[nagdu] Signed up by family?

[Lisa]

Hi Tracy,

I completely agree with you. Of course it's great when others encourage a 
person to  consider getting a guide dog. But it's just the same as getting 
someone a puppy for Christmas, only even worse. It's meant as a nice gift or 
idea but it's not thoughtful.

You have to be 100% sure that you would like to share your life with a guide 
dog. There's so much you have to learn and plan. In the beginning, there are 
so many things that can be challenging and exhausting while becoming a team. 
As everyone on here knows, it's not like getting somebody a cane. You have 
to be willing to get up in the middle of the night when doggy has got 
diarrhea because he's eaten something wrong. That's just one single example, 
I could probably think of 100 others.
The decision to apply for a guide dog has to come from yourself because you 
will be the one responsible for your guide.

Well, of course we don't know whether the wife and husband had been talking 
about the possibility of getting a guide dog before. Maybe the husband knew 
about his wife signing him up and it's just a nice story for the public. But 
if not,I think it's irresponsible and I don't see why a guide dog program 
would want other people to sign their relatives and friends up because it's 
likely they're facing a lot of difficulties then.

Just my humble and spontaneous opinion :-)

Lisa




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione via nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2015 5:25 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Signed up by family?


>I just got the GDB newsletter for the general public, and there's a bit I
> think is odd or over-the-top or patronizing, really.
>
> So-and-so suddenly lost his sight, and found ways to go on for years, but
> felt something was missing.  Then "his wife stepped in and signed him up 
> for
> a guide dog, and, before he knew it, he was at GDB, being matched with his
> new partner."
>
> Really?  I've sometimes wished I could "sign someone up" for a guide dog,
> but it takes a real commitment from the person to get through the training
> and the first few months of adjustment, at least.  It's not a decision
> someone else could take for me, or me for someone else.
>
> When my brother fell down a manhole using his cane, my mother did sit him
> down and tell him he should get a guide dog, like his sister.  He decided 
> it
> was good advice, and has been happy with the decision, but, if he'd 
> decided
> otherwise, there wouldn't be a darn thing anyone could have done about it,
> even if they'd wanted to try.
>
>
>
> The GDB piece just seemed weird to me.  Why would they even want to
> encourage someone to sign up someone else?  What makes them think I have a
> keeper, who can make life-changing decisions for me?
>
> Has anyone actually heard of such a thing happening?
>
> Tracy
>
>
>
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