[NAGDU] Multiple applications

[Sandra Johnson]

Hello:

This is Sandra with my seven year old golden retriever Eva from Pilot Dogs.  I did the application process 7 years ago so things might have changed since then.  I first checked out the websites for all the schools.  Then I emailed them asking for someone to call me back to answer some questions regarding my specific needs.  In addition to being totally blind I have other medical issues that need to be considered when applying for a dog.  By asking for a telephone conversation it allowed me and the school representative to discuss whether that program would be suitable for me or not.  That gave me the opportunity to eliminate those schools that were not right for me.  Then I filled out the five remaining applications and mailed them back.  This then leads to some anxious time of waiting while they gather all the necessary paperwork.  It helps if you keep on your references and medical folks to be sure they respond quickly when they receive paperwork.  It helps to warn your doctors office that they will be receiving medical forms from more than one program.  Fortunately for me my doctor knew my current dog needed to retire so he was more than happy to fill out as many forms as were needed until a program accepted me.  I found all the schools more than willing to discuss their application process and program requirements with me.  It saves them time too rather than them spending time processing paperwork and possibly sending out staff for home interviews.  Some schools do telephone interviews and some do home interviews.  Some will request a video.  I found this impossible because I did not have anyone available to do it for me so they had to do without it.  Since I had been a guide dog user for almost forty years at that time they figured out that obviously I knew how to travel successfully and safely.    After any phone conversation I always followed it up with a thank you email letting them know that I appreciated them taking time to speak to me.  Also once you choose the school you want it is polite to write to those you do not wish to attend so they can take your file out of their active cases.  This is also good to do if you decide to accept an earlier offer from another school.  The more information you can share with the school staff the better match they will be able to find for you.  Good luck and happy travels with your dogs.

Sandra and Eva
SLJohnson25 at comcast.net       

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: Danielle Sykora via NAGDU
Sent: Monday, October 26, 2020 1:52 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Danielle Sykora
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Multiple applications

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