[nagdu] Animal Advocate Calls Blind Guide Dog Users Cruel &unfi

[helene ryles]

I don't like this parting quote:

 "I hope you never go blind and need a dog."

It implies that blind people need dogs. Sure guide dogs are useful for
some blind people but we don't NEED them. My guide dog Jilli is semi
retired. I take her to the park every day using her harness as she's
good at that route but it's the only one she can be trusted with now.
I use a cane for the rest of my routes. I got a lot of people who
thought I should retrain with another dog so I don't think steriotypes
like this will really help further our cause. After all if someone is
blind and doesn't want a dog for whatever reason they would just use a
long cane.

Helene

On 08/03/2009, Ginger Kutsch <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Animal Advocate Calls Blind Guide Dog Users Cruel &unfit, PETA,
> Off-Base or Playing to Public Fear?
> Donna W. Hill
> The American Advocate
> March 07, 2009
> "We oppose most seeing-eye-dog programs," says Daphna
> Nachminovitch, PETA's vice president for Cruelty Investigations,
> in an interview with the LA Times´ "LA Unleashed."
>
> http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/01/when-we-first-r
> ..html
>
> E mail PETA at: DaphnaN at peta.org
>
> Nachminovitch´s objections go beyond PETA´s distaste for breeding
> programs. "They are kept in harnesses almost 24/7, people are
> prohibited from petting or playing with them and they cannot romp
> and run and interact with other dogs." PETA also claims that
> schools force blind people to return their retired dogs.
>
> Nachminovitch doubts the fitness of most blind people to care for
> their animals, "A deaf person can see if a dog has a medical
> issue such as blood in her urine, a blind person living alone
> cannot." PETA´s solution would return blind people to lives of
> dependence; "The human community should do more to support blind
> people, and give dogs a break. ."
>
> Outraged guide dog handlers and puppy raisers from many schools
> commented on latimes.com refuting every point. Letters to the
> editor and Op-Ed pieces were submitted to the Los Angeles Times.
> Some people, like Tampa-based clinical hypnotherapist,
> professional musician and speaker Marion Gwizdala,, president of
> the National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU)
> http://www.nfb-nagdu.org/
>
> wrote to Nachminovitch directly.
>
> "The biggest problem we face as blind people," writes Gwizdala,
> who holds a Master of Science degree in mental health counseling
> and has been in practice since 1996, "is misunderstanding and
> lack of information. It is unfortunate that you choose to
> promulgate the myths that create barriers to our full inclusion
> in society. "
>
> Are Nachminovitch´s comments adding to an underlying bigotry
> toward blind people? Unemployment among working-age blind
> Americans is seventy percent. Blind Americans are also more
> likely to be underemployed and living in poverty. Nonetheless,
> there are blind lawyers, engineers, chemists, doctors, mechanics,
> teachers, parents, etc.
>
> Why the disparity? Many believe that it all boils down to the
> changing nature of what it means to be blind. Throughout history,
> there have always been blind people who have insisted upon living
> productive and independent lives. The ancient Greek poet Homer,
> English poet John Milton and American author James Thurber were
> all blind. Most Americans are familiar with the accomplishments
> of Helen Keller. The fact, however, that she is the only blind
> woman most people can name and that she died over fifty years ago
> speaks volumes about the added obstacles society places in the
> paths of blind women.
>
> PETA's solution of having sighted people take over for guide
> dogs, insulting as it is, simply mirrors the prevailing social
> attitudes. Despite changes in legislation and a revolution in
> technology which allows blind people to participate more fully in
> all aspects of modern life, popular sentiment continues to paint
> blindness as a sentence to dependence and uselessness. The truth
> came out in a Louis Harris poll done in 1991. The National
> Organization on Disability (NOD) commissioned them to find out
> what America really thought about people with disabilities. The
> survey summary, quoted from NOD's 1992 book "That All May
> Worship," edited by Ginny Thornburgh, states, "The public views
> disabled people as fundamentally different than the rest of the
> population, feeling admiration and pity most often.
> Embarrassment, apathy and fear are also common."
>
> We will probably never know PETA's true motivations for making
> these statements. Nachminovitch's remarks are so all-inclusive,
> so concise and so thoroughly off-base that it is hard to believe
> they were not deliberately calculated to prompt donations from
> dog lovers who are either unfamiliar with guide dog programs or
> uncomfortable with blind people and misinformed about their
> capabilities. It is possible, of course, that she nurtures a
> habit of willful ignorance and is not inclined to investigate
