[NAGDU] convention thoughts and a huge thank you!

[Julie Johnson]

Thank you to everyone who stopped by my table in the exhibit hall or who attended the NAGDU seminar or board meeting.  I appreciate your  support of my business, On The Go.  If you were not able to make it to the exhibit hall, still have questions or I didn’t have the product you wanted, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I’m happy to help! email: julielj at neb.rr.com phone/message: 402-363-8997 I’m sorry, I’m not able to take calls after 7 pm central time.

General convention thoughts...I thought all the dogs were really very good this year.  I did not personally witness any barking, growling, lunging or inappropriate relieving.   Lots of the dogs were super friendly and willing to visit with their dog neighbors in the crowded exhibit hall.  Most handlers were aware and addressed the situation appropriately. Thank you, I appreciate responsible handlers!

As many of you may have noticed, I had no dog at convention this year.  I anticipate this will be the case for a few years.  I appreciate that I was welcomed by other guide dog users and not criticized for my lack of a guide.  Here’s the situation...Monty is very close to 11.  He’s a good guide and still does a good job on the short, fairly basic walks I take him on.  He is considerably slower than in his youth, is very affected by the heat and is not able to mentally process complex situations with the same speed as in his youth.  He still enjoys guiding, as in it’s his next best thing to do after eating.  So I still take him on our short walks around the neighborhood because it makes him so happy.  However, I do not believe it is fair to him to expect him to guide for hours at a stretch, endure the heat or navigate complex situations with lots of moving obstacles.  So I choose to enjoy him and what he can give while respecting his advancing age.

Jetta, my younger dog, is no longer working.  She has had issues with other dogs for a long time.  More recently she has developed a number of other fears.  She is an excellent guide in regard to the mechanics of guide work, but is really not equipped to handle the stresses of the ever changing environment.  I made this decision this spring and have noticed a significant change in her personality and day to day stress level.  She is all around happier, more at ease and I am enjoying her as a pet very much.

My personal commitment to my dogs is for life, with only a very few exceptions including biting, inability to provide for medical care or some other pretty serious events.  I am keeping both dogs and do not wish to add a third dog to my household at this time.  This, of course, means I will have no guide dog for a while.  I struggled with this for months.  This spring was a really difficult time for me.  Then there was convention.

My big take away from convention this year was that while I prefer working a guide dog and will definitely owner train another guide in the future, now is not the right time.  My cane skills are a bit rusty, but they are coming together decently.  I am not afraid to go out with my cane.  I have noticed that I use auditory cues a lot more now than before dogs.  Convention helped me to have complete clarity that I have made the right decision and am in the right place.

Thanks again to everyone!  I hope to see all of you in Las Vegas next year!
Julie 
On The Go with Guide-and-Service-Dogs.com
http://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com
also find my products in the Blind Mice Mega Mall
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