[NAGDU] Ownership and why people chose a particular school

S L Johnson SLJohnson25 at comcast.net
Thu Jan 19 23:53:10 UTC 2017


Tara:

My experience with Pilot has been very positive.  When I was applying to 
schools two years ago I had a few priorities.  First of all I wanted 
ownership.  Second I wanted a female golden.  Finally due to arthritis, 
spinal degeneration and multiple sclerosis it was extremely important that I 
had a dog that would walk at a moderately slow pace without pulling.  I also 
have to use a cane for support and balance in my right hand.  After being 
denied by GDF who had trained my current dog I began applying to all the 
other schools around the country.  Several said no because they do not use 
golden retrievers.  Guiding Eyes said I would need their special needs 
program and the waiting list would be at least two years.  GDB said I could 
not walk fast enough or far enough and so did Seeing Eye.  Finally when I 
got my last denial I applied to Pilot.  I had not applied to them because I 
had always heard negative things about their training and dogs.  Well to my 
amazement, two weeks after they received my completed paperwork I got a 
phone call that they had a wonderful little female golden they thought would 
be perfect for me.  They were absolutely right,  Eva is wonderful.  I knew 
immediately that afternoon when we took our first walk around the block that 
she was the perfect match for me.  The trainers were willing to shorten the 
walks to meet my limited physical situation.  Eva's pace and pull are just 
what I needed.  She is gentle and easy to control without the need for leash 
corrections.  I also liked the fact that the trainers did not make everyone 
on class do the exact same walks.  The trainer would design the trips to 
suit that particular students needs and abilities.  At Pilot you only stay 
for ten days if you are an experienced guide dog handler.  That was also 
important to me since I was helping to care for my elderly parents and did 
not want to be away for three or four weeks.

My advice to anyone planning on getting their first dog or applying for a 
new dog when it is time to retire your current dog is to do your homework. 
Be a smart consumer, go to the websites and read everything you can find. 
Call the schools and talk to their admissions departments.  Get input from 
other guide dog handlers.  The more information you have the better your 
chances are that you will be able to make an informed and wise decision that 
is best suited to your needs.

Sandra Johnson and Eva

-----Original Message----- 
From: Tara Wiseman via NAGDU
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2017 10:52 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Tara Wiseman
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Ownership and why people chose a particular school

Sandra that's terrible! I think that is everyone's worst nightmare. What is 
been your experience with pilot? It's come up on the list before. But I 
think it's a very interesting topic about why people choose a particular

School.
TaraCheck out my podcast found at:abilitystories.podbean.com and on iTunes

> On Jan 19, 2017, at 8:36 AM, S L Johnson via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> 
> wrote:
>
> Tara:
>
> When I got my first dog in 1976 I really did not know anything about guide
> dog schools.  I assumed they were all the same.  A couple of months after
> returning home with Hogan, a male golden, I had some health issues.  Hogan
> was a really fast walker and hard puller.  The diagnosis of multiple
> sclerosis meant that my left arm was weak and I would occasionally drag my
> left foot causing me to trip.  I fell a few times with him.  I was 
> observed
> by a few other nosey blind people and one very rude O&M instructor.  They
> reported me to the guide dog school and suddenly without notice a trainer
> showed up at my door and took my dog.  It took an attorney and my doctors
> and physical therapists quite a fight to get the dog returned to me.  This
> should never happen to any graduate of a guide dog school.  Once Hogan
> retired I made sure to only attend schools that granted me ownership.  As
> far as I know GDF and Seeing Eye grant ownership.  Leader used to but I do
> not know if that is still the case or not.  My current dog Eva is a golden
> from Pilot and I was granted ownership upon graduation.
>
> Sandra and Eva
>
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Tara Wiseman via NAGDU
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2017 10:20 PM
> To: Bryan Gearry via Nagdu
> Cc: Tara Wiseman
> Subject: [NAGDU] Ownership and why people chose a particular school
>
> Hi all! I have been enjoying this discussion about owner ship. I have 
> always
> been passionate about wanting to own my own dog. However, after high 
> school
> I wanted to get my guy dog before I started college. Although I want to go
> to the Seeing Eye, I could not go there before my first semester of 
> college.
> Therefore, I went to guide dogs for the blind even though I was not given
> ownership of my dog. For me, that was a good decision. I work with my 
> first
> guide until 2009. Upon her retirement, I went to the Seeing Eye and I know
> on my dog. I was curious why those of you on this list chose your 
> particular
> schools. Was the ownership question important to you? If you chose a 
> school
>
> That did not grant you ownership, even though you felt you should be given
> it, what was your reason? I am interested in the idea that if the consumer
> wants ownership we should let that be known and only go to schools that 
> give
> ownership. How do you guys think that consumers without opinion should go
> about making the change? My understanding is, please correct me if I'm
> wrong, that's the majority of schools maintain some sort of ownership of 
> the
> dog. So it seems to me that the simple with just sticks of supply and 
> demand
> mean that some of us who feel strongly about on your own dogs are going to
> have to go to schools that don't let us on our own dogs if we want to have 
> a
> guy dog. I'm interested in everybody's thoughts! My husband, at the age of
> 13, got his service dogs from canine companions for Independence. They did
> not give him ownership of his dog until he retired it. That attitude makes
> me so angry! However, for Tyler he simply doesn't find it a big deal. I 
> also
> appreciated the person who talked about the reason for not granting
> ownership is to maintain control over what is an expensive investment.
> Although I don't agree with that, I thought that was probably the primary
> reason that the schools do not grant ownership. I look forward to 
> everyone's
> thoughts!
> TaraCheck out my podcast found at:abilitystories.podbean.com and on iTunes
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