[nagdu] rejected by teh lions club?

[The Pawpower Pack]

Jessica,
this email does not surprise me at all.  As Julie said; it's not  
called owner training for nothing.

However this person who wrote the letter is incorrect about many of  
her facts.
1. Some states do require your dog to be from "a certified or  
recognized guide dog program" however as Julie said; the ADA  
supersedes these laws if it gives the PWD more leeway.
Secondly, many other guide dog programs train Deafblind people.  I,  
myself am Deafblind and I know that GEB and GDF as well as Pilot have  
trained Deafblind persons to use a guide dog.  I'm not sure which  
schools will work with a Deafblind person such as myself who requires  
their guide dog instruction to be in ASL, done either from the trainer  
directly or through an ASL interpreter.  I know that GEB and GDF have  
done this before, though.  I know the training of Deafblind persons is  
not the focus of your email but I'm using it to prove a point.  This  
person is obviously very narrow minded.
She is very loyal to Leader Dogs and in her mind, she probably thinks  
they're the best.
It's kind of like asking the Ford company to give you money so that  
you can build your own car.  It's probably not going to happen.

One of the down sides of owner training is cost.  Financial costs,  
costs in time and labor etc.   It is important to be able to pay those  
costs yourself because as you found out, most organizations aren't  
going to help you.
Personally, for me, one of the things I like best about owner training  
is the fact that I don't owe anyone anything.  I don't have to be  
grateful to donors, puppy raisers, and other supporters because I did  
everything myself.  Yes it was hard, and yes, I spent all of my time  
and money on the dog for a year.  I didn't go on vacation, I didn't  
buy any fun toys like cell phones or new clothes or whatnot.  All of  
my time and money went to the dog.
As Julie also stated-- the best support I get as an owner trainer is  
from other owner trainers.
Most lists are not as welcoming to owner trainers as this one and I  
find that many blind people don't believe that a person who is blind  
can train their own dog.  It is sad but true.



Best of luck.


Rox and the Kitchen Bitches
Bristol (retired), Mill'E SD. and Laveau Guide Dog, CGC.
"It's wildly irritating to have invented something as revolutionary as  
sarcasm, only to have it abused by amateurs." -- Christopher Moore
pawpower4me at gmail.com

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