[nagdu] Lots of Questions

[lizzy]

Hi Rebecca,
I will answer your questions, but first I have a question for 
you.  In your post about high school students and guide dogs, you 
said that there are some things that are just harder with a dog.  
What specifically are these things? I just want to know so I can 
expect certain things to be harder than others.
Answers:
Q: My question to you is how you think a dog will benefit you and 
why do you want one now?
A: In the extensive research that I've done about guide dogs, it 
seems that it takes about a year to become completely comfortable 
and form a harmonious relationship with your dog.  I would like 
for this time period to be in high school.  I know the school and 
streets around it like the back of my hand.  I have a small city 
and a larger city near my house, there are lots of streets 
without sidewalks in the area surrounding me.  I plan on working 
the dog in all of these places so that it will keep its training.  
The colleges I plan on attending are top tier and challenging, I 
will be learning tough material in school, how to live on my own 
and most people say that the friends you make freshman year are 
(for the most part) the ones you will have for your college 
career.  This is a lot deal with so I would like to at least have 
a stable relationship with my dog guide.  Another thing is that I 
know majority of the teachers and students in my school, not sure 
if this makes sense but I will kind of be practicing my advocacy 
on them.  I will be figuring out what works for me and my dog.  
How I should explain leash corrections, how I should answer 
questions, when I should leave class (during period changes), how 
I should plan our schedule etc.  I will be taking my senior year 
to iron out most of the wrinkles dog teams have, so that in 
college we are pretty much set.  I am not saying that getting a 
dog in high school will make everything perfect for college, I 
just want to make it easier.
Comment: Five ap courses is a lot.
A: I never said that I was certainly taking five AP's, I was 
asking if anyone has done it with a dog and if it is realistic.  
I am taking three this year with all other classes being honors.  
I am prepping for next year now, I am seeing how much free time I 
have left so that I will know what kind of course load to take 
with the dog.
Comment: So is being a senior in high school, you have prom, you 
may even be able to vote and give blood if you are old enough.
A: No, everyone says that being a junior is much, much, much 
harder than being a senior.  I will also have prom this year so 
will know how to handle that aspect.  And yes, I will be old 
enough to vote and give blood.  People do this all the time with 
their guide dogs...  In the case of giving blood, they would 
choose to go without the dog but still...  The dog does not need 
to come EVERYWHERE with me, and no I will not be leaving it in 
the house all the time, only in cases such as prom.
Comment: You'll be in a period of your life where you won't 
really be regarded as an adult by anybody which means you'll 
probably have other adults telling you how to manage your dog.  
How will you manage that? Do you want to manage it?
A: I do plan on going to an in-service day before school starts 
just so I have most of the teachers helping rather than hurting 
the team.  In my experience so far, I have been regarded as a 
young adult due to my maturity, level of responsibility, and the 
fact that I am more than willing to advocate for myself.  Even 
when I am an adult there will be people trying to tell me how to 
manage my dog.  There are always people trying to tell me how to 
do things, but do I just bow down and listen? No, of course not! 
Once I have graduated from a guide dog school, it means that the 
experts trust me to take care of and work with my dog; so I don't 
care about what people at my school/job/volunteer facility say.  
I will explain why I do what I do, teach them about a guide dog 
team and give them information so that they can do some research 
of their own.  But that's really all a handler can do.  Correct 
me if I'm wrong, is there more that I can do? But after I have 
done everything, I will just ignore them and know that I'm not 
doing anything wrong and that it is for the improvement of the 
team.  Everyone thinks that they are an expert on subjects that 
they know nothing about; what can you do.  In my opinion, high 
school is a time where I can learn how to deal with these people.  
I will be stressed out enough in college, so hopefully I can have 
the speech down by then.
Comment: My advice would be to focus on being a senior in high 
school.  Do really well in your classes.  Enjoy prom and 
graduation.  If you do senior ditch day, enjoy that.
A: Thanks for the advice.  I will enjoy all of these things, with 
my dog.  Well except for prom, I don't think it would have fun 
there.
Comment: Get into a good college or figure out what you'll do 
after high school.
A: Working on getting into a good college, I have been for the 
past eleven years.  I have already visited Princeton in my 
sophomore year.  I plan on visiting Georgetown, Bryn Mawr and 
hopefully Tufts this year.  I'm not set on what I will do with 
the rest of my life but I'm thinking a major in either political 
science or international relations and a minor in foreign 
language or journalism.  I have been researching colleges since 
the eighth grade and have had an idea of what to do since the 
fifth.
Comment: The guide dog schools aren't going anywhere.  You will 
only be a senior once.
A: Aww, thanks for the advice! It really is much appreciated, but 
I am a deep thinker and have pondered all of these questions 
before.  I know that getting a guide dog in high school is for 
me.  I wouldn't sign up for something I couldn't handle.  I have 
a great support system, from my friends, the administration and 
the teachers.  I do not believe in peer pressure, and I do not 
believe that adults are smarter than children, which will help me 
a lot in having a dog at a young age.
Thanks again!
Lizzy