[nagdu] where to buy guide dog harnesses

[Julie J.]

Ken,

I think perhaps I came off to abrupt.  I didn't mean to, so let me start 
over.

I work for the government.  I know how slowly things work.  Sometimes 
decisions make no sense at all, unless you are a lawyer. *smile*

I feel that if blind people had to be certified as blind  to be able to 
purchase goods or receive any sort of service, there would be loads of 
delays, mistakes and decisions that made no sense.  I think the best person 
to make decisions about what I need is me.

Even the Commission for the Blind here in Nebraska doesn't require that a 
person is legally blind to qualify for services.  The requirement is that 
the degree of vision loss is so severe as to affect the person's ability to 
perform daily tasks.  At first that seems like it would be too broad and 
create more problems.  In reality I think it has been a really great thing.

I can think of two people off the top of my head who are not legally blind, 
but use guide dogs.  One lady has some sort of muscle issue where her 
eyelids close unexpectedly and for a long time.  If she didn't have 
alternative skills and tools, she'd be in a tough spot.  the other lady has 
a visual processing issue.  She sees fine, but her brain doesn't know what 
to do with the information, making it not so useful.

If the government decided who was blind and worthy of having access to 
tools, would these two ladies be on the list?  I'd hope so, but given the 
long history of beurocratic red tape, I don't have much hope.  With no 
restrictions on the purchase of blindness products these ladies are able to 
get what they need, be employed and live in their own homes alone.

I can't think of a single story of a sighted person faking being blind by 
carrying around a white cane.  I have heard of more stories of people 
passing off their pets as service dogs.  Very rarely do people fake having a 
guide dog though.  Usually if they want to take Fifi on vacation with them 
they say the dog is some other sort of service dog for some invisible 
disability.  It's much easier to fake having a seizure disorder and the dog 
alerts to impending seizures.  Guide dogs have pretty specific training that 
is fairly readily apparent to the average person on the street.  that isn't 
so with other disability related service dogs.

The ADA doesn't distinguish between the various types of service dogs, 
except to give examples.  The laws are exactly the same for all people with 
all types of disabilities who use service dogs.  If we had to have some sort 
of certification of blindness, then there would also have to be 
certifications for other disabilities.  That creates an entirely new and 
exciting buffet of complications.

I do agree that people passing pets as service dogs is a problem.  However I 
don't believe that more regulations is the answer.  the law requires that 
dogs be individually trained to mitigate the handlers disability.  The law 
also is clear that the dog has to have manners and be under the handler's 
control.  I think the better approach is to educate business owners about 
their rights.  If a dog is barking, jumping on other customers or peeing on 
the potted plants, it is time for the handler to take the dog home.

I have owner trained all of my guides.  They have not been of the typical 
breeds and they do not wear the customary leather harness.   I do not have 
one of the ID cards the schools give out.  I have only had one very minor 
access issue, which was cleared up quickly.  I attribute this to the 
excellent behavior of my dogs, where I live and good luck. I am very open 
about the fact that I owner train my dogs.  Many of the people in my 
community know that I train my guides.  I have never had any access issue of 
any variety because I owner train.

If I had to be certified by some government agency 14 states away, would I 
still be able to train my own guides?  Or what if I wanted to hire a trainer 
to privately train a dog for me, would there be regulations on that?  It 
scares me to think about the freedom and choices I might have to give up.

Preventing fraud is a good thing.  Punishing the innocent bystanders in the 
process is not so good.

I hope that helps to clarify my position some.  And please feel free to 
disagree with me.  I actually appreciate hearing other viewpoints.  It helps 
me to get clear on why exactly I believe what I do.  Healthy debate is a 
good thing!

Julie