[NAGDU] Experiences with Guide dog foundation

Thu Mar 14 02:42:05 UTC 2024

Jeff is awesome. I first met him at an NFB convention in 1999. And then later on in 2004, he did my home interview.
Leslie Hamric
Cello and Braille Music Teacher

> On Mar 13, 2024, at 9:27 PM, Vanessa Lowery via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Actually, Shannon was never married to Sean. There were triplets, Sean, and the two other brothers. Shannon was married to one of the brothers who passed away about a year or so ago.
> 
> Jeff McMullen retired from The Seeing Eye at the end of December. Shannon was promoted to his position as class manager. She is a fantastic instructor. So glad she got that promotion. I worked with her back in the day when she was the night instructor. We did several night trips together, and she was just a blast with which to work
> 
> Vanessa and the zoo  
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Mar 13, 2024, at 2:04 PM, Lyn Gwizdak via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi all,
>> I am about to retire my latest dog at 9 and a half. He has become way too
>> slow for me; I am no longer a real fast walker. I now walk a regular speed
>> to slower with our terrible sidewalks. I fell and messed up my mouth which
>> led to expensive dental work.
>> 
>> I went to GDF back in the 1970s and was happy with them. I went to GDA and
>> got a good dog there and retired her at age 7 when she started to lose her
>> traffic training when I moved to a small town.
>> 
>> For me, I liked Seeing Eye the best. They are not snobby at all. Just proud
>> of their long history of excellence. But dogs will be dogs no matter where
>> you go for training. Shannon is married to Sean Manahan as far as I know. I
>> had Sean as my instructor and he was good. There are lots of new trainers
>> so don't know them. I remember Roger Taylor, Lucas Franck.
>> 
>> I am not getting a new dog because I don't have the energy for a young dog
>> and problems with rideshares. Also we have a problem with all these
>> untrained or socialized pets that people bring out in public, in every kind
>> of stores, on public transportation. I just don't want to deal with dog
>> attacks where their owners let their dogs go after mine and then cuss me
>> out when I object. Since the pandemic my lifestyle has changed.
>> 
>> Lyn and Aristotle
>> 
>>> On Wed, Mar 13, 2024, 6:18 AM Jessica Sears via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi, Julie,
>>> 
>>> I was so scared to go to TSE also. Before I met my coworker with a TSE dog,
>>> I just saw a lot of handlers who I thought were kind of super strict to
>>> almost being mean to the dogs. Also, lets not even talk about the blind
>>> rumor mill saying they are snobby because of being the oldest one. Lol, I
>>> hope you love your time there. It was everything I wanted and more though I
>>> missed meeting my raisers. Both sets of raisers from GDB and GEB were just
>>> such sweet people and my GDB raisers in UT and I still talk regularly. Hope
>>> to see posts about your time there. Have a good day.
>>> Jess
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Mar 12, 2024 at 2:12 PM Julie A. Orozco via NAGDU <
>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I love this discussion of schools.
>>>> 
>>>> I am actually switching schools this time around from Guiding Eyes to
>>>> Seeing Eye. It's scary, this school switching thing. I'm actually
>>>> pretty terrified. But I, likewise, did not feel heard by one of the
>>>> Guiding Eyes trainers, though my experience with GEB was extremely
>>>> positive, and I got two great matches out of them. I wanted to switch
>>>> to a school where I could own my dog upon graduation. Although I
>>>> looked into GDF, when I was actively applying to schools, they were
>>>> doing classes only every month, and it seemed like their class wait
>>>> time was pretty long.
>>>> 
>>>> I am going to class at TSE next month and cannot be more excited and
>>>> freaked out all at the same time. All that to say, switching schools
>>>> is understandable. Lots of handlers have done it for one reason or
>>>> another. GDF is a great school, and I've heard about lots of positive
>>>> experiences there. I do believe they require a video for admission, so
>>>> if that's not something you can do, I would consider bringing that up
>>>> to the school.
