[NAGDU] How are guide dogs receaved at national convention?

[Julie Johnson]

I have been  to quite a few state conventions of both ACB and NFB.  I 
have been to 2 ACB national conventions and 4 NFB national conventions.  
This summer will be my 5th NFB national convention.  I have been to both 
organizations state and national conventions with and without a guide 
dog. Here's my .02 on  the whole thing.

I have experienced a hole load more drama on email lists about guide 
dogs and organizations than I ever have in person with a dog at all 
conventions combined.   My first national convention was in 2001 in 
Louisville.  I didn't have a dog at the time.  There were dogs there, of 
course, but I don't remember noticing them much. No one I was with said 
much about dogs.  They were just in the background, doing their thing, 
going pretty much unnoticed.

My first convention with a dog was in Dallas, around 2005, I think.  I 
received one slightly unpleasant comment from a cane user in a very 
crowded airport shuttle.  Yes, my dog did take up space and yes, I tried 
to make her fit, but she only folded up so much, the laws of physics and 
all that.  Really though, the entire shuttle experience was mentally 
exhausting and tested the patience of even the most saintly, so given 
the context I'm not assuming that she had some deep seated hatred of 
guide dogs.   Other than that I can't remember any unpleasantness from 
people at all.

Well, I should elaborate on that a bit.  There is always rudeness and 
snarkiness when you get thousands of people together.  Tempers seem to 
get shorter and shorter as the week goes on.  Elevators seem to be a 
particularly volatile place.  However, comparing attendance with a dog 
vs. cane, really there is no difference in the level of rudeness based 
on mobility choice.   Some people are just rude.

My dogs have made a number of small mistakes, sniffing inappropriately, 
being fidgety in a long meeting and Jetta barked once at a state 
convention.  I moved to the back of the room or left or whatever seemed 
the most appropriate intervention.    I got one pretty horrible comment 
about how my owner trained dog must be at least as good as a dog from 
school X or Y, which I thought was pretty craptastic.  I felt like that 
was more a jibe about owner trained dogs or particular schools than it 
was about the use of dogs for mobility though.

People do talk to me about my dogs and if my dog is doing something 
inappropriate, people will tell me.  I appreciate that though.  The time 
I am thinking about was in a crowd in the hall. I was speaking with 
another dog handler, who did not have her dog with her at the moment.  
Jetta was being nosy, which she's prone to do.  The other lady just 
calmly told me that Jetta was sniffing her and left me to address it.  
There was no judgement, no I should do this or that, just information.

I suppose a lot of your experience will depend on the particular people 
you spend your time with.  Some folks don't like dogs in general or 
guide dogs in particular.  For that matter some folks don't like white 
canes.  Rude people exist in every group.  As exhaustion sets in 
politeness diminishes.   It's not so much a blindness thing as it is a 
human thing.   As an organization though, I have not noticed any 
animosity toward guide dogs.

I hope to catch up in person with folks at convention this summer.  You 
can find me at my table, "On The Go" in the exhibit hall.  Or email me 
at julielj at neb.rr.com and I'll get you my phone number so you can call 
or text so we can meet up.  I will have Monty with me.   I'm happy to 
talk about owner training, guide dog equipment, homeschooling, 
gardening, great books or good restaurants! I'll also be at the NAGDU 
meetings.  I'm excited for convention!

Julie
http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com