[nagdu] Introduction and Questions

[Julie J.]

Melissa,

Welcome!  It's really good to have you here!  I'm Julie, one of the 
moderators.  I'm working with Monty my lab and Boxer mix guide.  I'll 
answer your questions to the best of my ability and experience.

1. What made me decide to work with a guide dog?
Lots of things, but I think the main thing was curiosity.  Weird, I 
know.  I had heard a lot of claims about how fabulous working with a 
guide was and how it would make me more confident and an a better 
traveler and on and on and on.  I wanted to find out for myself.

2. Advantages and disadvantages.   A lot of the things people said that 
a guide could do did turn out to be true for me.  Snow travel is much 
easier with a dog.  Overhanging tree branches are easier to avoid with a 
dog.  A dog can find things with a simple request, like an empty seat, a 
door outside, an elevator etc.  They also remember places you've been 
before and make suggestions based on past experience.  I move a bit 
faster with a dog outdoors, inside it's about the same as with a cane.

Disadvantages for me are that sometimes I'm not aware of things in my 
environment because the dog takes me right past, whereas with a cane I 
would have probably contacted it.      There's more cleaning of the 
house too.  The bits of dog hair that escape the grooming session and 
the mud they drag in on their feet in the spring.  Depending on the 
particular dog you may need to make sure you don't leave food within 
reach or a trashcan without a lid.  And of course there's that whole 
picking up poop thing.  It's not that big of a deal, but I think if I'm 
to be really brutally honest, I'd really rather not pick up poop. *smile*
There are also the occasional access issues to deal with.  I've only 
ever had one issue, which was easily corrected with a bit of 
explanation.  Other people have varying levels of problems with being 
told no dog.

A couple of things that are neutral for me.  A dog requires a lot more 
daily maintenance than a cane.  There's food, water, grooming, playing, 
and making sure the training is consistent. I've always had dogs since I 
was a little kid.  This daily stuff is just a part of life for me.  I 
would have pet dogs that required the same sorts of things if I didn't 
have a guide.  So it's not really an advantage or disadvantage for me.  
Although I really do enjoy teaching them new things.

another thing that is noteworthy with a guide dog is that you will spend 
more time interacting with the public.   Sometimes this is nice.  If the 
person is someone I'd like to get to know it helps get the conversation 
going.  Also if I'm in a waiting room or in line somewhere and small 
talk is socially expected the guide dog is usually an easy topic for 
everyone.   And the flip side to this is that there are some strange 
folks out there.  I've met some people who were enthralled with my guide 
dog to the point of downright inappropriateness.  There are people who 
know my dog's name, but not mine.   There are people who ask after my 
dog, but never ask how my day is going.

3. level of vision and a guide.
I've never attended a guide dog program so I don't have any direct 
knowledge of how this is a factor in the determination of suitability.  
I know that for a long time that guide dogs were perceived as 
appropriate for only totally blind people.  I think this is 
unfortunate.  I view it the same as not teaching Braille to people with 
some remaining vision.  It goes back to the concept that the more vision 
a person has the better off they are.  I don't think this is so.  I 
believe that knowledge and attitude are better determinants of success 
than physical ability to see.   I think there is a social shift to this 
way of thinking, but it's a slow process.

Whew! That got long!  I hope you find something useful in there.  And 
again welcome!
Julie