[nagdu] choosing a school

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

AnnaLisa,

Great post, encapsulating a lot if ideas and discussion.  The discussion of
LD from satisfied grads to add to what I've heard from grads who have had
problems, gives me a lot to think about .  When I was starting to apply to
schools, or thinking of applying after I separated from the spousal unit, LD
was outside of my geographical considerations, even though I had read that
book so took a quick look at it.  /smile/  In general, you and Steve have
given me a lot to think about and add to my thinking about certain issues in
general -- mainly, when do you work from within or accept one negative
factor because you see more positive for yourself...  At this point in my
life, the discussion as pertains to guide dog programs is academic, but that
could change.  And it seems to relate to other areas where one has to do a
lot off adding up of pros and cons, then doing a reverse pro and con list
and then...  Sigh.  I know what I believe about the basic issues on a
philosophical level...  Real life seems to be fond of tossing philosophy on
its ear! /grin/

I agree with you totally about the NFB philosophy of independence!  And
they've done a  lot of work -- and will continue to do so -- to make that
independence more achievable.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of AnnaLisa Anderson
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 4:47 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] choosing a school

Hi All,

Thanks to those of you who have responded on this so far.  Tracy and Julie,
good points.  I don't agree with everything about the NFB either, and I am
not at all into politics, but I do agree with the philosophy of
independence; that's why I remain a member.    And yes, there is the
practicality issue for me too.  That's actually why I chose Leader in the
first place, because at the time they were geographically the closest school
to me in St. Paul, MN.  It is close enough to drive there, albeit it's a
very long trip but doable.  climate wise Rochester is very similar too, so
the dogs know how to work in snow and extreme cold, and it's no big deal to
them.  I know the same would be true of the schools out east though too.
Well except for Florida that is. <smile>

Rebecca, I'm sorry to hear that LD didn't acknowledge Cayenne's passing, I
can empathize with how much that must have hurt.  I know things have changed
a whole lot in that regard.  They sent me a very nice card and a tape of an
article written and read by an LD grad about grieving, both when my Megan
retired and when she passed away.  They also have grief counseling sessions
you can attend at your next class if you wish.  Of course attendance of that
is totally voluntary.  they are also much better at communicating with their
graduates now than they ever used to be.  I also like how they have opened
up contact with puppy raisers, which also is totally voluntary on both
sides.  I for one have really enjoyed knowing Sunny's raiser, and I think
the feeling is mutual for her knowing me.  The raisers I know all say it's a
wonderful experience for them to meet the handlers of their pups and to see
the circle complete, so it's not just a one way thing.

As for boycotting the school, I honestly don't know if it would make that
big of an impact.  When we have talked about ownership on the LD list, most
handlers don't think it's a huge deal, so not many of them will speak up and
say they disagree with it, even if they do on some level.  I know a few
handlers who disagree with it as much as I do, but we seem to be in the
minority, so if we decided to no longer attend LD because of it, I don't
know if they would feel it much.  It might just be better to strongly voice
your opinion about it while you're there in your exit interview.  I don't
know.

Oh and Dan S., I am also very proud of you for sticking it out with Scout.
I was very worried about you in the beginning, but I'm glad you were able to
get some help and iron out the issues.  Steve, I know Dan was on the LD list
for a while but don't know if he still is.

AnnaLisa and Sundance



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