[NAGDU] doggy repo

Mon Mar 8 05:04:36 UTC 2021

it is also concerning when the guide dog School claims to have lost all the field rep reports of problems with the dog especially when the problems showed up in training. so there is no reason why they should be saying I am not right to have a guide dog.
Jordan 
PS Leader should own up to the fact they made a mistake and rectify the problem which of course thing will never do.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 7, 2021, at 9:52 PM, Jordan Gallacher <jordangandoliver at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> It is extremely concerning that this kind of thing happens.  I was actually
> banned from GDB because I would not submit to being treated like a child for
> one, and two on top of that, they clearly falsified their record to which I
> also objected to after September was attacked to make it look like it was my
> fault.  Don't even get me started about Leader.  Those who care to know what
> was up can find out about that in the archives from February 2017.  All I
> will say is they knew Belto had serious problems and never did what they
> said they were going to do leaving me to figure out how to fix the problems
> with him or ssend him back.  Well, he was perfectly fine after I fixed his
> problems except for stairs which he would not do.  After he was attacked in
> 2018 and they were again not taking things seriously, I ended up pulling the
> plug.  After that, I have yet to find a guide dog school that will accept
> me.
> Jordan
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sandra Johnson via NAGDU
> Sent: Sunday, March 7, 2021 7:39 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sandra Johnson <sljohnson25 at comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] doggy repo
> 
> Hello:
> 
> Oh yes some schools do take dogs away.  It happened to me in 1976.  I had
> graduated from GDF with my male golden in August and the repo dog snatching
> happened just before Christmas.  We all know there can be adjustment issues
> with new guide dog teams, especially when it is a first dog.  I loved Hogan
> but he was an extremely hard puller and he had two speeds, very fast and
> extremely fast.  I had brought up these issues on class but as many of us
> have experienced the trainers often do not listen to our concerns.  I was
> told either put up with it or go home without a dog.  Well going home
> without him was not an option because I was living in Queens and traveling
> to Manhattan to Hunter College every day.  In order to do my college class
> work I used the reading services of the Lighthouse for the Blind.
> Unfortunately as we find in many situations with groups of blind people some
> folks just cannot mind their own business.  At this same time period I was
> tested and diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which would occasionally cause
> my left foot to drag or cause me to lose my balance.  My left arm and hand
> were much weaker than my right so Hogan's hard pull and speed were a
> problem.  I had notified the school and the trainers were working with me to
> get him to walk slower and not to pull so hard.  As I said some hateful
> cruel blind people kept reporting things to GDF.  In late December the
> Director Of Training sent a trainer to my home to take the dog away from me.
> I had no warning by mail or phone call, the trainer just showed up and
> grabbed Hogan's leash from me as I was getting ready to fly home to see
> family for Christmas.  When my shocked parents met me at the airport and
> heard what had happened we went straight to their lawyer.  The lawyer read
> the contract and came to the conclusion that GDF was in violation of their
> own contract which said if a dog was to be taken the student would be
> notified by registered mail stating the reasons and date and time someone
> from the school would arrive.  The contract also stated that reasons for a
> dog to be taken were neglect, abuse or unsafe work.  In my case none of
> those were true.  The trainers and I had already made progress getting the
> energetic excited golden to walk slower and not pull so hard.  I felt we
> were beginning to really settle in and were becoming a good working team so
> it was a very upsetting experience when they took him away from me.   The
> lawyer was shocked at such cruel treatment to one of their students when I
> had not done anything wrong.  Hogan was well groomed and well cared for.  I
> had not neglected nor abused him.  The only issue is that for some reason in
> 1976 John Byfield, the Director of Training , felt that someone who had been
> diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis could not work a guide dog.  After the
> lawyer and my doctors submitted medical documentation meetings were held and
> the Director of Training was told he had to bring Hogan back to me as soon
> as I returned to the city.    A trainer brought Hogan back to me right after
> the new year and we continued work on the pulling and speed issues.  All
> this could have been avoided if only GDF had asked for further information
> from my doctors instead of believing the false rumors reported to them by
> other blind people and some staff at the Lighthouse.  It was a very
> traumatic experience and believe me, since then I have made sure to get my
> guide dogs from a school that gives full ownership upon graduation.  Oh,
> Marion forgot to list Pilot Dogs as giving ownership upon graduation.  I
> don't have to live in constant fear that my school will suddenly come and
> take my dog away from me.  As a new guide dog handler it was a very
> traumatic experience I would never wish on any other guide dog team.  If
> your guide dog school feels there is a problem they should work with you to
> solve it.  If they are concerned about overweight or any other health
> concerns then they should be willing to work with the graduate and their vet
> to resolve the problems.     This has been going on for far too long so I do
> hope NAGDU and NFB will take up this cause.  I will be happy to add my
> experience to the fight if it will help.  
> 
> 
> Sandra Johnson and Pilot Dog Golden Retriever Eva -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Richard via NAGDU
> Sent: Sunday, March 7, 2021 2:29 PM
> To: NAGDU at nfbnet.org
> Cc: richardfiorello716 at gmail.com
> Subject: [NAGDU] doggy repo
> 
> Hi;
> 
> While I'm at my keyboard: I would have never thought that a school would
> basically repossess a guide dog unless there were cruelty complaints.
> Unfortunately, someone locally had an incident with guide dog foundation
> when an instructor came out to "help" with an intersection that was a
> problem.  Fortunately she got the dog back from the school after they worked
> with it and to my surprise will be getting another guide from them soon.
> 
> Richard
> 
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