[Nyagdu] Phoney guide dogs a worrisome trend

Sat Dec 7 16:35:37 UTC 2013

	Though this seems to have been written by a Canadian consumer and
the laws of Canada may be different than those in the U.S., the assertion by
the writer that there is no need for an individual to purchase a harness is
not necessarily true. I have harnesses not issued by the program that
trained my dog. One is a nylon harness that is lightweight and perfect for
days at the beach or rainy weather. Since all guide dog training programs
reserve the right to repossess their issued  harness, I think it is a good
idea to have a harness one owns that the program cannot remove should they
invoke this right arbitrarily, which some have done.

	The National Association of Guide dog Users opposes any effort to
restrict the sale of service animal gear over the internet. We do support
better education of places of public accommodation as it pertains to their
rights to require the credible assurance of those claiming protections under
state and federal laws and their right to refuse access to those whose dogs
pose a direct threat or are out of control. NAGDU believes such education is
more equitable than banning the sale of gear over the internet.

Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users Inc.
National Federation of the Blind
(813) 626-2789 (Office)
888-NAGDU411 (Hotline
President at nagdu.org
www.nagdu.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Nyagdu [mailto:nyagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of cheryl
echevarria
Sent: Friday, December 06, 2013 4:26 PM
To: nyagdu
Subject: [Nyagdu] Phoney guide dogs a worrisome trend

Even thought this is happening in Canada. It is also happening here in the
US.
Thought I would post this, it was on the GDF List.

Phoney guide dogs a worrisome trend
By Alan Conway, Calgary Herald December 2, 2013 Reader says people who buy
phoney guide dog IDs can threaten the safety oflegitimate working dogs.
The work of guide dogs is well known and an increasing number of people
areusing other assistance dogs to deal legitimately with disabilities, but
theproliferation of fake equipment and identification is causing a problem.
If people have a negative experience with a dog that was not trained as
aguide dog, it creates a bad precedent for the next person to come along.
Thesafety of legitimate working dogs can also be threatened when untrained
dogsattack them.
Easy Internet access now means that people are purchasing fake
vests,harnesses and identification to allow them to take their pets into
publicplaces where they would not otherwise be able to go. Some have even
tried totravel internationally with their pets or to obtain discounts from
theirveterinarians by making such false claims.
Guide Dog Users of Canada, a nationally registered charity that assistsguide
dog users and educates the public on the benefits of guide dog use,deplores
this situation because of the threat it creates to the legitimateaccess
rights of blind and partially sighted guide dog teams.
There are more than a dozen guide dog training facilities across
NorthAmerica, each of which provides its own harnesses, identification cards
andequipment. There is never a need for a handler to purchase harnesses
oridentification from anyone else.
Alan Conway
Gatineau, Que.
Alan Conway is an investigator for Guide Dog Users of Canada.
The Calgary Herald

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