[nagdu] Attention: New Leader Dog Ownership Policy

Cindy Ray cindyray at gmail.com
Fri May 2 01:30:16 UTC 2014


Well, it does have to do with ownership policy. The implemented it because guide dogs were obese; they lowered it because blind graduates were starting to do better because the obesity rate is down. Do you think the obesity rate in dogs should have anything to do with ownership? What I was saying is, if you have to wait one minute for that reason, then it seems you are being treated as if you are not capable of good judgment. My point was that people with pets don’t have to wait a year or two to see if their dogs are going to be obese or not.

Cindy

On May 1, 2014, at 7:37 PM, Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:

> No, I don't think that ownership is the way to solve the problem, but, if
> you looked at the average life expectancy  of the breeds that are used as
> guide/service dogs for pet versus service/guide dog, you would probably find
> that, between a higher level of physical activity, more attention to weight,
> and more attention to health in general, service/guide dogs live longer than
> pets. And yes, being obese is bad for the health of a dog. Obesity is a
> slightly different problem in dogs than in humans. Humans know that we are
> going to get our next meal. Even though dogs have been domesticated for a
> long time, they still go on the instinct that they don't know when their
> next meal will be and therefore eat anything you put in front of them to the
> point of even making themselves sick. But, back to my original point, no,
> this is not something that has anything to do with an ownership policy.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy Ray
> Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 5:23 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Attention: New Leader Dog Ownership Policy
> 
> Think about it. How many pet dogs are obese? You must know that lots of them
> are because people over feed the dogs-table scraps, ice cream, whipped
> cream, whatever. So I ask you, how many pet dogs are obese? Probably they
> suffer the same problem as people. Many of us are over fed, too.
> 
> Cindy
> 
> On May 1, 2014, at 7:12 PM, Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> I don't quite understand what you meant. Are you saying that a lot of 
>> pet dogs are obese or not many are obese?
>> 
>> Nicole
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy Ray
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 2:16 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Fw: Attention: New Leader Dog Ownership Policy
>> 
>> 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
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> You are receiving this message because you have shared your email 
>>> address with Leader Dogs for the Blind. To ensure that you continue 
>>> receiving our emails, please add us to your address book or safe list.
>>> 
>>> Unsubscribe or manage your email preferences | Review our Privacy 
>>> Policy
>>> 
>>> Leader Dogs for the Blind, 1039 S. Rochester Rd., Rochester Hills, MI
>> 48307
>>> 
>>> 
>>>          Forward email
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>          This email was sent to timelord09 at att.net by
>>> webmaster at leaderdog.org |   
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>>> 
>>>          Leader Dogs for the Blind | 1039 S. Rochester Rd. | 
>>> Rochester Hills | MI | 48309
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
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