[NAGDU] Glad to be on this list!

[Julie A. Orozco]

Hi Sidney,

Welcome to the list!  I know I'm late to respond to this, but I wanted to
tell you congratulations for your future guide dog class.

I've worked two guide dogs and am waiting for a class date to get my third.
When I was 17 years old, I applied and was accepted to get my first dog. She
and I worked together through one year of high school and for my entire
college career. She retired after my first semester of grad school. I worked
my second dog, Bill, for over 7 years, and he was my heart dog. I am so
excited for you to start your guide dog adventures and hope you will find
the perfect match!

Also, I am waiting on a class date from The Seeing Eye, so hopefully we will
both be there sometime this year. 

In my experience, Uber denials are worse in bigger cities, but they do
happen everywhere. I live in the Washington, DC area now, but I grew up in
St. Louis and lived most my life in Missouri, so I'm loving the Midwest
vibes here. 

College is such an adventure and will be even more so with a dog. All the
best,

Julie


-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sidney Horn via NAGDU
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2025 5:22 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Cc: Sidney Horn <sidneyh05 at gmail.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] Glad to be on this list!

Hi!
My name is Sidney, and I'm 19-years-old. I decided to join this list because
ever since late August, into September, I've been doing tons of research on
guide dogs. I even talked to some friends about them and my Mom told me
since I am going off to college next year at a university, to reconsider the
idea of having one. Now my parents weren't trying to push me by any means,
but they at least wanted me to do some more looking into it.
Starting in September, I initiated an application with The Seeing Eye. I
quickly got a response from them, filled out the paperwork, got my letter of
recommendations sent in from certain people, and then had my interview with
their manager with admissions in October.
I had a juno walk and interview with one of their instructors back in
December. His name is Chris Mattoon.
I did also look into other schools as well, like Guide Dogs for the Blind
and GDF Guide Dog Foundation.) While yes, I did like their programs, I
wanted to stick with Seeing Eye. They are the oldest school, they were quick
to respond and get me in, and they definitely seem like they know what their
doing.
As for the other schools, they had extremely long wait lists, and I'll be
starting at a university in the fall of this year actually.
I've watched lots of videos and read up on lots of things about guide dogs.
While they're furry little fluffy guides, they also make wonderful
companions, and that is just what I need with going off to college.
On the flip side, though, I have definitely heard lots about rideshare
denials... I'm in a Facebook group called Guide Dog Handlers Network. I
joined to hear about others experiences, pros, cons, concerns, ETC.
I have 2 dogs at home, but they're just pet dogs. Not working dogs. I do
realize and understand there's a major difference there.
How have all of your experiences been with your dogs? I feel like denials
can happen anywhere, but it seems like you see them more often in a bigger
city. Is that right?
Sidney

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