[nagdu] Fwd: 5 Reasons Why Guide Dogs Are a Terrible Idea!

[S L Johnson]

    Hi Debby:

Very well said.   I know people will disagree but, when using a cane, I feel 
like the stereotypical helpless blind person who taps taps along not being 
able to find their way.  I know this isn't true because I'm an excellent 
cane traveler.  Many O&M instructors have asked me why I bother having a dog 
since I'm such a good cane user.  A cane can't find you the door, steps, a 
seat or the correct bus.  A cane can't follow a person, you must take their 
arm and be lead.  All I have to do is point to the person and tell my dog to 
follow and we walk along with confidence knowing I will not lose the person 
I'm supposed to be following.  With a dog, Even in unfamiliar areas, I step 
out in confidence and pride knowing we'll arrive safely.  I love the 
companionship of having a dog at my side.  With a cane you are feeling your 
way not knowing what to expect.  With my dog, I know she'll find her way 
through anything.  I live in an area where I have to walk through large 
parking lots and in areas where there is no tactile landmarks.  The only way 
to find our home is with my wonderful golden girls beautiful brown eyes and 
intelligent brain.  Finally, I can't hug a stupid stick and love it for a 
job well done.

Sandra and Eva
-----Original Message----- 
From: Debby Phillips via nagdu
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2015 7:59 PM
To: Craig Heaps ; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users ; blindcowgirl1993 at gmail.com ; nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Fwd: 5 Reasons Why Guide Dogs Are a Terrible Idea!

Well, I wasn't able to read the whole article, so in a way I'm
commenting out of the blue.  But I can imagine some of the
terrible things.  On the other hand, I know the wonderful, too.
The terrible for me: dogs aren't always convenient.  They have to
be taken out to relieve, whether it's 0 degrees or a 100.  You
have to pay attention to them even when you're busy, because they
require a certain amount of petting and playing with.  Friends
and family don't always like them.  Some cars (if you're going
somewhere with friends or family) are hard to get a dog into.
And yes, they get distracted, don't always obey, have bad days,
and sometimes don't work out.  You get attached, and then they
have to go away.

But here goes: I'm an okay cane user, better after graduating
from CCB, but I love that feeling of walking down the street when
my dog and I are in tune, that sense of being helped when my dog
turns in at a door that is familiar to both of us, knowing that
we've arrived at our destination; the way ow feel when people say
to me, "You look good together".  That sense of being a team,
knowing that I call the shots about where we go, but that my
partner may figure out a better way to get there then I
can-seeing a way through a crowd that I can't, etc.  Yes, their
having vision and me not, does help sometimes.  And dogs use
their other senses, too, that annoying or wonderful sense of
smell that gets dogs in trouble or maybe helps when my dog picks
the right car in a parking lot full of other cars.  (No, that
doesn't always happen).  But it does enough times that I've grown
to love that.  And I love the feel of my dog's head on my foot
when I'm riding the bus home after a long, difficult day, knowing
that she or he is just as glad to be close to me as I am to him
or her.  So even today as I'm still missing my Neena, I can feel
my heart stirring with the question of who my new dog will be,
male, female, Lab, Golden, probably not Shepherd, but maybe it
could be.  And I do wonder now when my class date will be.
(Smile).    Debby

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