[NAGDU] {Spam?} Re: {Spam?} RE: {Spam?} NAGDU and guide dog problems

Sat Mar 13 05:46:45 UTC 2021

And I believe what Raul writes to be true. I've been an observer of all
that Raul does over the years, and believe that, as passions are running
high, it is too easy to place blame. While I don't support any school
removing dogs without going through local animal control, I also believe
that all sides ought to have an opportunity to respond to an issue before
any decisions are made, before action is taken, etc., and Raul, I hope that
all the messages you are receiving do not discourage you for continuing to
work hard, as I know you are doing. You have my support, and I do hope
people consider what they write before they call out someone for being a
liar.

On Fri, Mar 12, 2021 at 6:26 PM Jordan Gallacher via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> Unfortunately, I believe Marion's side of things.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Raul A. Gallegos -
> NAGDU via NAGDU
> Sent: Friday, March 12, 2021 7:53 PM
> To: NAGDU List <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; Blind Talk Mailing List <
> blindtlk at nfbnet.org>; Florida Association of Guide Dog Users <
> flagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Raul A. Gallegos - NAGDU <rgallegos at nagdu.org>
> Subject: [NAGDU] {Spam?} NAGDU and guide dog problems
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> This email is to answer some of the questions that have been posed on our
> various lists regarding the taking of Reverend Susan Blake’s guide dog that
> was issued by Southeastern Guide Dogs, (SEGDI), last week.
> While I will try not to repeat much of what I said earlier this week since
> most of you already read that, I will try to explain a few things while
> sticking to the facts as much as possible. First and foremost, we are
> outraged when we hear that a guide dog team has been split up by a training
> program removing the guide dog from a person. I cannot imagine the hurt and
> anger that Reverend Blake must feel from all of this. No matter the
> situation, there should always be due process whenever a school feels that
> a guide dog is not safe with its handler. Second, one of the reasons I have
> not posted daily updates as to what NAGDU is doing is because there are
> those who will see them as being defensive. While I believe in being
> transparent about what we do, not operating in secret, I also do not think
> it is appropriate to give a daily report of things we do. I think that if
> you look at the methods used by other divisions, chapters, and the
> organization in general, you will find that this is true there as well. I
> hope that everyone knows that if you reach out to me or to the board
> directly, we will be happy to answer questions if we are able to.
> Over the past week, there have been several hundred messages on various
> lists regarding what NAGDU is doing, not doing, and how we are sitting on
> our hands and how we could not care less about what happened to Reverend
> Blake as well as what is happening on other fronts. and this is simply not
> true. It has also been said that caring is not enough, and I agree with
> this. Along with caring there needs to be action.
> Unfortunately, this is where we hit a bit of a snag because of a few
> things that are out of our control. Contrary to what has been said more
> than once, I have reached out to Reverend Blake several times and as of
> today we have only spoken once on Tuesday, March 9. By the time she and I
> spoke that day, Marion Gwizdala had already shared her story and had
> already resigned from the NFB. During the conversation with Reverend Blake,
> one of my questions to her was how she wanted to proceed. Her response at
> first was that she only wanted her guide dog back before SEGDI gave it to
> someone else. Then later in the conversation she added that she wanted an
> injunction against them. I listened to her empathetically, asking her
> questions about her dog and why she thought that SEGDI decided to take the
> dog from her. She shared several things with me, one of which was that all
> they told her was that the dog was overweight and that its vaccines were
> not updated. Most of what she told me had already been shared publicly on
> our lists and on the web. Toward the end of our conversation, I explained
> that I was going to discuss this with the NAGDU board and with our NFB
> President to see what we might be able to do. After our conversation, she
> emailed me a copy of what happened. This is the same copy of the email that
> was posted the day before.
> Let me be frank, if I don’t know the immediate answer to something, I am
> not going to push my way through blindly and hope the answer magically
> materializes. This is not to come off like I am making excuses, but to
> demonstrate that I take a team-based approach when it comes to solving a
> problem when I do not have an immediate solution. At the end of our
> conversation, I advised Reverend Blake that I would be in touch with her
