[nagdu] Introduction and Questions

Lyn Gwizdak linda.gwizdak at cox.net
Thu Feb 2 21:54:45 UTC 2012 

Thanks!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cindy Ray" <cindyray at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 11:21 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Introduction and Questions


> Bard is the website at National Library Service for the Blind and 
> Physically Handicapped to download digital books if you don't want to 
> check out the cartridges from your lending library.
>
> Cindy
>
> On Feb 2, 2012, at 11:44 AM, Lyn Gwizdak wrote:
>
>> I don't know what NLS BARD is.  I know that the Braille Institute NLS 
>> Library in LA has it.  Ed Eames did write another book about service dogs 
>> which I haven't read.
>>
>> Lyn and Landon
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brenda" <bjnite at windstream.net>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 6:11 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Introduction and Questions
>>
>>
>>> I just looked on NLS BARD and could not find the book under the author's 
>>> last name or the tityle.  There was another book by Ed Eames about 
>>> service dogs.  I hope someone can point us in the right direction for 
>>> reading this book.
>>>
>>> On 2/1/2012 6:22 PM, Lyn Gwizdak wrote:
>>>> Welcome, Milissa,
>>>> I have partial vision and have been a guide dog user for most of the 
>>>> time from 1973 to the present.
>>>>
>>>> There are many people who have some vision and are sucessful guide dog 
>>>> users.  If the instructors at the school think your vision is 
>>>> interfering with the dog's work, they will work you in sleepshades. 
>>>> Bottom line: You have to learn to trust the dog!  Many adapt to this 
>>>> and some never do. Thiose people need to wait for a significant loss of 
>>>> vision before trying a dog again.  Don't be afraid to ask.
>>>>
>>>> When using my dog, Landon takes care of the safety issues around 
>>>> traveling and I can use my vision for other things like spotting many 
>>>> landmarks or watching the scenery. I can walk with my head up and not 
>>>> looking at where i'm putting my feet.
>>>>
>>>> I am 61 and am on my 8th guide dog.  I do pet assisted therapy and do 
>>>> political work with my Democratic club.  I have a male Lab/Golden cross 
>>>> named Landon and he is six years old.  He is from The Seeing Eye in New 
>>>> Jersey.
>>>>
>>>> Why did I get a guide dog?  I met my first guide dog in 1971 when I 
>>>> went to college in Boston.  My vision was still fairly good except for 
>>>> night vision which is non existant.  When I was a kid I rode my bike 
>>>> around like all the other kids and visual impairment wasn't such an 
>>>> issue then. In 1972, after graduating from college, I lost a lot of my 
>>>> vision causing me to go to white cane usse full time instead of just at 
>>>> night.  My roommate had a guide dog and I got to see what it was like 
>>>> realistically and on a day to day basis. Having grown up with animals 
>>>> all my life, I had no issue with animal care. I liked how much easier 
>>>> it was to navigate crowds with a dog rather than the cane that was 
>>>> always being stepped on and people expecting ME to move out of their 
>>>> way on the sidewalk.  After almost getting run down by a car and 
>>>> stopped by my friend's guide, I made the decision to get my own dog.
>>>>
>>>> Enjoy the list!  Pick our brains!  That is what we are here for - 
>>>> support for each other in guide dog use and in trying to decide if a 
>>>> guide dog is for you.  Ask anything.  Making the decision to use a dog 
>>>> is a very personal one that others cannot make for you (although they 
>>>> seem to try!) and we are here to help youi make that decision.  Oh, a 
>>>> book that is excellent for people exploring if a dog is for them is 
>>>> Toni and Ed Eames book called "A Guide To Guide Dog Schools" and this 
>>>> is available throuoghn the NLS Talking Books.  It was written in the 
>>>> 1980s and revised in the mid 1990s.  Toni is still around but her 
>>>> husband and co author Ed died a few years ago.  Some of the information 
>>>> and resources are outdated but the general body of the book is not 
>>>> outdated.
>>>>
>>>> HTH,
>>>>
>>>> Lyn and Landon
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "melissa padron" 
>>>> <fuzzylucky2021 at sbcglobal.net>
>>>> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 7:35 PM
>>>> Subject: [nagdu] Introduction and Questions
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I am new to this list so I though I would just start off with an 
>>>> introduction and then some questions.
>>>>
>>>> Well, first of all, my name is Melissa and although I am not a guide 
>>>> dog user I am a cane user. I'm in college pursuing a degree in 
>>>> psychology and I will be moving back to my hometown once I graduate. 
>>>> I'm considered legally blind, so I do have vision.
>>>>
>>>> Because of the condition I have, I was not taught to use a cane until 
>>>> my senior year of high school. I actually had to fight in order to get 
>>>> cane lessons, but since then, I just about take my cane everywhere with 
>>>> me. It helps a lot more than using my vision and stressing my eyes....
>>>>
>>>> Now, some questions:
>>>>
>>>> I am not considering getting a guide dog now but I do want to keep it 
>>>> as an option if I decide that it would help me in my travels. So my 
>>>> question is, what was ultimately you deciding factor in getting a guide 
>>>> dog?
>>>> What are some advantages and disadvantages in using a guide dog?
>>>> For those of you who have vision, did you encounter problems with the 
>>>> guide dog schools saying that a guide dog would not benefit you because 
>>>> you have "too much" vision?
>>>> Ultimately, this is my greatest fear. I'm scared of encountering 
>>>> criticism by guide dog schools and "blindness professionals" about 
>>>> whether a guide dog would benefit me or not. A lot of people with my 
>>>> condition function well without a cane or a dog so would this be used 
>>>> against me if I were to apply?
>>>>
>>>> I am looking forward to hearing your responses and advice.
>>>>
>>>> Melissa
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> nagdu mailing list
>>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>>>> nagdu:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/linda.gwizdak%40cox.net
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> nagdu mailing list
>>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>>>> nagdu:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/bjnite%40windstream.net
>>>>
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nagdu mailing list
>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>>> nagdu:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/linda.gwizdak%40cox.net
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
>> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/cindyray%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/linda.gwizdak%40cox.net

More information about the NAGDU mailing list