>>>> 
>>>> I hope this helps,
>>>> 
>>>> Julie
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On 3/12/24, Jessica Sears via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> So, I am going to second this story with my own. I got my first amazing
>>>>> dog
>>>>>> from GDB. We worked for a solid 8 years and even both moved from a
>>> small
>>>>> town to a major city and still made it somehow ha. He sniffed
>>> everything
>>>>> but I could work with it. For my second I actually went to GEB and it
>>>>> really was just not great at all. I never will school bash but I will
>>>> never
>>>>> returned because I just felt not listened too. I told them the dog
>>> would
>>>>> not be a good fit, I explained he had to much energy for me, and when
>>> he
>>>>> basically destroyed my room in about 5 mins while I went to get a snack
>>>> and
>>>>> did not zip the cage, they said I wasn't giving him enough time. I said
>>>> ok
>>>>> the school knew better right? Well I had him for 9 months of hell and
>>> he
>>>>> chewed through everything from ethernet cables to a bunch of bananas
>>> in a
>>>>> bag. Now I am not messy ok but my home was lived in and the bananas
>>> were
>>>> on
>>>>> the top of the microwave that sat on a counter That dog had a stomach
>>> of
>>>>> rock and how he never got sick I will never know. The deal breaker for
>>> me
>>>>> was that I straight up felt the school lied to me because when I spent
>>>>> thanksgiving with his raiser who was such a sweet woman, her and her
>>>> whole
>>>>> fam said they were stunned he made it through his IFT test. I guess the
>>>>> first time he failed and they let him come back after they worked with
>>>> him
>>>>> some. They said his house manners were horrible and they did report it
>>> to
>>>>> the school multiple times. That just got under my skin. I think these
>>>>> schools do us such a amazing service but I do think they owe us
>>>>> transparency also. As a side note, when I almost got hit by a car and
>>>> told
>>>>> the school to please come and get this terror, they called me the next
>>>> day
>>>>> and said that he was career changed immediately. He now lives in up
>>> state
>>>>> NY with an amazing family on 5 acres of land and runs free. I love that
>>>>> because he was a really good dog just not trainable. I guess I will say
>>>> GEB
>>>>> did go out and work with him there also a few times over the years for
>>>>> chewing through fencing ha which was nice of them but he has finally
>>>>> showing ideas of becoming a bit better of a boy. Got my current in 2019
>>>>> from TSE and will after she retired be done because all of these ride
>>>> share
>>>>> denial issues and just being at a different life place working from
>>>> home. I
>>>>> do second that all schools can let us down and so can we as handlers. I
>>>> so
>>>>> hope you find your fit. GDB did food reward which I don't like and TSE
>>>> had
>>>>> hands down the best traffic training I've ever had. Every place can
>>> give
>>>>> you a great experience. Good luck.
>>>>> Jess
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Mon, Mar 11, 2024 at 10:51 PM Sherry Gomes via NAGDU <
>>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Normally, I'd agree with everyone who says that sometimes matches
>>> don't
>>>>>> work out and it's nobody's fault, not dog, handler or school. But my
>>>> last
>>>>>> dog from GDB well, I've always wondered. I signed petitions and wrote
>>>>>> letters the year their CEO fired over half the admissions and graduate
>>>>>> services staff. I definitely wasn't quiet about it. So, I was accepted
>>>> for
>>>>>> retraining. I have other disabilities, so I have to have an easy to
>>>>>> manage,
>>>>>> slow pace, not easily distracted dog. Because I was working from
>>> home, I
>>>>>> was concerned they might not accept me, so I wrote a long letter to
>>>> their
>>>>>> team that reviews applications, discussing it and routes I had. I also
>>>>>> wrote a strong list of things that I did or did not want in a dog.
>>>> Number
>>>>>> one thing I did not want was a dog with strong dog distraction issues.
