[nagdu] Introduction and Questions

[Nicole B. Torcolini at Home]

Melissa,

    Welcome to NAGDU. My name is Nicole, and my female black lab from GDB is 
Lexia. I am a senior in college.

To answer your questions:
I decided to get a guide dog because I find traveling with one faster and 
smoother. That being said, you do need to have the time, money, and other 
resources to take care of a dog, but, for me, it is definitely worth it.

    Anyone who is legally blind can get a guide dog. Here is the one thing, 
though. When you are using the dog, you need to follow the dog, not your 
eyes. The place where some people have trouble is when they try to use their 
vision when they are using their dogs, and what the dog thinks is right and 
what you think is right may be two different things. Some schools provide 
blindfolds to help people with remaining vision get used to trusting the 
dog. I have a tiny bit of remaining vision, but I'm sure not nearly as much 
as you do. I often use my vision to look for landmarks, but I always trust 
my dog when it comes to leading me around things.

HTH,
Nicole and Lexia



----- 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
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