[nagdu] PETA & Service Dogs

Wed Jul 25 11:32:06 UTC 2012

William,
    I am of the belief that no amount of factual information can overcome 
the irrational ignorance of those who have radical beliefs. In their strive 
for "ethical treatment of animals", PETA ignores the fundamental fact that 
dogs are happiest when they have a job to do, especially the working breeds 
that are used as guide dogs. In the past, they have promulgated a great deal 
of misinformation and, in spite of our providing them with accurate 
information, hold fast to their radical beliefs.
    Pasted below is a response to PETA I wrote in january 2009 in response 
to some of their radical, misinformed assertions about how guide dogs are 
treated.

    Dear Ms. Nachminovitch,
    As the President of the National Association of Guide Dog Users, a 
strong and proud division of the National Federation of the blind, I felt 
compelled
to respond to your very misinformed comments about guide dogs. The biggest 
problem we face as blind people is the misunderstanding and lack of 
information
that exists. This is true about guide dogs, as well. It is unfortunate that 
you choose to promulgate the myths that create barriers to our full 
inclusion
in society on terms of equality. It is also unfortunate that you compromise 
the integrity of People for the Ethical Treatment of animals by making such
foolish assertions. By doing so, you call into question the veracity of any 
valid information published by PETA.
    In an effort to set the record straight, guide dogs are not "kept in 
harness 24/7". The truth is that guide dogs are only in harness when they 
are working.
    As to your assertion that our dogs are virtually disposed of when they 
are no longer able to "serve" their handlers, the fact is that, more often 
than
not, our dogs live out their lives with their blind caretakers. As an 
example, my previous guide dog worked until he was fourteen years old and 
lived out
the remainder of his sixteen years with me. My current guide will soon be 
twelve years old and is enjoying her semi-retirement by lying under my 
dining
room table on the cold tile floor where she loves to lie.
    As for your statement that guide dogs are never given the opportunity to 
romp and play, my guide dog plays with the two other dogs in our household
and with the guide dogs of my blind colleagues on a regular basis.
    Petting a guide dog is discouraged while it is working, as doing so is a 
distraction to its work; however, when the harness is off, my family, 
especially
my three-year-old granddaughter, is welcome - even encouraged - to pet and 
play with my guide dog.
    PETA would also like the public to believe that guide dogs are forced 
against their wills to work for a blind person because that promotes its 
radical
agenda. The truth is that it further demonstrates PETA's ignorance of canine 
behavior. Dogs are, by nature, pack animals and each animal in a pack has
a job. Guide dogs enjoy their work and become excited when the harness is 
presented to them! My guide dog comes running when the harness is taken off 
its
hook by the door and slips her head into it, excited at the adventure to 
come! unlike the pet that stays at home with absolutely nothing to do - 
quite
contradictory to the nature of a dog - our animals get to spend most of 
their time with their "alpha dog"! By the way, my dog doesn't care if anyone 
else
pets her because I give her all the love and attention she could ever want! 
Furthermore, when the weather is bad or the place i am going is not 
conducive
to my guide, she stays at home where she again, lies in her "cave" under the 
dining room table and probably romps and plays with our other dogs!
    In summary, PETA is fabricating lies to justify their irrational, 
radical stand. I realize that this correspondence will probably do little to 
convince
PETA of the truth nor cause them to retract their lies or alter their stand. 
they are too entrenched in their misgivings that the facts would only 
confuse
them. however, this correspondence is offered to present the facts to those 
willing to consider rational, accurate information.
Sincerely yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users
National Federation of the blind
president at nfb-nagdu.org

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "William Vandervest" <timelord09 at att.net>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2012 7:28 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Fw: [MSB-Alumni] Fw: Smartphone-Friendly Innovation 
HoldsPromise of Freeing Dogs From Involuntary Service


>i just received this on another list, anybody heard of this before?
>
>
>
> There are none so blind as those who will not see
> William And ld Lynard
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Steve
> To: msb-alumni
> Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2012 2:39 PM
> Subject: [MSB-Alumni] Fw: Smartphone-Friendly Innovation Holds Promise of 
> Freeing Dogs From Involuntary Service
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Sieghard Weitzel
> To: viphone at googlegroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2012 2:48 AM
> Subject: Smartphone-Friendly Innovation Holds Promise of Freeing Dogs From 
> Involuntary Service
>
>
> Hello Listers,
>
>
>
> I came across this article and am pretty shocked by it, I did not know 
> that there are people and apparently organizations out there who consider 
> guide dogs as providing an "involuntary" service which they apparently 
> consider to be animal cruelty. I don't really have the connections and the 
> time, but I hope maybe some people on this list do advocacy sort of work 
> and may look into this. The biggest joke is that this research seems to be 
> geared towards getting around inside buildings which of course would be 
> great, but apparently these folks don't think much about how much a dog 
> helps in getting around outside. Here is the article (hope the mods don't 
> object since the article refers to "smartphones" and not "iPhones", but of 
> course we all know how many accessible smartphone choices we have and I 
> assume something like this, were it available, would not be a Windows 
> Phone app!)
>
>
>
> Smartphone-Friendly Innovation Holds Promise of Freeing Dogs From 
> Involuntary Service
>
>
>
> For Immediate Release: May 14, 2012
>
> Contact: David Perle 202-483-7382
>
> St. Paul, Minn.
>
>
>
> The University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) science team working on smartphone 
> technology that will help blind people navigate on their own, even gauging 
> their pace and warning them far in advance of obstacles such as a 
> stairway, will present its invention at the IEEE International Conference 
> on Robotics and Automation in St. Paul on May 15 (the second day of the 
> conference). The team, headed by researchers Dr. Eelke Folmer of the 
> Player-Game-Interaction Lab and Dr. Kostas Bekris of the Robotics Research 
> Lab, has won a PETA Proggy Award for Leadership in Ethical Science. PETA's 
> Proggy Awards ("Proggy" is for "progress") recognize animal-friendly 
> achievements.
>
>
> "This new technology promises not only to give blind people the 
> independence they want but also could mean that dogs will no longer be 
> bred for this type of service," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "We 
> commend the UNR team for developing 'eyes' for the blind that are both 
> user-friendly and animal-friendly."
>
>
> The low-cost system would enable blind people to navigate around buildings 
> using nothing more than a smartphone. Its software is based on the same 
> technology that enables robots to navigate but uses the person's stride 
> length to track his or her movements. The system uses two-dimensional 
> digital maps and the smartphone's built-in components, with the phone able 
> to communicate what it "sees" using synthetic speech. Upon initial use in 
> a particular environment, the user touches certain landmarks. The 
> smartphone remembers the information and is able to give the user 
> directions on subsequent visits.
>
>
> For more information, please visit PETA.org.
>
>
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