[NAGDU] Emotions associated with handling was Re: School logos

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Miranda.
It's not people's emotions I'm calling crap.  It's the idea that a blind person needs a dog for a companion, more than other people, and using that as a selling point for donations.  I appreciate my dog's companionship, but it's not the reason I have him with me when I go out.  If it was all about companionship, I could get myself a purse dog of my own, or go to the shelter and get a fine rescue dog.  I wouldn't need weeks of training, years of training for the dog.  Dog companionship is pretty easy.  Being a guide dog, not so much.  Arguably, it's the difference between a service dog and a comfort dog.
Tracy



-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Miranda via NAGDU
Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2018 12:58 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Miranda; Tracy Carcione
Subject: [NAGDU] Emotions associated with handling was Re: School logos

Hi Tracy and all,
While I completely agree with you that the job of a dog guide is a very serious one, and all parties involved should recognize and support this assertion, I do think we need to be careful in labeling others’ emotions as “crap”. While I am not one who has experienced loneliness and darkness as a cane traveler, I imagine there are those who may have experienced darkness, loneliness, isolation, and the like prior to receiving a guide. By labeling these emotions, we may be minimizing another’s experience.
I only say this as food for thought, and not to start any heated debates.

Best wishes, Miranda


Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 29, 2018, at 11:03 AM, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> GDB's change to a logo of someone hugging their dog was a small part of my
> decision to switch from GDB to TSE.  OK, so it's a logo, but I felt it was
> symbolic of some attitudes I didn't care for.  I heard at the time that the
> GEB logo was similar.
> 
> As I recall, GDB's reason for changing their logo was that they wanted to
> show the partnership between human and dog, but IMO there is a big
> difference between a working partnership and a pet partnership, and hugging
> your dog doesn't show that.
> 
> I know schools, and users, have had trouble with public perceptions about
> corrections, and I have no problem with moves to use fewer or better
> corrections, so long as the dog works well.  But I think it's essential the
> schools emphasize that it's a working dog, doing as serious a job as a
> police dog, and get away from the "companion in my lonely darkness" crap.
> 
> Could we perhaps bring it up at the convention, or something?  Or brainstorm
> some PR we'd rather see, that emphasizes the working partnership, then share
> it with the schools?
> 
> Tracy
> 
> 
> 
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