[NAGDU] Retiring your dog

Thu Dec 14 15:39:28 UTC 2017

Tara:

When I retired my golden Tara tree years ago I seriously considered a 
nursing home placement.  My vet knew of an elderly lady who had recently 
been admitted to that home and was missing having her pet dog to love.  I 
took Tara to visit the home and observed her interacting with the patients 
and staff.  She was also a very loving and nurturing dog so I thought that 
would be a good retirement for her.  After visiting several nursing homes 
and assisted living facilities I decided against that placement for several 
reasons.  Tara's diminishing vision due to her cataracts made her nervous 
around all the walkers and wheelchairs.  Many of the residents were not 
always aware what they were doing and would run their walkers and 
wheelchairs into her.  In Tara's case this would result in pain due to her 
hip dysplasia.  Some of the nursing homes I visited did not want the 
responsibility of Tara's daily anti-inflammatory joint meds, monthly 
injections and laser treatments for her hips.  If Emmy is healthy then this 
will not be a problem for you.  Some of the residents could not understand 
why they could not feed Tara anything they happened to have, even if it 
would not be good for her.  In the end, I felt that environment would be too 
stressful for Tara.  That is not to say that Emmy would not do very well in 
a nursing home or assisted living environment.  The only way you will really 
know is to call around and if you get a positive response then take her to 
visit and see how she does.  All of my dogs that I placed went to elderly 
ladies living alone who wanted and needed the companionship of a loving dog. 
They were also fortunate enough to afford any medical expenses.  When I was 
younger I did have to retire a couple of my dogs to the school because I was 
not able to find homes for them.  It was very stressful and heartbreaking 
for me not to know who would get my dog and to be able to know how she was 
doing.  After those two experiences I decided not to retire my dogs back to 
their schools.  Best of luck to you finding the right home for your beloved 
Emmy.

Sandra Johnson and Eva

-----Original Message----- 
From: Tara Briggs via NAGDU
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2017 10:05 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Tara Briggs
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Retiring your dog

Hi Tracy! Thatâ?Ts the drawback in thatâ?Ts what Iâ?Tm trying to avoid doing 
if it  is  at all possible. I wish the Seeing Eye would lighten up a little 
bit on the canâ?Tt talk to your puppy raiser canâ?Tt talk to the people who 
retired your dog. I think thereâ?Ts a middle ground. To me the  middle 
ground should be mutual consent. If the puppy raiser wants to talk to me and 
I want to talk to the puppy raiser then that should be permitted and if it 
goes bad itâ?Ts our fault not the Seeing Eyeâ?Ts. I feel the same way about 
retiring my dog. Sheâ?Ts been such a big part of my life! I would simply 
like occasional update  on her

   My brother took my first guide. Heâ?Ts not really in a position to do 
that now. But when my first guy passed away, I got to be there when I put 
her to sleep. It was a difficult experience but one that I treasure. I got 
to pet her and love her and tell her thank you for all sheâ?Ts done for me. 
If possible, I would like to have that experience again. Iâ?Tm OK if it 
doesnâ?Tt happen. But for me, having a seeing eye dog and having that kind 
of relationship   Has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. 
I also feel an obligation to my current guide. I want to make sure that 
sheâ?Ts in a place where sheâ?Tll feel loved and happy. Have any of you on 
this list ever retired your dog  to a nursing home? I know there are some 
that have pets around for the residents to love and enjoy. I wondered if 
that might be a good placement for Emmy  because She is such a nurturer. She 
loves to comfort people. Iâ?Tve seen it  when I or family members have been 
ill. When my husband had surgery on his mouth, she stayed right next to him 
until he got better. And when a friend of mine was dying from cancer she did 
the same thing we went to see her. Thanks for reading and thank you so much 
everyone for your replies!
TaraSent from my iPhone

> On Dec 14, 2017, at 6:59 AM, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
> wrote:
>
> Hi Tara.
> If you don't have friends or family to take your dog, The Seeing Eye has a
> list of people who want a retired dog.  To me, the major drawback to that
> option is you would probably never know where the dog went or how it was
> doing.  But I'm sure TSE makes sure the dog goes to someone who will take
> good care of it.
> Tracy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of S L Johnson via
> NAGDU
> Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 3:47 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Cc: S L Johnson
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Retiring your dog
>
> Hello Tara:
>
> I retired three of my retired dogs with a good friend.  My last dog, whose
> name was also Tara,  was lovingly adopted by a wonderful elderly lady from
> my mother's church.  My sister had put up posters at the vet and boarding
> kennel she used.  I did get a few responses from that but found them not 
> to
> be the right home for my retired dog.  They had several children who 
> wanted
> a dog that could run and play with them.   Other interested families were
> looking for a dog to be a companion for their very young hyper dogs. 
> Those
> might be good homes for younger dogs but for my girl who had cataracts and
> hip dysplasia I was looking for a quieter safer home.  Start looking now 
> so
> you have plenty of time to properly interview people, watch them interact
> with your dog and see how they might get along.  It is very stressful and
> difficult but it has to be done.  It was always a very sad day when I let 
> my
> golden girls go to their new homes.  However, I did gain a lot of peace 
> and
> comfort knowing that I had placed them with loving ladies who would take
> excellent care of them for me.  Good luck to you.
>
> Sandra Johnson
> SLJohnson25 at comcast.net
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tara Briggs via NAGDU
> Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 1:15 PM
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Cc: Tara Briggs
> Subject: [NAGDU] Retiring your dog
>
> Hi all! The time has come for me to retire my current seeing-eye dog. 
> Ib?Tm
> looking to place her in a good situation for the rest of her life. Emmy 
> is
> nine years old she will be 10 years old on February 21, 2018. Ib?Tm
> interested in what you all have done to place your dog when you were not
> able to keep them with you as a pet.
> Thank you for any information!
> Tara
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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