> anything she speaks about. In either case, PETA's bullying of
> blind people seems a waste of resources.
>
> The thought that schools would force blind people to give up
> their beloved helpers is anathema to many guide dog users.
> Schools have retirement programs but they are voluntary. They
> exist to take up the slack in cases where a blind person can
> neither keep their retired guide nor find a suitable home among
> friends and family.
>
> "More often than not," Gwizdala continues, "our dogs live out
> their lives with their blind caretakers. My previous guide dog
> worked until he was fourteen years old and lived out the
> remainder of his sixteen years with me."
>
> Gwizdala, who is also the music director at New Life Unity Church
> in Tampa, is working with Louiza, his twelve-year-old German
> Shepherd/Collie mix. He performs under the stage name "Marion &
> Martin" – a reference to his Martin guitar – and is recording his
> second solo album, a collection of original songs, covers and
> contemporary arrangements of traditional music in the new thought
> genre. Visit Marion's web site at: http://marionandmartin.com
>
> Cheryl Echevarria (42) of Long Island, New York is a certified
> medical insurance specialist and medical biller. Maxx, her
> three-year-old black Labrador retriever from the Guide Dog
> Foundation for the Blind (Smithtown, NY), is Cheryl's first guide
> dog.
>
> "Hold on there," she says in response to PETA's idea that guide
> dogs aren't given any affection and are forced to wear their
> harnesses 24/7, "Yes I use my dog when I walk to the bus and go
> out shopping, or any place I go to be independent. But even when
> I am at work, Maxx has a nice comfy spot under my desk. No, he
> doesn't need to be tied down, and no, he doesn't sit there all
> day with his harness on. I take it off and he sleeps or chews on
> his bone until I need to go somewhere with him."
>
> Cheryl works at Sunrise Medical and was the first visually
> impaired person to graduate from Branford Hall Career Institute
> in medical billing. She is a member of New York's Association of
> Guide Dog Users, and treasurer of the Greater Long Island chapter
> of the National Federation of the Blind of New York:
> http://www.NFBNY.org
>
> She recently started a group for one of her favorite activities,
> cooking. The Blind Cooks e mail list is a place where people can
> exchange ideas about techniques, equipment, accessibility issues
> and other topics of interest to blind cooks as well as
> professionals in the culinary arts and those who wish to enter
> the field. For more information go to,
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-cooks_nfbnet.org
>
> Guide dog schools all teach handlers not to allow people to pet
> the dogs when in harness. There is a difference between work and
> play, and it is safer when people respect that. Guide dog
> handlers regularly report that people approach them while the dog
> is in harness and pet the dog without even saying hello. Most
> people ask to pet an unfamiliar dog and respect the person´s
> wishes. If they say no, they don't pet the dog anyway or assume
> that no one ever pets that particular dog. The fact that this is
> what happens when strangers encounter guide dogs is evidence that
> blind people are not respected as independent adults.
>
> "When we are home," says Echevarria, who has a twenty-year-old
> daughter, three grown stepchildren and four grandchildren, "he
> runs around the house like any dog. Plays in the backyard, and
> gets spoiled by my husband and my daughter and any friends that
> come in contact with us."
>
> Cheryl, who is legally blind due to diabetic retinopathy, had a
> kidney transplant from a living donor in 2005. She belongs to the
> Diabetic Action network (DAN):
> http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Diabetics.asp?SnID=2100697185
>
> DAN is a resource for all diabetics especially those with vision
> loss. Blind diabetics can and do accurately draw up insulin and
> monitor blood glucose levels.
>
> Are blind people, many of whom monitor their own serious health
> conditions like diabetes, unqualified to meet the health needs of
> their dogs as PETA implies? The comments made to me by my first
> guide's vet in Philadelphia echo across the decades. One of his
> professors at the University of Pennsylvania's School of
> Veterinary Medicine said that if a blind person brings in their
> guide dog and tells you they think something's wrong and you
> can't find anything, keep looking.
>
> For a less anecdotal and more current perspective, we need look
> no further than the November 2008 report "Guide Dog Health
> Survey" by the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF):
> http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/pdf/GuideDogHealthSurvey-FI
> NAL_12-12-08.pdf
>
> MAF, which was started in 1948 as the Buddy Foundation to address
> the health needs of the first guide dog, has since funded over
> 1,600 research studies benefiting animals around the world.
> Concerned that health information for adult guide dogs was
