[nagdu] Why I support the ownership resolution

Tue Jul 14 18:21:07 UTC 2015

I think we can't bring the resolution back until such time as we are sure
everyone is on board with it in the NAGDU. Part of the reason we lost the
resolution was because many are not. If it doesn't have solid backing from
NAGDU, it probably is not ever going to pass. So it will be some time I
think before that can change.
Cindy

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of margo and isis
via nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 10:00 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: margo and isis
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Why I support the ownership resolution

Julie, I agree with you.  Thanks for your very honest post and thanks to all
who have provided thought-provoking messages on this topic.  

I'm not sure that bringing the resolution back in a year would be the best
thing.  Perhaps it would but we need to do more to explain to some of the
schools why ownership is a big deal issue.

Margo and Isis
-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Julie McGinnity
via nagdu
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 12:08 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Julie McGinnity
Subject: [nagdu] Why I support the ownership resolution

Hi all,

I realize that many of you must be sick of this topic as we seem to have
beaten it to death, but please humor me for a moment.

At my state convention this spring, we had a discussion about guide dog
schools and training centers.  This discussion occurred because of a
question raised about what a guide dog user could expect to do with their
dog at the Colorado Center.  Of course, the discussion soon evolved into the
typical argument about guide dogs and training centers.  Someone brought up
that guide dog schools test our travel skills before admitting us into their
programs, which meant, in their mind, there was no reason for a guide dog
user to work with the cane at a training center, since the dog handler would
have already been tested by the schools and determined to be a competent
traveler.

This very argument is why I support full ownership of the guide dog upon
graduation of a program.  Here's why:

We all know those people who seem to have slipped through the application
cracks and gotten into guide dog school, even though they cannot travel well
with a cane or lack navigational skills of any kind.  (I do understand that
some people, due to wrist and hand issues cannot use a cane for long periods
of time.)  We also know those people who seem to let their dogs rule their
lives or do not keep up with their training when they get home.
I do not believe the application process at most, if not all, schools is
rigorous enough.

At an NFB center, you know that if you complete the program you will have
exemplary skills.  You will master cane travel, Braille, technology, and
most importantly, you will be able to reason your way out of most any
problem where blindness is a factor.  Why don't guide dog schools look for
this level of accomplishment in their prospective students?  After all,
working with a dog is not a right of the blind person.  It is a privilege
that we must earn.  When we pick up that harness handle, we are responsible
for a relationship, a partnership, not to mention the life of another living
being.

Blind people who believe that guide dog users depend on their dogs to
travel, and sighted people who believe that the dog takes care of us are so
far from reality.  Training with a dog takes courage, skill, and hard work.
Not every blind person is up to the task, though many of us are and benefit
from the partnership we share with our dogs.

I believe the answer to the question about immediate, unconditional
ownership lies in the alteration of the standards set by the guide dog
schools.  We should examine their application process, treatment of their
students in class, and attitude towards ownership.  I have talked to guide
dog trainers from my school and heard from other graduates that the schools
do not grasp the gravity of the situation.
Aside from a few incidents, taking away dogs seems rare to them, so they see
the ownership as a formality.

NAGDU needs to change their minds about what ownership means.  It is no
formality.  Ownership is graduation.  Once we walk across that figurative
stage with our dogs, we should have completed an application process to
rival that of any university (maybe without the essay), succeeded in a
focused training program, and met all the requirements to graduate with that
dog.  At that point, we will have earned that harness handle as well as all
the responsibilities that go along with it.  A guide dog should not give us
independence; rather, the completion of a guide dog training program should
reflect the independence we already have.

How do we change these policies?  I do not know.  But maybe we start by
working with the schools, making our position clear on ownership.
I understand that consumer choice is a reason for allowing schools to
maintain ownership, but I chose to attend a school that does not grant
ownership upon graduation.  I chose this school before I understood what
ownership meant.  To be honest, I was fooled into believing that it was a
non-issue.  But I believe that my school should offer full ownership upon
graduation, and I do not want to pick another next time if I believe that my
school puts out the best dogs.

Finally, I want you all to consider how much time, effort, work, sweat,
tears, and even blood went into your work with your dog.  How much do you
learn about life just by the growth of your relationship with your dog?
How much of the feeling of independence to you get from knowing that you are
the head of a team that includes another intelligent, living being?
Also, how many of you believe that your school should have made you wait,
asked you to get further mobility training, or encouraged you to explore
some of the challenges a guide would bring into your life?  Seriously think
about those questions, and then ask yourself what you think ownership of a
guide dog should truly mean.

Thanks for reading my possibly too honest novel.

-
Julie McGinnity
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri second vice president, National
Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary, Missouri
Association of Guide dog Users President graduate, Guiding Eyes for the
Blind 2008, 2014 "For we walk by faith, not by sight"
2 Cor. 7

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/margo.downey%40roadrunne
r.com

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/cindyray%40gmail.com