[NAGDU] In-depth: Why some feel it's OK to have comfort pets in public

Fri Apr 27 22:17:04 UTC 2018

This just presses my buttons in all the wrong ways, and like others have said, where did this article get their facts from?
Jordan

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 27, 2018, at 4:29 PM, Julie McGinnity via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> This article presses so many of my buttons.  Both animals are referred
> to as comfort pets.  You guys have already pointed that out.  I also
> really really don't like it when people say or write that our dogs
> take care of us.  How can guide dog schools even say this about their
> dogs when so much of our time in training is devoted to learning how
> "we" can take care of our dogs?  It's bad enough that the sighted
> public thinks that my dog takes care of me.  This article also spreads
> around the notion that people can bring their emotional support
> animals everywhere.  Where do they get their facts?
> 
> Julie
> 
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>> On 4/27/18, Buddy Brannan via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Tracy, my reaction agrees with your reaction, both to this article and to
>> the GDB logo, which was just fine before, thank you very much. Referring to
>> guide dogs as “comfort pets” just grates on me like nails on a chalkboard.
>> 
>>> On Apr 27, 2018, at 11:29 AM, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> The first thing this newscast says is that guide dogs and ESA's are both
>>> comfort animals.  Wrong!!!
>>> Though I think guide dog schools are somewhat to blame for this
>>> impression, with some of their PR that I think of as "a companion in my
>>> lonely darkness."  Last I heard, the GDB logo is a person with their arm
>>> around their dog, which to me doesn't show the real purpose of the dog at
>>> all.
>>> Tracy
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ginger Kutsch
>>> via NAGDU
>>> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2018 8:45 AM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> Cc: Ginger Kutsch
>>> Subject: [NAGDU] In-depth: Why some feel it's OK to have comfort pets in
>>> public
>>> 
>>> In-depth: Why some feel it's OK to have comfort pets in public
>>> 
>>> By: Michelle Kingston 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Video at
>>> http://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/in-depth-why-some-feel-its-ok-to-have-comfort-pets-in-public/1145167813
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Theresa and Dana both say their dogs provide them critical care.
>>> 
>>> One, who is visually impaired, has a service dog that helps guide her
>>> around town.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The other says she suffers from depression and needs her dog to reduce her
>>> anxiety.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Thursday night, KRON4 goes in-depth to explore why both women feel they
>>> have a right to have their comfort pets in public.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Wills is an adorable yellow lab, Theresa Stern's best friend and guide
>>> dog.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Stern is visually impaired.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "Having a guide dog is life changing," Stern said. "It is so hard to
>>> explain. It's like asking someone who is sighted what it is like for them
>>> to have their eyes."
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Wills went through months of training at the Guide Dogs for the Blind in
>>> order to care for, guide, and protect Theresa.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "He, he is amazing," Stern said. "He helps me live my life in the way that
>>> I want to live my life. I feel comfortable and confident getting out in
>>> the world."
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dana Valladares feels the same way about her dog--but she's not blind.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "All I did was just fill out like an easy 5-minute application,"
>>> Valladares said.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dana bought Tazz last year, went online, and a couple of clicks and
>>> dollars later, he became a certified emotional support dog with no
>>> training, no doctor's note, and very little effort, joining a group of
>>> animals--like the pig, duck, and squirrel we've seen on social media--that
>>> can now fly on a plane for free in the cabin.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "I carry him in a little purse so whenever something, I'm getting a little
>>> shaky and everything, I'll just go to pet him, and then it'll just calm my
>>> nerves instantly," Valladares said.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The easy websites, and the people who are taking advantage of them, are
>>> what Theresa says is making her life more difficult
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "It's starting to really affect the way that we get out in the world
>>> because of the sort of suspicion that comes with having a real service dog
>>> because of all the phony ones," Stern said. "People will come up to me and
>>> say, 'Is that really a service dog? Are you really blind?'"
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dana says Tazz helps her deal with her depression and anxiety--and that
>>> she didn't register him just so she can take him everywhere she goes,
>>> although that is a benefit.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "Me and him we are inseparable," Valladares said. "It's to the point where
>>> we don't know who needs who more."
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> While Theresa does believe there are some people who really need emotional
>>> support animals, she is fearful of how many people are registering their
>>> animals fraudulently who could put her dog--a fully qualified service
>>> animal--and herself, in danger.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "I think they need to look inside themselves and think about what they're
>>> doing and think about if they are willing to lie about something as
>>> profound as having a disability, so they can bring their pet with them and
>>> not have to pay a fee knowing that that can really inhibit the
>>> independence of people who rely on those," Stern said. "You know, what's
>>> next?"
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> So, how easy is it to register your dog as an emotional support animal?
>>> And does any breed, size or, behavior qualify?
>>> 
>>> You can find out Friday night on KRON4 News at 10 p.m.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Julie A. McGinnity
> President, National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division,
> Second Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
> "For we walk by faith, not by sight"
> 2 Cor. 7
> 
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