>>>>>> Hard
>>>>>> pulling, lunging, things like that could cause me to fall, maybe even
>>>>>> break
>>>>>> or damage one of my artificial joints, and if I fell, I could not get
>>> up
>>>>>> without help. Those at the school knew all about me. I got my first
>>> dog
>>>>>> there in 1975 and this was 2014. So, they gave me a golden retriever,
>>>> and
>>>>>> she had the worst dog distraction issues I'd ever seen. She was not
>>> safe
>>>>>> for me. She was young, and I hoped she'd grow out of it. two weeks in
>>>>>> class
>>>>>> isn't much time for dealing with issues like that after all. But for
>>> the
>>>>>> next five years, this dog was not safe for someone like me. She
>>> lunged,
>>>>>> she
>>>>>> even got away from me a few times. I got to the point where I never
>>>> wanted
>>>>>> to go out with her alone, and my best friend would come and walk with
>>>> me,
>>>>>> to help keep me safe and to get the dog if she got away. After five
>>>> years,
>>>>>> I'd had enough. I didn't get a guide dog to become even less
>>>> independent!
>>>>>> I
>>>>>> applied for retraining and was denied, basically because they said I
>>>>>> didn't
>>>>>> try hard enough. Lol. I had multiple visits from field staff during
>>>> those
>>>>>> five years. After GDB denied me, which felt like being thrown out of a
>>>>>> family for me after all those years, I applied to guiding eyes and
>>> GDF.
>>>>>> Field managers from the area I lived at the time did home interviews
>>> and
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> course walks with the dog and Juno walks. And both, without my
>>>> prompting,
>>>>>> immediately said, that dog isn't safe; that dog is dangerous for you.
>>>> Both
>>>>>> those schools accepted me and I went on both their waiting lists. I
>>> gave
>>>>>> the golden back to her raisers who lived near me and whom I knew well.
>>>>>> This
>>>>>> was in 2019, and then the pandemic hit. Guiding eyes was the first
>>>> school
>>>>>> that came through with a dog for me in 2021, so I went with them. and
>>> I
>>>>>> have a wonderful guide dog. She reminds me every day that this is
>>> what a
>>>>>> guide dog should be like, good calm worker, sweet loving well behaved
>>>>>> companion at home. Starting with around 2000, it seemed any dogs I had
>>>>>> were
>>>>>> either great workers and bad at home or good at home and not great
>>>>>> workers.
>>>>>> I forgot they could be both. But, I'll never ever be bonded to any
>>>> school
>>>>>> like I was GDB. My dog will be 9 in august, and at the advice of my
>>>> field
>>>>>> person, I put in the retrain app last year. However, when Shani, my
>>>> guide
>>>>>> dog, needs to retire, if guiding eyes doesn't come through, I'll apply
>>>> to
>>>>>> GDF happily. I did not write all this to bash GDB. My best friend has
>>>> had
>>>>>> three wonderful dogs from them, and I had a number of great dogs from
>>>> them
>>>>>> before the last one. Just saying, that I often wonder, now I can think
>>>>>> about it all without feeling sick to my stomach or wanting to cry, if
>>> I
>>>>>> was
>>>>>> set up with that last dog, because I had been so vocal about my
>>>>>> displeasure
>>>>>> about what they did to their staff. But realistically, mismatches
>>> happen
>>>>>> now and then. Everything might seem fine in training and then things
>>> go
>>>>>> sour at home. You just never know. Dogs and humans, living breathing
>>>>>> beings
>>>>>> with their own strengths, flaws, fears and challenges. I wish you luck
>>>> if
>>>>>> you apply to GDF. I've heard a lot of good things about them and try
>>> to
>>>>>> keep my ears open in regard to that school.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Sherry
>>>>>> Sherry.gomes at outlook.com
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Leslie Hamric via
>>>>>> NAGDU
>>>>>> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2024 9:05 PM
>>>>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <
>>>>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Cc: Leslie Hamric <lhamric930 at comcast.net>
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Experiences with Guide dog foundation
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Hi Margo and all. When I went to get omega, I never had a dog switch
>>>> until
>>>>>> I got her. I started out with a male black lab named Luke. He was
>>> pretty
>>>>>> stressed out from the first morning onwards. He would just not settle
>>>> and
>>>>>> he was constantly licking his paws. This led to his pace being on
>>>>>> predictable and then on the last day I had him he would just spin
>>> around
>>>>>> and harnessed and didn't want to work. So looking back, I probably
>>>>>> would've
>>>>>> had to send him back even if I did graduate with him. So  I was glad
>>>> when
>>>>>> I
>>>>>> got omega and she's just the perfect match for me at this time in my
>>>> life.
