[nagdu] Introduction and Questions

Sun Jan 29 02:11:53 UTC 2012

Hi Melissa,

My name is Marsha, one of the other moderators of this list. I am working my
second guide, Emma, who is 6 years old. Emma is from Seeing Eye in Morris
town NJ. Emma, and I live in PA, with my husband and kitty Grace. I am a
full time student at Temple University, in the college of Social Work. I am
totally blind, with a hearing impairment, and a balance disorder. And
actually Emma will be retiring at some point, as she is having major stress
issues. I have an application into GDF for a guide, hearing, balance dog. 

If you need anything, please let me know. Sorry I have nothing to add to
your questions, at least nothing more than what the others have said. You
have gotten some great answers to your questions. Hope you like our list. 

Marsha   

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of melissa padron
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 7:25 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Introduction and Questions

I can only imagine the satisfaction one gets from completing training with a
guide dog, not to mention the bond that develops over the years. I hope to
one day experience this, but at the current moment this is not possible. 
I enjoy hearing everyone's experiences and advice though. 
It will help me in making a better decision as to if and when a guide dog
would benefit me. 

Thank you! 
Melissa 

________________________________
 From: Robert Hooper <hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 5:45 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Introduction and Questions

Yes--for me, the scary part was the commitment--the "trying" part. I would
ask myself in the days before training "What happens if I like the cane
better?"--if you decide to "try" a guide dog, it will take a lot of time and
effort. I found the process to be one of the most rewarding in my life. I
also thought long about whether or not I had room in my life for a guide
dog--it does take time, energy, and money. Don't get me wrong, you won't
blow hundreds of dollars a month, but you must factor in the cost of food,
emergency vet expenses, grooming equipment and toys, and so on. I made sure
that I was as comfortable as I could be in all other aspects before I went
through with getting a dog--getting a dog can be a major life change, so
adding that atop other major stresses might be difficult. For example, I got
a dog last summer, which was the summer before my second year of college. I
thought about getting a dog my first year of college, but I thought that
 adapting to college life, a college campus, etc. plus the additional task
of learning to use and carrying for a dog would be a bit much. I since
decided that I was comfortable with the routine of college life and that I
had a strong foundation to support change. I hope you do decide to do what's
best--if that's getting a dog, then I look forward to reading about the
process of getting admitted, going through class, etc. That is a very tense,
exciting time--also, there's absolutely no feeling in the world like how you
feel minutes before you are introduced to your first dog (maybe minutes
before the birth of your first child, but as I don't have children, I
wouldn't know). Please keep us informed.
Sincerely,
Robert Hooper
Hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu
The Ohio State University
0653 Buckeye-Cuyahoga CT
653 Cuyahoga Court
Columbus, Ohio 43210
(740) 856-8195

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of melissa padron
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 6:26 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Introduction and Questions

Thank you!
I do agree with you that you wouldn't know what helps you until you try. 

Melissa 

________________________________
From: Robert Hooper <hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Introduction and Questions

Hello:

Without reference to the original message, I will try to answer the
questions from my perspective. Much like Julie J, the main motivating factor
in my acquisition of a puppy was curiosity. I have been a strong cane
traveler all my life, and this method would have probably taken me to my
grave with little or no issues with which I could not learn to
cope--basically, there was no immediate necessity requiring me to change my
mode of travel. I just wanted to see if it was "better" than cane travel. I
put quotations around "better" because better is subjective and different
aspects of each method appeal to different people--also, saying that one
method is "better" than the other often is the invitation for homicidal
messages, national blindness revolutions, and other globally significant
catastrophies. Before obtaining a Seeing Eye dog, I decided that there
couldn't be a way for me to know which method of travel I prefer until I
tried them both. It sounds 
 like a crazy reason to "fix what wasn't broken" and commit a decade of my
life to caring for a service animal and using a method of travel I
ultimately liked less--despite this thought process, however, I went through
with it. Unlike Julie, my family was not possessed of many pets--or at least
I wasn't responsible for the ones we had; they were very low maintenance
anyway. In spite of this, I learned to incorporate dog grooming, attention,
feeding, relieving, vet visits, teeth brushing, and other dog-related tasks
into my daily life--now I do them with as little thought as it takes for one
to do these things for themselves. As for the travel method itself: I find
that traveling with a dog is, as previously stated by another, more smooth
and rapid. With a cane, I find that I would slow down when I knew I was in
the vicinity of stairs or other such potentially hazardous things. After a
while (because it does take a while), I learned to trust the dog and 
 am no longer concerned--I know that he will stop at the top or bottom of a
flight of stairs or go around an!
  overhanging obstruction, etc.
I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit also that I enjoy the dog for the
companionship having such provides. Anyway, I hope this also helps.
Sincerely,
Robert Hooper
Hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu
The Ohio State University
0653 Buckeye-Cuyahoga CT
653 Cuyahoga Court
Columbus, Ohio 43210
(740) 856-8195

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Sheila Leigland
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 5:13 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Introduction and Questions

Hello, welcome to the list. I'm totally blind and my cane slid under a boat
parked across a driveway and I hit it at chest level and was bruised for
several weeks. I'd thought about a dog for a long time but after our son was
in middle school I felt tthe timing was more appropriate than when he was
small. I do better in snow with a dog. I'm now hearing impaired as well and
feelmore confident about being out by myself with my dog not because of
mobility issues but hearing what is going on around me.

sheila leigland

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