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

Fri Apr 6 01:11:13 UTC 2012

Buddy, 

You have chosen to do the right thing. It was too bad she could not take
care of the pup better, as our guides make for great pups after working hard
for so long. They need that retirement and deserve it. Keep us updated on
what happens.

Marsha 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Buddy Brannan
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2012 1:12 PM
To: the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing List
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't) 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**t"), 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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