[nagdu] Some Perspective on the Policy

[Criminal Justice Major Extraordinaire]

Dear Marion,
Very good points taken on this one.
I attended a ski camp earlier this year and we had one guide dog handler 
whose dog was completely out of hand.
When I mean out of control, her dog ruled her and he was disruptive.
The dog continuously barked while left in the cabin at the lodge.
It was so bad there were actual customer complaints.
In result, the director of the camp requested that if the guide dog handler 
were to come back, she'd come alone withoutt her guide dog or not come at 
all.
When we campers had to do certain activities such as snow mobiling or 
hottubbing in the hot Springs, there was really no place where we could put 
our dogs.
When we hung out at the gymnasium or went skiing, dogs went along with us.
As for that guide dog handler around the middle of camp and toward the end, 
she was required to take the dog with her at all times, so she wasn't able 
to participate in the remaining activities.
I was really embarrassed of the fact that her dog was so disruptive and it 
felt awful.
When I tried to talk about this problem on another listserv which was guide 
dog related and ran by a guide dog school, a guide dog trainer had a temper 
tantrum over it all, trying to make excuses for that handler by claiming the 
dog had anxiety matters.
His claim was I was putting that handler down but with reality and truth, I 
was expressing my feelings and embarrassment over the whole thing.
I eventually unsubscribed from that list and wasn't going to tolerate that.
I'm glad that my friends Bryan and Mindy Swartz really put their foot down 
after a final complaint came in of the disruption.
In light of that incident as it was serious, I'm planning on doing a 
teleconference with both the director and his wife for next year's camp to 
figure out how this type of problem can be prevented.
This is so no more complaints or incidents occur because of a dog being 
disruptive.
Honestly back when Odie was my working guide dog, I didn't like the idea of 
him being left alone in the room.
During that time, I didn't have a choice.
Couple of smart things I did were bring his porta crate and made sure a 
radio was left on for him.
Thankfully, he didn't bark or cause a problem, mainly due to the hard work I 
had put in him back when I first got him as a pup.
He did have a favorite old bedspread inside of his kennel that made him feel 
he was still at home.
Truth is that I could have done the hardest things which were not go on that 
trip or left him back at home with friends or family.
To me, I didn't feel it was right throwing the responsibility on them 
though.
As for the place I live in, I know my neighbors very well and they know my 
husband Dale, Odie and I.
I always ask them to let me know if Odie does become a nuisance or if he is 
causing problems by barking.
Thankfully, none of my neighbors have experienced any serious problems with 
him and I haven't received any complaints when he has been left upstairs at 
times when I decided not to take him with me.
I made sure the TV was left on for him on the Animal Plannet Channel and the 
volume was up enough to distract him from other noises.
A couple years ago, Dale and I did come home to a misfortune in the 
apartment.
That day on on Martin Luther King Day, we we were both gone.
I was downstairs in the cafeteria in my apartment complex for the MLK 
celebration and Dale was across town.
During the event, there was loud music and drumbs going on.
Odie became stressed out from the unknown noise and experienced an indoor 
accident, despite that Dale and I made sure he was taken outtside to empty 
out completely.
Around that same time, Odie also stressed out over my husband because Dale 
was experiencing medical trouble with his heart.
So, Odie was alerting to that too.
The following year which was last year and this year, I didn't attend the 
celebration and stayed upstairs with Odie so he would feel comfortable.
I was much happier hanging out with my four-legged furry kid anyway and he's 
a big blessing to have.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that when someone decides to become a 
guide dog handler or is looking into doing so, it is a huge responsibility 
that we have to take on and stick with it.
Another suggestion I'd like to add is that if people fail to take their dogs 
out frequently to allow him/her to relieve and the dog makes a mess, they 
need to be held responsible for it if someone else has to pick up that mess 
like paying a fine.
I remember the time attending another convention and roommating with another 
guide dog handler whose dog messed in the room a couple of times.
I volunteeringly cleanned up both messes because I didn't want to step in 
them nor did I need my dog ending up in that either.
I then had to call downstairs to the front desk and request assistance from 
a hired clean up Dog Doo Doo service to come scrub the carpet down and help 
me dispose of that stuff properly.
This was because the handler parked his dog three times in one day.
I'm not a perfect handler and I have made mistakes too, but I try my best to 
make sure that Odie would get extra parking opportunities to empty out 
during convention or even my ski trip.
I have that same rule in place when we would do rigerous traveling to many 
public places and on transportation as a whole.
Of course, I'e experienced embarrassing moments of Odie throwing up inside 
of the super Wal-Mart, Museum of Nature and Science and in the Riviera 
casino in Las Vegas.
One question I do have is will there be volunteers to do dog sitting during 
convention?
I remember back during the 2001 national convention, that service was 
offered and I gladly took advantage of it.
The volunteer who watched Orleans for me was great and even took him out for 
a walk.
She graciously left a couple of doggy toys for him to have, although I was 
going to give them back to her.
The puppy walker told me it wasn't necessary and that Orleans could keep 
them.
Sorry for the long, rambling post.
Just my thoughts on this and I'm glad this policy was put in place.
You'alls will be in my thoughts and prayers that everything goes smoothly 
for you and that whoever the individual is that is giving grief is dealt 
with immediately.
It's really sad that people have to behave childishly just to get their 
point across in a bad way.
Bibi, husband Dale, retired Pilot Dogs
guide dog/medical alert service dog son Odie
and hopefully new four-legged furry mystery soon to be guide dog