[NAGDU] Seeking Guide Dog Sitter for Weekend of July 14th

[Heather Bird]

First of all, thank you to those who responded on either of these lists,
this is being cross-posted to the TSE and NAGDU email lists, who gave me
information regarding the guide dog daycare provided by GDB at the Beep
Baseball World Series. Our team is also participating in the Beasts of the
East Tournament, one half of which is being plaid in Rochester, where I
live, but the other half is being played in NJ. This is a much smaller
tournament and there is no official setup for guide dog sitting. I do not
like to leave my dog in a hotel room alone if I am leaving the building. I
do think it is a handler’s right to leave a dog, unattended, properly crated
or placed on tie down in their hotel room, as long as they understand that
if their dog does cause damages, they will, of course, have to pay for them.
I do sometimes leave my dog for short periods of time in my room when I am
using the pool, or doing something else within the hotel. However, I do not
want to take the risk of leaving Ilsa for many hours crated in my room,
while I am far away, out of the building. This is for two reasons. 1. I do
not want the risk of someone steeling her, and hotel key cards are not as
secure technology as one would hope, and 2. If there were a fire or other
emergency, no one would be there to evacuate my dog.

 

So, I am seeking someone who is a guide dog or service dog handler or an
experienced puppy raiser, who lives in or near Haddonfield NJ, which is near
the border of NJ and PA, so if you are in PA, but very nearby that is also
fine. I could, if it is available in the area, Uber to your home to drop
Ilsa off, or I could give you my hotel Key Card and you could hang out with
Ilsa in my room while I am gone. I want someone who understands just how
valuable guide dogs are, monetarily, logistically and emotionally, which is
why I am not looking for a run-of-the-mill pet sitter, or a standard pet
dog, doggy daycare option. I will provide a list of Ilsa’s commands in
Braille and or large print, an emergency recall whistle just in case of
emergencies, and contact information for myself and a local veterinarian. I
am willing to negotiate an hourly rate, but I am thinking something greater
than $10 and less than $20, but I am happy to negotiate. I will get more
detailed information from the host team the Philadelphia Fire with regards
how long we will be gone exactly and whether we have games on Saturday and
Sunday, or just Saturday. But, I believe that we play around 3 games on
Saturday only and that we will be gone around 6 or 7 hours. The tournament
takes place on the weekend of July 14th. If you have a current guide dog and
or puppy you are raising, I am happy to have your dog come along to hang out
with you and Ilsa, but, I do not want Ilsa to play with random pet dogs, no
offense. If you are interested or have any questions, please email me at
heather.l.bird at gmail.com <mailto:heather.l.bird at gmail.com> 

 

Ilsa is a 3-year-old GSD female. She is high energy, but pretty obedient as
long as she recognizes that her care taker is paying attention and is in
charge. Her house behavior is very good, although with someone she is new to
I would recommend keeping her on-leash with you all or most of the time, and
absolutely no off-leash play or running in an unfenced area.

 

PS, no, this town is not near the Seeing Eye, I checked. My first thought
when I saw that we were going to NJ was “Wow, how convenient, maybe one of
the trainers or kennel staff from TSE would like to hang out with Ilsa for a
day.” But, alas, it is 2 hours away.

Heather Bird

"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't
a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a
Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." -
Martin Niemöller

In our diverse society we must never fail to speak up in the face of Human
Rights violations lest we be the next targets of such violations.