[nagdu] Fw: Attention: New Leader Dog Ownership Policy

Cindy Ray cindyray at gmail.com
Wed Apr 30 21:16:01 UTC 2014


I think this is laughable. How many pet dogs are obese? Isn’t it as unhealthy for them? Their owners aren’t required to wait two years before applying for ownership of the dog. 

Cindy Lou

On Apr 30, 2014, at 4:06 PM, Marion Gwizdala <blind411 at verizon.net> wrote:

> 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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> Leader Dogs for the Blind, 1039 S. Rochester Rd., Rochester Hills, MI 48307
> 
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