[nagdu] Leader Dogs' ownership policy & More

[Marianne Denning]

Marion, I believe the original change was in response to the death of
a dog.  I don't know how we can change that but, unfortunately, too
many laws and rules are changed in response to public opinion and not
related to the facts.  Leader, and other schools depend heavily on
donors and if the donors stop giving over something like this then the
school struggles. I believe, no matter how hard a school tries to
screen the potential dog guide handlers there will be these situations
at times.

Leader did, later say it was in response to the obesity of the dogs.
I hope Leader will return to the original policy of granting ownership
upon successfully completing the training. It is not a deciding factor
for me but I understand people can have a different opinion.

On 3/16/15, Marion Gwizdala <blind411 at verizon.net> wrote:
> Marianne,
>
> 	When Leader announced this policy change at one of our NAGDU
> meetings, the reason they gave was the same as what you were told. When I
> looked at the facts, I found that Craig Miller, the person who kicked his
> Labrador retriever, Inky, to death, had Inky for well more than three
> years.
> Even if Leader had a two-year probationary period, Mr. Miller, who was by
> all accounts an upstanding individual (he even ran for mayor of his city),
> would likely have been granted ownership before the incident occurred. Even
> if not, I fail to see how an ownership policy would have prevented this
> tragic incident. If you read the NAGDU archives, you will find a lengthy
> discussion of this issue.
>
> 	Now, here's an interesting addition to this story. When Leader was
> questioned two years ago on their ownership policy, the explanation was
> that
> many guide dogs were becoming obese and their two-year probationary period
> was in response to this issue. Perhaps their change of tactic was in
> response to NAGDU's extensive discussion of this topic and their
> realization
> that their explanation did not hold water. So, which is it? We will likely
> never know; however, no matter what their explanation, NAGDU will continue
> to press all guide dog training programs to institute transfer of real
> ownership upon completion of training as the policy of all programs. I say
> "real ownership" to differentiate between ownership and Fidelco's Executive
> Director's arrogant explanation of "Paragraph D, like dog" (Elliot
> Russman's
> own words) that states fidelco has the right to repossess a dog at any time
> and for any reason at their sole and absolute discretion. And why not? In
> the words of Julie Unwinn, Fidelco's Chief Operating Officer, because blind
> consumers should have no say in policies, especially when the services they
> receive are not paid for!
>
> 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 Marianne Denning
> via nagdu
> Sent: Monday, March 16, 2015 9:30 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Leader Dog dog ownership policy
>
> Good morning.  I went to Leader Dogs for a visit last Friday and asked my
> graduate contact about their ownership policy.  Leader Dogs maintains
> ownership of the dog for 1 year and then it is given to the blind handler.
> You do not need to request ownership of the dog after the year.  Many of
> you
> may remember that several years ago, a blind man became very drunk and beat
> his dog guide to death.  That dog was from Leader Dogs and that was when
> their policy changed.  At first they maintained ownership for 2 years and
> you had to request ownership be turned over, but that changed again in 2013
> to the current policy.
> I don't like this policy but I hate the idea that anyone would beat their
> dog to death.
> --
> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
> (513) 607-6053
>
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>


-- 
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053