[NAGDU] doggy repo

Tue Mar 9 15:27:51 UTC 2021

Thanks Danielle, 

You took the words from under my fingers here. 

And yes, we really should as a community immediately support the woman involved as facts are gathered. Regardless of the situation and back story on both sides, this seems to have been handled poorly.

> On Mar 8, 2021, at 10:54 PM, Danielle Sykora via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I respectfully disagree that America‘s Vet Dogs takes away from the Guide Dog  Foundation. Different types of service work require slightly different temperaments in dogs. Programs that train multiple types of service dogs can efficiently utilize more dogs, because they have more jobs for them. It’s not all that different from how many guide dog programs will place healthy dogs with good temperaments with other service dog programs if they feel the dog can work successfully but not as a guide. there are also other programs that train multiple types of service dogs such as Southeastern, and programs that have  inter-related relationships like Guide Dogs of America and Tender Loving Canines. 
> As an example of different temperaments for different tasks, a guidedog requires a degree of independence, a lot of initiative, and a dog that is more focused on the environment than its handler. A mobility dog, trained to perform tasks such as picking up dropped objects or tugging open drawers, doesn’t need much initiative because it essentially Will be told exactly what to do by the handler. Dogs that are extremely focused on their handler won’t be able to guide well because they won’t pay enough attention to the environment; however, a very handler focus dog may excel at medical alert or medical response because they are very in tune to minor changes in their handler.  
> my first GDF dog in fact was originally in the AVD curriculum, and was switched to the Guide dog curriculum because his temperament makes him much more suitable as a guide then as a medical response or mobility dog. 
> Also, Guide dogs, hearing dogs, psychiatric service dogs, mobility dogs, medical alert dogs, and medical response dogs are all equally valid service dogs. Just because someone has  vision or doesn’t have a readily apparent disability, doesn’t mean that they don’t have a disability that has a major impact on their life that a task train dog can help with.  A psychiatric service dog is completely different than an emotional support dog.  AVD trains service dogs, not emotional support dogs.  Every program occasionally places dogs with medical issues. While they generally do a good job with screening, nothing is 100% perfect. For example, the only way to be 100% sure a dog does not have hip dysplasia would be to not place dogs until they are 24 months old. Hip x-rays are pretty accurate  for adolescent dogs, but they are not a guarantee until the dog is completely grown, and you cannot get an official hip rating for a large dog until they are 24 months old. Similarly, a dog could show no allergy symptoms at placement and develop them a few months later.  There are some genetic diseases that cannot be tested for and don’t show up until later in life so they are difficult to eliminate from breeding colonies entirely. 
> Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, And I certainly will not  discredit people’s experiences.  I also cannot speak to the behavior of individuals staff members of any program.  I feel like this is a topic that comes up every so often Though in terms of A program expanding to train more than one type of service dog. There are also some potential benefits to this, such as making programs better equipped to accommodate people with multiple disabilities.  
> Danielle 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Mar 8, 2021, at 5:55 PM, Sandra Johnson via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> That is true.  When I was at GDF in 2008 I felt that the vet dog program got
>> all the attention and the best and healthiest dogs.  I was sent home with a
>> sweet dog and a fair worker who had hip dysplasia.  This resulted in
>> thousands of dollars in vet bills.  GDF refused to replace her but I bet
>> when one of the vets needs help paying vet bills or needs to retire an
>> unhealthy dog they got it.  I remember being at an ACB convention.  Tara's
>> trainer was there with this guy who had one of the dogs from the vetdog
>> program.  She spent all her time going around with him bragging up how great
>> GDF and VetDogs is.  While I was begging for her to take a walk with me
>> because Tara had just been diagnosed with cataracts and I needed to know she
>> was still safe.  Finally at the end of the week she managed a half hour with
>> me while she gave the entire week to that vet who was not blind, just needed
>> a dog for his emotional support.  Get real, who needed the trainer more, me
>> or the sighted guy?
>> 
>> Sandra
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Richard via NAGDU
>> Sent: Monday, March 8, 2021 10:09 AM
>> To: NAGDU at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: richardfiorello716 at gmail.com
>> Subject: [NAGDU] doggy repo
>> 
>> This brings up a few rather interesting questions.  What in the world does a
>> school do with a five or six year old dog that they have taken from a
>> handler?  Apparently if the dog is under three there is demand and maybe
>> money from fire departments and similar organizations.  The one dog that I
>> had to send back the school very much insisted that he come back prior to
>> three years old and he went into the bomb sniffing business.
>> 
>> As for gdf please understand I have never contacted the school and have zero
>> first hand knowledge about their program.  When attending another program a
>> class member was a former gdf graduate.  For the entire time I was there he
>> kept saying that veterans get the good dogs and blind people get the left
>> overs.  The only thing that gets me curious is that I am sure that VA pays a
>> school for whatever dogs they are taking ownership of.  Has anyone else felt
>> this to be the case or was this gentlemen just handing out bad information.
>> 
>> Richard 
>> 
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