[nagdu] On the subject of gifts

[Tracy Carcione]

Michael, these are some excellent points.
Not only should there be due process if a school repossesses a dog, but
there should be analysis done by the school to see what went wrong, and if
a change in their procedures could create a better outcome.
I work for a large hospital.  If a patient is injured during a hospital
stay, there is a big-deal procedure for finding out what happened and
finding ways to stop it happening again.  It's made a real difference.
If a guide dog school does something so drastic as removing a dog, they
should do the same kind of analysis. In the hospital, I think the high-up
administrators take mistakes very seriously.  Do guide dog administrators
take repossession seriously?
Tracy

> Hi all,
>
>
>
> I thought I should more clarify my comments about guide dogs as gifts.
> Using
> dictionary definitions guide dogs are gifts on several levels. Of course
> donors give money to guide dog schools to provide dogs, or at least they
> do
> in part. Guide dog schools attract many donors simply with the photos of
> "those wonderful and cuddly puppies" that they prominently display on
> their
> web sites and in their mailings.
>
>
>
> Puppy raisers' gifts are of their time, talents, and skills to raise
> puppies
> and turn them into future guide dogs. There is no doubt that they give and
> give well.
>
>
>
> Staff while paid give a tremendous amount of their time and skills as
> well.
> They also give their wisdom to students.
>
>
>
> Students also give and receive. Of course we receive the trained guide
> dogs.
> We give of our knowledge, wisdom, and expertise on blindness. Some schools
> appreciate our gifts while others do not demonstrate as much appreciation
> for the gifts of their students.
>
>
>
> My concern is that we take the gift concept too far nor in the wrong way.
> While I appreciate all the gifts that go into the making and providing of
> a
> guide dog I do not believe it is necessary to feel so grateful to GDB that
> I
> should sacrifice my basic philosophy and principles. Former president
> Jimmy
> Carter once said that "we must adjust to changing times while holding to
> unchanging principles". This is as true for guide dog schools as it is for
> anyone else. The basic tenants of a guide dog school include raising and
> training the best guide dogs possible. They also include providing those
> same guide dogs to qualified users who will treat the dogs well and use
> them
> to the best of their abilities.
>
>
>
> The very fact that we are having this discussion on our NAGDU list now
> shows
> how times are a changing, as it were. More and more consumers are
> realizing
> that there is a basic disconnect between how most guide dog schools
> operate
> and the basic philosophy of blind people. When I hear from someone
> employed
> by a guide dog school who tells me that the school cannot give ownership
> of
> its dogs to students or that there needs to be a waiting period simply
> because the school has a responsibility to its donors then I can only
> believe that the school has not done a good job of educating its donors or
> it has a basic distrust of the abilities and commitments of its graduates.
>
>
>
> When I hear from school staff that not providing immediate unconditional
> ownership to graduates is necessary in order to give all parties time to
> insure that the match works I again have been forced to conclude that
> there
> really is a lack of confidence or a distrust on the part of the staff.
> Even
> if the match does not work out during the first year or two of the life of
> the user/guide dog team the school could have a mechanism whereby the
> student can return the dog to the school for retraining should that be the
> appropriate way to go. The real way to accomplish the return of a dog to
> the
> school should involve a defined process during which the school and
> student
> work together to determine whether or not the team match really didn't
> work
> out. The crux of this process should be the working relationship between
> the
> school and student to address the issue.
>
>
>
> When I hear from consumers that their school came and took away their
> guide
> dog without any notice or without giving reason for the repossession I
> cringe. No matter how valid the concern of the guide dog school there must
> be a process the school should follow to address the issue and that
> process
> needs to include full disclosure and discussion with the consumer. Once
> schools graduate guide dog teams they should not be permitted to have
> power
> over the consumers they serve. If a school believes there is a problem it
> cannot be permitted to act unilaterally, but it must adhere to policies
> and
> procedures that protect the rights of the consumers they are supposed to
> serve.
>
>
>
> Most schools do not have a true "due process", or whatever you wish to
> call
> it, through which all parties work fully together to address issues. There
> is no excuse for this. If guide dog schools really were confident in their
> consumer relationship choices then they should provide unconditional
> ownership and take all steps to treat their graduates as intelligent and
> mature individuals. In fact, today I have heard of several situations
> where
> guide dog teams have graduated which should not have ever been allowed to
> go
> home. The burden should always be on the schools to produce the best
> teams,
> teams that will work unless something unexpected or unanticipated happens
> to
> damage the working relationship. An advantage of providing unconditional
> ownership would, I think, be that schools will really do their best to not
> fill beds but graduate the best teams possible.
>
>
>
> I used earlier in another email thread a comparison between state provided
> equipment and the process of providing guide dogs. I believe even after
> seeing several responses on the NAGDU list that this example is apt. Even
> if
> the state can come and take away equipment there is a process by which the
> state may be called upon to defend its action. The guide dog schools do
> not
> generally provide such a mechanism. Private or not guide dog schools
> should
> not be permitted to operate with impunity. USC and Notre Dame as private
> colleges have to follow many of the same rules as UCLA, a state funded
> institution. Guide dog schools also should evolve and follow rules that
> protect consumers and help educate their donors about how and why they
> should operate in such a manner should the issue come up. I suspect that
> in
> reality most donors might negatively react if they truly discovered the
> poor
> attitudes that many guide dog schools display toward the consumers they
> "serve".
>
>
>
> It is time for guide dog schools to recognize the validity of the
> philosophy
> of blind people that we should be valued as highly as the rest of the
> population. It is no longer reasonable for guide dog schools to operate
> under the assumption that we cannot take full responsibility for our lives
> and that these same schools must "protect" their investment. If guide dog
> schools are producing less than desired teams and if some higher than
> expected percentage of guide dogs are being returned or taken back by the
> schools then these schools should not put the burden on the users, but
> rather the burden should go to the schools that should reevaluate their
> training and admissions procedures.
>
>
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael Hingson
>
>
>
> The Michael Hingson Group, INC.
>
> "Speaking with Vision"
>
> Michael Hingson, President
>
> (415) 827-4084
>
> info at michaelhingson.com
>
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>
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>
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>
>
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>
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