[NAGDU] Ownership in Germany - for Rebecca and everyone who's interested

[Heather Bird]

     Another question. What happens if an independently wealthy blind 
person says "To heck with you, mister  insurance provider. I can pay all 
my dog's bills myself, thank you very much, so you stay the heck away 
from me and my dog, and I won't ask you for anything and you don't have 
any claim on my dog end of story?" Can one do that if they wish?


On 5/23/2017 6:39 AM, Lisa via NAGDU wrote:
> Hi Rebecca,
>
>
> you asked if I could explain how ownership is handled in Germany. I'll 
> try. ;-)
>
>
> Over here, a guide dog is listed as an aid to midigate a disability 
> like a wheelchair or a cane. This means health insurance pays for the 
> dog. You have to get a prescription from your eye specialist, find 
> yourself a school that suits you and then apply for cost acquision 
> with your health insurance company. In most cases, this is a long and 
> annoying process because many people get denied at first. Not because 
> of concerns regarding your ability to take care of a dog but because 
> of the high costs a guide dog brings. But anyway, after you succeeded 
> in applying and also in training with your new guide, your health 
> insurance company becomes the owner of the dog. They remain the owner 
> until you retire your dog. Then you can either keep it and become the 
> owner yourself or find him/her a home.
>
> There are only two schools in Germany that handle ownership 
> differently. They remain owner of the dog and the health insurance 
> still pays for the dog.
>
> The big difference to the US is, in my understanding, that we don't 
> have the opportunity to get ownership for our working dogs at all.
>
>
> I should also add that even though your health insurance company is 
> the owner of the dog in most cases they don't care about it much. I 
> have to send in documents that say Taylor gets vaccinated once a year, 
> a worm preventative twice a year and I have a liability insurance for 
> him. Apart from that, they aren't interested in what I'm doing with my 
> dog.
>
>
> Lisa
>
>
>
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