> later and she seemed agreeable. Unfortunately, this was the one and only
> time we have spoken. I have not been able to reach her since then because
> she has not responded to phone messages.
> Later that same day (Tuesday), a one-sided version of my conversation with
> her was shared by Marion Gwizdala on the FLAGDU list, which proved to me
> that he was already helping her in his fashion, just like he said he would
> on Friday, March 5 when this all began. If he had not resigned from the NFB
> on Monday March 8th, we could have tried to take a coordinated approach.
> However, this was no longer possible.
> My personal feeling is that Marion is a wonderful resource when it comes
> to advocacy and when it comes to knowing the various laws concerning guide
> dog users. In fact, prior to all this happening, I considered him a mentor
> and a friend, and hoped that I could continue relying on his experience. It
> is my belief, and this is based on several emails that he has publicly
> written concerning things that didn’t go the way he would have liked when
> he was NAGDU President, that he has been unhappy with NAGDU for a while and
> the incident with Reverend Blake served as the tipping point. While I am
> not in the habit of calling people out publicly as all it does is look
> defensive and serves no real purpose, many things he has said about the
> NAGDU board and I specifically are not true.
> What I will share is a little about the two conversations we’ve had since
> all this began. First, I feel that if Marion had stopped to listen to me a
> little more when he and I spoke on Friday, March 5 and later Saturday,
> March 6, the NAGDU board could have come up with a more immediate solution
> to help Reverend Blake. Instead, Marion demanded that the NFB hire a lawyer
> over the weekend so the issue could be solved by Monday the 8th. He said
> that if I didn’t do something immediately, he would, with or without the
> support of the NFB. Since then, there have been many posts on the lists and
> on social media from people who don’t feel that NAGDU is handling this the
> right way. On Saturday morning, March 6, Marion wrote a letter to the NAGDU
> board and to President Riccobono, informing us of the situation and of his
> disappointment in the way I was handling things. My response to him was
> that we need as much information as possible. Since he hadn’t yet provided
> me with Reverend Blake’s information, and since he was convinced that SEGDI
> wouldn’t speak with me without a subpoena, then there wasn’t much that we
> could do. It wasn’t until Saturday evening that Marion finally gave me
> Reverend Blake’s information. Since then, he has obviously done things to
> help her, including participating in an ACB Radio interview.
> To try and gather facts from all sides involved, I have reached out to
> SEGDI to discuss their policies and contracts and to find information
> regarding due process when they feel that their contract is breached.
> Because Reverend Blake’s situation is not the only one that has been
> shared over the years, we would like to give SEGDI a fair opportunity to
> work with NAGDU or demonstrate that it is unwilling to do so.
> There have also been many discussions regarding what ownership of a guide
> dog truly means. Personally, I feel that whether a training program says
> you own the guide dog or not, they should not be able to come and take the
> dog away without following due process. Instead, if there is a question of
> abuse, the proper local authorities should be involved. This is one of the
> many reasons that guide dog school contracts should be reviewed carefully.
> The NAGDU board’s position regarding ownership of a guide dog is that while
> we feel that it is one aspect of choosing a training program, there are
> other things to consider. The NAGDU board feels that the guide dog user
> should have informed choice so that the best decision can be made when
> choosing a training program. If anyone chooses to attend a guide dog school
> where ownership is not given again, there needs to be due process.
> Ownership or not, guide dog schools must be accountable to consumers and
> consumer rights. Fear not, we will be looking at making more public
> positions on all this through resolutions. You all will be involved. We are
> your board, but please give us time to do our work.
> In closing, let me remind you that if you have questions or need to speak
> with us, please email board at nagdu.org or call (832) 554-7285.
> While we may not have an immediate solution to your questions and
> concerns, we promise to listen, and we will help where we can.
>
>
> --
> Respectfully,
> *Raul A. Gallegos* / President
> National Association of Guide Dog Users, /NAGDU/
> 832.554.7285 | RGallegos at nagdu.org <mailto:rgallegos at nagdu.org> Subscribe
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> "Blindness is a characteristic, not a handicap." -- Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
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-- 
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