[nagdu] An Indian with a million Questions

Fri Aug 1 08:51:14 UTC 2014

hi poonam,
i can understand why you might want a guide dog.
but, i don’t think any guide dog school in the USA trains their dogs for such a living situation.  if you came here and got the dog and then brought it to india you would have no way to get any hands-on help from a trainer once you got home.
and, i am not sure how you will be able to fight for your rights if guide dog users don’t even have rights in your country?
you would have to be able to use the dog to guide you wherever you want to go such as buses, taxis, university, restaurants, office buildings, stores, whatever.  after all, isn’t that what you want it for, to guide you around?
most of us have nice sidewalks or paved streets, straight lines, stop signs or traffic lights and, predictable traffic patterns.  
even though i have my own private backyard and, i do not have to pick up after my dog does her business, i still do every time.  this way i don’t have a lot of dog poop back there.  say your dog goes twice a day, it can get to be quite a bit after a few months.  just imagine what it would look like after a few years. lol.
also, it’s a good way to keep track of your dog’s health.
yes, i do leave my dog home about once a week when i go dancing for about 3 hours.  i rarely leave her home otherwise.
also, you will have to think about retirement plans for the dog.  the average age for the retirement of a guide dog is when they are 8 years old.  so you will get, on average 6 years of working from 1 dog.  then you will have to get a replacement.
i’m assuming that blind folks in india use the long white cane to get around?  do they have instructors for mobility training?
dogs also need to work a lot.  i even feel that i should walk more than i do and i walk about 2 miles 6 days a week with my dog.
HTH

vivianna

On Aug 1, 2014, at 2:06 AM, Poonam via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Dear vivianna and I think Rebecca )stargazer)
> 
> This is one real issue I have been thinking about for a while now. The concept is really, really rare in my country. Chew on this:there is a buffalo herder who takes his herd to graze in the fields every morning, and passes by my locality. Now, I live in the city and not a village, one of the most populus ones )Bangalore), but this happens every day and I am scared stiff thinking I might wack a buffalo if I am going out. What's worse, the buffalo man has a different language from mine, so we have no way to communicate.
> 
> Can you imagine a herd of buffalos walking around in a crowded city with traffic everywhere? That would be a strange site in your country, I think, as would be a guide dog. So I am going to fight for my rights, and I am prepared for it. Another thing is that seeing me would inspire other blind people to have a guide dog. I don't even think I had heard of this concept before I became blind 4 years ago and am not sure others, even if blind have, either.
> 
> However, having a dog would guarantee people don't come up to me, rather than if I am with a white cane. This is a  reverse from what is usually stated I know, as here, people fear rather than like dogs. But I welcome the change, as whenever I leave the house for even half an hour, I have around ten people asking me if I want help and around 2 insisting that they want to help me. It gets tiring to tell people that you can manage about 15 times an hour, so I sometimes decide  never to leave the house because of that.
> 
> Another thing is that in my country, we have no real pavements. We also have several open manholes and people leave uncovered ditches in the middle of the road. In fact, a blind student just fell in a hole and broke his arm around my locality yesterday. Read http://www.bangaloremirror.com/bangalore/cover-story
> This is where I feel my guide dog would be a great help.
> 
> Another thing is, since the buffalos are walking that road, there is dung everywhere and I keep stepping in it. That's one more difference between our countries. Still, the silver lining is that I won't have to bag my dog's droppings, if I did people would stare at me and even laugh, whereas there it's the law, i think.
> 
> We sort of don't really have rules here, I mean we don't do things more because people will stare or comment than if we are prohibited to do it by law. We still are using the British rule book to govern most of our affairs. However, I still would like to question some managers at some malls and also a few clubs I am a member of.
> 
> Using transportation would be a bit of a challenge, though. Buses are already packed to bursting point and I am not sure how auto (small three wheeled drivers would react to my dog.
> 
> To those who aren't tired of my cultural rambling, I have some more questions for you.
> 
> 1. Suppose you have to go for some kind of event or something where dogs aren't allowed or rather, appreciated, would it be okay to leave the dog behind at home alone? How many hours can you leave him or her there?  I used to leave my dog home alone for eight hours at a stretch when I used to go to college before, does that same rule apply to a guide dog?
> 2. When you take your dog out to do his thing, if you know what I mean, how often do you have to do it a day? I hear it has to be done regularly, at the same time?
> 3. How do you handle this situation in a airplane, for example, especially a nine hour flight?
> 4. I have heard and also think it's important for the dog to get out and romp about. Where do you guys take him for such a thing?
> 
> I'll have more as I learn more.
> 
> Thanks everyone,
> Poonam
> 
> 
> On 31-07-2014 PM 10:40, Star Gazer via nagdu wrote:
>> And, if the law isn't on your side, are you willing and able to change that?
>> You won't bennifit from a dog if you can't take him or her where you need
>> and want to go, or if you can't or aren't willing to advocate as to why the
>> dog should be allowed to be with you.
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vivianna via
>> nagdu
>> Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2014 12:00 PM
>> To: Passle Helminski; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide
>> Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] An Indian with a million Questions
>> 
>> i have never been to india, however, my best friend did go there.  she said
>> that not only are there packs of wild dogs but, lots of cows and monkeys.
>> also, how does the public and businesses deal with guide dogs over there?
>> will you be allowed to take the dog into restaurants, buses, trains, into
>> the work place, hospitals, in short, whereever you want to go?
>> IMO these are major things to be considered.
>> good luck.
>> 
>> vivianna
>> 
>> On Jul 31, 2014, at 10:54 AM, Passle Helminski via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>>>> Hello Poonam,
>>>>> Pilot Dogs, in Ohio, will do international training.  You have to pay
>> your way to USA port of entry and they will pay your travel from the port of
>> entry to the school.  You will have free room and board and a free guide
>> dog.  Contact me of list at passle at roadrunner.com for more information.
>>>>> Passle
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Poonam via nagdu
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2014 3:20 PM
>>>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>>> Subject: [nagdu] An Indian with a million Questions
>>>>> 
>>>>> Dear all,
>>>>> I just joined this mailing list in order to know a bit more about
>>>>> guide dogs. I am not sure if we are supposed to limit our queries to
>>>>> one question, but if yes, the moderator will probably take care of it.
>>>>> 
>>>>> So here are my questions:
>>>>> 1. There is just one guide dog school in India called the 'Drushti
>>>>> Guide Dog School. It was founded in 2005, but there is absolutely no
>>>>> information about it online apart from that. I was hoping someone
>>>>> has visited or has some information about it?
>>>>> 2. Anyone been to India with their guide dog? Do describe your
>>>>> experience. I have read one popularized article, but that's all.
>>>>> 3. One problem I am having, apart from others in my country, is that
>>>>> there are packs of stray dogs running about. When I was a sighted
>>>>> person, I did own a dog and these packs of dogs would attack him
>>>>> whenever we went for a walk. I used to throw or rather pretend to
>>>>> throw pebbles at them before they ran away before. Keeping this in
>>>>> mind, how do I deal with them? Has anyone had such an experience?
>>>>> 4. Is it possible to get a dog transported from another country to mine?
>>>>> If yes, how much would I need to pay, if anything and how would I go
>>>>> about training for myself?
>>>>> 5. How difficult is it to train your own guide dog? I know it is not
>>>>> strictly reccomended, but i'd like to give it a try and want to know
>>>>> if any of you have tried.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I have a few more questions, but will resist for now.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thanks, everyone.
>>>>> 
>>>>> --
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>> Poonam
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Regards,
> Poonam
> 
> 
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