Dear All,
I would like to comment on this message as president of the National
Association of Guide Dog Users. As this message states, Leader Dogs for the
Blind changed its ownership policy around April of 2007. In July of that
year, I presided at my first NAGDU annual meeting as Vice President of the
organization. During our meetings, Leader was provided an opportunity to
share an update with our membership, as has been our custom for quite some
time. One of the pieces of information Leader failed to mention was their
change in ownership policy. In August of 2007, I called Leader and spoke
with Rod Haneline about this apparent oversight. At that time, Mr. Haneline
advised me that the change in ownership policy was in response to the
negative attention the case of Craig Miller who kicked his Leader Dog, Inky
to death in a drunken rage had garnered. There are a number of challenges to
this explanation. One major challenge is that, at the time of the incident,
Mr. Miller had had his dog for more than the two years the new ownership
policy provided for. The other major challenge is that there is no way to
predict such behavior and no restriction of ownership would have made a
difference.
During last year's meeting, the question about their ownership
policy was posed to Leader again and this was when the issue of obesity was
brought up. Though this sound like a reasonable explanation, no objective
evidence that an obesity problem exists has ever been offered. Now the
policy has been changed to one year because the obesity rates have gone
down. Still, no objective evidence has been offered that there is a problem,
in spite of the assertion that the rates are lower. Though I would like to
believe those who tender such an argument have evidence to support their
argument, as a professional who relies upon research to guide my practice,I
am trained to be skeptical of unsupported claims. As of yet, I have seen no
evidence of an obesity problem among guide dogs. If there was a problem and
now the problem is less, let us see the pre- post-study evidence! While we
are at it, let's also see a correlative study of those programs who transfer
ownership and those who do not so we can ascertain if there is a difference
between the two groups. Here is an interesting statistic I would like to
share with you to drive home the point: 87% of all statistics are made up on
the spot! Of course, that's a cynical statement, but I think you get the
point!
Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc.
National Federation of the Blind
(813) 626-2789
(888) 624-3841 (Hotline)
President at nagdu.org
http://www.nagdu.org
High expectations create unlimited potential for the blind!
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of William
Vandervest
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 10:56 AM
To: the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Fw: Attention: New Leader Dog Ownership Policy
There are none so blind as those who will not see
William and LD Lynard
----- Original Message -----
From: Leader Dogs for the Blind
To: timelord09 at att.net
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 9:31 AM
Subject: Attention: New Leader Dog Ownership Policy
Dear Graduate,
Leader Dogs for the Blind is announcing that effective immediately we
are reducing our transfer of ownership policy from two years to one year for
our guide dog clients (with the exception of clients from Spain and Brazil,
who follow their local organization's procedures).
The previous policy that required clients to apply for ownership after
working with their dog for two years was put in place in 2007 to address the
growing number of working Leader Dogs who were overweight or obese. "The
reason for the change is that over the past seven years, this problem has
diminished as our clients have become more proactive at regulating their
dogs' weight," said Will Henry, Leader Dog director of client services.
The new policy grants automatic ownership, without the need to apply,
to clients one year after their graduation date if they are in good standing
(not on probation, and with no complaints on file).
Current clients (in good standing) who have had their Leader Dog
longer than one year will receive automatic ownership as of May 1, 2014.
Clients (in good standing) who received their Leader Dog after May 1, 2013
will receive automatic ownership one year after their graduation date.
If you have questions about the ownership of your Leader Dog, please
contact your client services coordinator at 888-777-5332.
Sincerely,
Leader Dogs for the Blind
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