[NAGDU] Apprentice Instructor

[Mardi Hadfield]

Hi guys, Mardi here. I have trained4 of my own guide dogs and am working on
number 5 now that my power chair is fixed and back home. I also trained 3
guide dogs for other people. Rachel,who used to be on this list was one of
those people and the only one who was totally blind. when I worked Rachel
with her dog I was either behind her or next to her. Rachel was not an easy
person to work with. She was very stubborn and constantly compared my way
of doing things to the way Pilot Dogs did things.I finally told her that
Pilot Dogs refused to send you home with a dog. It's this dog or go back to
Pilot Dogs. Rachel had a problem veering `to the right and the left. I
really had to work hard with training Lady to walk in a straight line. I
worked Lady under blindfold for days before I gave permission for Rachel to
take the dog home.Lady still needed to learn several things like overhead
objects. She still was not perfect when Rachel took her. I really wanted to
do the last things ,but Rachel insisted that she could do the rest. I did
work with her many times after she took Lady home. Then I was in and out of
the hospital with a heat stroke and then a Heart attack. I was not able to
work with Rachel for a while. When I was  finally ablke to work with her,
she hadn't done the rest of Lady's training. Rachel started veering again
and Lady just went along with her. The dog was still safe in traffic or I
would have insisted that I take her back for brush up training. I spoke
with her husband and the several times I went to her home, I observed
Rachel just sitting in her easy chair and not doing anything with Lady.
Rachel had some mental health issues and she told me she just didn't feel
like doing it.The last time I tried working with Rachel and Lady was when
She was in the mental health Halfway house that would not let her have lady
with her. I took care of Lady at my house for 3 months and I had Lady
working a lot better. Rachel wanted to work lady on sidewalkless streets. I
tried but Rachel could not keep Lady at the side of the road. She would
veer of into the road. I stayed right beside her in my chair with Neechee.,
to keep her safe. We only worked on this for one day. Rachel got very
abusive towards me and took the dog back to the house on the side walk and
did as she darn well pleased. I told her I would not work with her again.
Rachel was the most difficult person I have ever worked with. Lady was  a
wonderful dog. She finally got the Supervisor at the halfway house to let
her have the dog with her. After all the advocating I did for Rachel and
showing them the law,they accepted the fake service dog kit that Rachel got
off the internet. Because it said the dog was certified.I decided then and
there,that I would not train another dog for any one again. I am sad to
say, that Rachel passed away soon after Lady went to live with her again.
Lady had nothing to do with her passing. I am continuing to train Sedona
for myself and the PTSD dog,Cheyenne for my friend Nick and those will be
my last dogs,unless for some reason Sedona would have to retire early and I
was still able to use a dog or if ,GOD willing, I should still be alive in
my 80's plus,and still able to work a dog. If that should happen,I hope I
could still train my own dog. Any way, When Sedona is a fully trained
guide, she will be working for me into my 80's. I can still hope. Maybe by
that time, we will have some blind guide dog instructors.

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http://wolfsinger-lakota.blogspot.com/
http://wolfsinger2-thegoldendragon.blogspot.com