[nagdu] expectations of the blind & guide dog programs'admissionstandards

[Debby Phillips]

Dan, I agree with you.  Getting a dog changed my life.  Yes, I'll 
say it again: getting a dog changed my life.  I did gain my 
independence.  Having Maxy forced me to get out and about more 
then I would have with my cane.  I'm not ashamed of that, and 
I'll claim that until my dying day.  And guess what else? Cane 
skills are great, but they aren't the be-all end-all.  If people 
who drive cars could only get a car and license if they had "good 
orientation" skills, lots of them shouldn't be on the road.  Lol.  
Thank goodness there's GPS, because some people wouldn't travel 
outside their neighborhood if they didn't have GPS.  My 
stepdaughter is one of those people who only drives to certain 
places.  Does it limit her life? Yes, I think it probably does, 
but she's living her life in the way she wants to live it.  There 
are people who have dogs whose mobility skills might not meet the 
standards that some of you have, but they happily go to the 
places they want to go with their dogs.  Dogs don't think like we 
do.  They don't think, Oh man, I wish so-and-so didn't get 
confused, or whatever.  They just do their best so they get 
praise or whatever way people reward their dogs.  Well, as for 
me, I gotta go get ready to leave for work.    Debby and Nova