't keep the garbage hidden. 
> 
> We're somewhat concerned about Chet's safety, and we've decided that we should take him back. 
> 
> For a while, we thought, well, we gave Chet to her, we have nothing to say about how she handles him. Except that a year and a half later, we're picking up all his expenses still, and she doesn't seem to be taking even minimal responsibility for his care. She wouldn't have even got him a name and address tag with her information on it had we not provided one after the first time he got out of their unfenced yard and we got a call from her neighbor. That was last year. We got heart worm pills in February, but she neglected to tell us that she had actually not had any since the November or December dose (I forget exactly). Shouldn't be an issue, but even that little thing wasn't done.
> 
> So, while we understand that a year and a half is a long time, and the girls have gotten attached to him, and he'll be mopey for a while when he gets back here because the party's over and he'll have to toe the line, we really don't see how we can leave him there.
> 
> When we brought this all up on Tuesday, we didn't get to "We want him back", because she had to leave very suddenly. However, during the whole conversation, she tried to shift blame for the problems. To her girls. To us (your dog (Fioa) has gotten out before, it was an accident"), grew defensive ("I'm not taking an attitude like I don't give a s*ininment"), and promised to "try harder". But she really didn't get the thrust of our concerns. 
> 
> So, how would you have handled a situation like this?
> 
> I can tell you one thing. We'll never A) give a retired guide to family and B) never offer to help with expenses, ever again. 
> —
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV — Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
> 
> 
> 
> 
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