>>>>>> Like others have said, mismatches can happen at a bigger school or
>>>> smaller
>>>>>> school. Th The instructors do their best to mash us up with the dogs
>>>> they
>>>>>> think will work for us, but no one knows what that's going to be like
>>>>>> until
>>>>>> person and dog start working together. I'd like to think of the
>>> matches
>>>> an
>>>>>> educated guess.
>>>>>> Leslie Hamric
>>>>>> Cello and Braille Music Teacher
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On Mar 11, 2024, at 10:46 PM, Margo Downey via NAGDU <
>>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Well, I don't have experience with GDF. I am wondering why you
>>>> believe
>>>>>> a smaller school would be better.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> About matches not working out. I had to switch dogs after two weeks
>>> in
>>>>>> class. Those things just happen. It's unfortunate and no one is to
>>>> blame.
>>>>>> The dog I received during the dog switch was just who I needed and I
>>>> think
>>>>>> she felt I was who she needed.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> The best to you in your research.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Margo and Tami
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>> From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy
>>> Ray
>>>>>>> via NAGDU
>>>>>>> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2024 7:48 PM
>>>>>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>>>>>> Cc: Cindy Ray
>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Experiences with Guide dog foundation
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I haven’t had experience with that school, but I wonder what makes
>>> you
>>>>>> think a smaller school would be better. None of them is really large.
>>> I
>>>>>> also agree with what Joy says here. Things happen; matches don’t work
>>>> out.
>>>>>> I had three not work out. It isn’t an exact science at all.
>>>>>>> Cindyray at gmail.com
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Cindy Lou
>>>>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On Mar 11, 2024, at 6:15 PM, Joy via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Sorry, I don't have any experience with that school. As you are
>>>>>>>> researching, I admonish you to remember that there is normally no
>>>>>>>> blame when a match doesn't work. It isn't you, the dog or the
>>> school.
>>>>>>>> It's unfortunate and it hurts but it isn't generally anyone's
>>>>>>>> failure. I've been there once and I feel badly that Major didn't
>>> work
>>>>>>>> out but he is back with his puppy raisers and I believe doing
>>> well. I
>>>>>>>> will encourage you to look at all aspects of your experience and
>>>> learn
>>>>>> from it.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Best of luck and a hand extended in support and friendship.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Joy
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sam Doman via
>>>>>>>> NAGDU
>>>>>>>> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2024 3:33 PM
>>>>>>>> To: NAGDU at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>> Cc: Sam Doman <skdoman2001 at gmail.com>
>>>>>>>> Subject: [NAGDU] Experiences with Guide dog foundation
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>>> I recently had to return my first guide back to leader after 6
>>> months
>>>>>>>> of the match not working. I have been looking into some smaller
>>>>>>>> schools as a possibility and I wondered what kind of experiences
>>>>>>>> people have had with GOODF in NewYork. I obviously understand that
>>>>>>>> the school is not the only factor to consider, I just want to
>>>> research
>>>>>> all my options.
>>>>>>>> Thanks for any help that you can provide.
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> for
>>>>>> NAGDU:
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>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
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>>>>>>>> om
>>>>>>> 
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>>>>>> 
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>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> --
>>>> Julie A. Orozco
>>>> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of
>>>> Law, JD Candidate 2023
>>>> 
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