> scarce, they conducted a survey, not of veterinarians, spouses,
> parents or the lady down the street but of guide dog users
> themselves. It is the first of its kind and intended to serve as
> a base-line for future surveys. Their care in preparing and
> pre-testing an online survey that was easy for screen reader
> users to complete was matched by not only the breadth of the
> study but the many opportunities for guide dog users to comment
> freely about their concerns and experiences. The 1,000+ survey
> participants gave over 11,500 open-ended comments, prompting the
> report's author, Patricia Olson, DVM, Ph.D. (MAF's
> President/CEO), to write:
>
> Block quote
>
> Guide dog teams have been referred to as the gold standard for a
> bond between a person and his or her dog. Handlers provide love
> and care to their dogs; the dogs provide independence and loyalty
> to their handler. The overwhelming response to the survey made it
> abundantly clear just how much guide dog handlers appreciate and
> love their dogs. Any work that allows these wonderful teams to
> enjoy even better health and wellness is very important to MAF.
> After all, it was important in our past to help Buddy and remains
> important in our future to give all guide dogs better health.
>
> Block quote end
>
> Blind people share PETA´s concern for unwanted dogs. PETA,
> however, doesn´t acknowledge that most guide dog schools have
> already tried using shelter dogs. Too many shelter dogs failed
> the programs, adding to the cost of training. Breeding programs
> provide healthier dogs with the aptitude and temperament for the
> work. Guide dogs perform advanced tasks, avoiding overhanging
> obstacles, navigating public transportation and moving safely
> through crowded pedestrian and vehicular traffic. They can find
> specific locations, when trained with patience and praise.
>
> Here again, comments from MAF's survey underscore the validity of
> dedicated breeding programs, "In fact, guide dog schools have
> often been a model for evaluating health trends and reducing
> disease through appropriate breeding."
>
> A form letter from Heidi Parker, PETA´s Mail Coordinator, sent to
> people like Gwizdala and myself, back-pedals on Nachminovitch´s
> remarks. "Our comments were not meant to reflect badly on people
> who use or train guide dogs."
>
> One wonders whether Ms Parker actually read her boss's remarks.
> If she did, what else does she think Nachminovitch would have had
> to say, if she had "intended" to reflect badly on guide dog
> programs and those who benefit from them? . From the selfless
> people who raise them as puppies – the family of the Hudson River
> hero pilot Sully Sullenberger among them – to the volunteers in
> the kennels and the trainers themselves, many dog lovers
> participate in the care and training of guide dogs. If cruelty
> was endemic in the programs, wouldn't someone have spoken out
> before now?
>
> Echevarria has some advice for the LA Times, "people who write
> such articles should go to the schools and speak to the
> professionals about the training." She also has parting thoughts
> for PETA, "I hope you never go blind and need a dog. I also say
> that you should learn from the experts before you open your
> mouths and stick your foot in."
>
> PETA has not seen fit to make a public apology, and the LA Times
> has yet to respond. Print Share Email Your Name
>
> Recipient's Name
>
> Recipient's Email
>   Donna W. Hill
>  Donna W. Hill is an author, singer/songwriter, recording artist,
> speaker and avid knitter in rural Pennsylvania. Donna started her
> music career as a street performer in Philadelphia´s Suburban
> Station, a center city commuter hub, where she sang for thirteen
> years. Hear clips from her third recording, "The Last Straw" at:
> http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
>
> Born blind from Retinitis Pigmentosa, she has a black Lab guide
> dog named Hunter. He is her forth guide from the Guide Dog
> Foundation for the Blind in Smithtown, NY. She taught herself to
> read Braille after graduating from college with a BA in English
> Lit. She uses a computer with the popular screen reader, Jaws for
> Windows.
>
> Donna works to foster understanding of and improve opportunities
> for blind Americans, as a volunteer publicist for the nonprofit
> Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
> http://www.padnfb.org
>
> An 18-year breast cancer survivor who found both tumors herself,
> she also promotes self-exam. Her articles cover a wide range of
> topics including politics, literature and humor.
>
> She is working on her first novel -- a fantasy. Her other
> interests include playing piano and guitar, writing music,
> knitting afghans for her local interfaith ministries and
> traveling with her husband Rich and Hunter. She has also written
> several editorials about the Harry Potter books for
> Mugglenet.com.
>
> http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/93706
>
>
>
> Ginger Bennett Kutsch
> Morristown, NJ
>
>
>
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