[nagdu] Class Date

Lyn Gwizdak linda.gwizdak at cox.net
Wed May 8 19:32:47 UTC 2013 

Hi Eve,
Hannah's right.  Many times mismatches occur like her example of her dog not 
doing wwell as a college student's dog.  Sometimes, a dog seems like it 
would work well in a particular envirnment but doesn't later after a heavy 
dose of that environment.  The dog is fine except for not having the right 
person to work for.

Here's what happened to me and a dog I had in the late 1990s.  At the time I 
was living in a small town and things were fine for two and a half years. 
After having her for a year, I had started spending alot of time back in San 
Diego going to my blind center craft classes.  But I also began to spend 
more time there riding the buses and hanging out with friends.  I began to 
notice that this dog began to throw up on the Rural Bus going home. 
Gradually, it was every time I spent time in San Diego that this puking bile 
happened on our way home to where we lived.  I talked to the school and they 
suggested me keeping track when and what we were doing when the puking 
happened.  the dog was fine in private cars.

I had worked this dog in NYC during training and she was fine.  I worked 
this dog in San Diego when we just went down there to class and then back 
home again and not hanging out and riding city buses.  In 1999, I was 
planning on relocating in San Diego again because there was talk of getting 
rid of the Rural Bus and we'd be stranded in town with nothing to do and no 
access to San diego unless a family member was going down to the trolley 
stop down the hill.

I had the dog checked out to be sure there was nothing medical going on with 
her and there wasn't.  So, my school and I determined that the throwing up 
was due to stress the dog could no longer handle and I would have to come 
back for another dog who was more of a city dog.  the dog was 4 when I went 
back to the school and I brought her with me.  they thought they might be 
able to match her with someone with a calmer, more rural owner where she 
could not have to ride buses.

When I brought the dog back, they evaluated her and decided to retire her as 
a pet because they didn't want to put out a dog again that had a history of 
car-sickness - even though the dog was fine in regular cars.  So, she was 
dropped out of the program and adopted out to a pet home where i hope she 
was a great pet for a family.  This dog was a good worker, too.  I then got 
a new dog in the fall of 1999 and he was great and LOVED the city and buses 
and trolleys!  We went throough two moves - once to San Diego and two months 
later, we moved into a better apartment.  This was Jacob and he just took 
everything in stride and worked until 2007 at 9 and 1/2 when I went to get 
Landon.  Jacob was retired to a friend here and lived to be almost 15 and 
died last December.

Anyway, this kind of thing happens more than most people realize.  After all 
we are dealing with real, living creatures.  I think the instructors do an 
awesome job of matching dogs to humans.  This is why it's so important to 
give as much detail to your life as possoble so the trainers can give you 
the best match they can for you.

Landon's been great for me but now, at 7 1/2 and my walking faster after 
foot surgery, he is really too slow for me but I'll see if I can work him 
for another year or two.

Lyn and Landon
"Asking who's the man and who's the woman in an LGBT relationship is like 
asking which chopstick is the fork" - Unknown
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Eve Sanchez" <celticyaya at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2013 5:07 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Class Date


> Thanks, I always get worried about dogs getting reasigned when they do
> not work out. Sometimes, I think they need career changes, not handler
> changes. Hopefully it worked out for her. I know sometimes it is hard
> to talk about depending on the reasons they do not work out. I had a
> dog that needed a career change and was concerned when someone told me
> she would be reavaluated and get more training for reasignment. This
> particular dog needed to be reasigned to guard duty not guide duty. I
> am sure they figured it out though with her as it was very obvious
> behavior issues. Still, I always wonder when I hear stories like this.
> A friend also had her dog get a career change after she failed as a
> guide dog. Funny, she was one of the few Labradors I liked and I
> thought she would have made a good guide. Her issues were unexpected
> though and there was little that could be done. I wrote a story using
> her as the main character inspiration,. It is about a guide dog that
> receives a career change and all that she goes through until she finds
> the right place, a home with a terminally ill child whose spirits ar
> lifted by this dog. Well, thanks for answering. I hope that your new
> dog is working out great and that Princess also has a good life. Eve
>
> On Sat, May 4, 2013 at 12:18 PM, Hannah Chadwick
> <sparklylicious at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Eve,
>> No worries, I don't mind answering. She didn't work out because she 
>> couldn't
>> adjust to the college environment; I later found out that she "wasn't the
>> right match". She is only 3 so she's still very young and they placed her
>> with someone else after I sent her back to the school. Hope this makes
>> sense.
>> Best, Hannah
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eve Sanchez
>> Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2013 12:13 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Class Date
>>
>> I hope my asking does not upset you, but I must ask; is there a story 
>> behind
>> what you are saying or am I misunderstanding? You retired Princess and 
>> she
>> is now working with someone else?  Wel, like I said, it may be a personal
>> mater that upsets you and that is not my intention. If you could answer, 
>> I
>> would appreciate it. If you dan not for what ever reason, I will 
>> understand.
>> Blessings, Eve
>>
>> On Sat, May 4, 2013 at 8:55 AM, Sheila Leigland <sleigland at bresnan.net>
>> wrote:
>>> congratulations that's great. Here's to getting a tirific dog.
>>>
>>> On 5/3/2013 8:57 PM, Hannah Chadwick wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hey All,
>>>> I hope all is well with you and your doggies! I just wanted to give a
>>>> quick update on my guide dog situation.
>>>> As you all know, I retired Princess in December (she is now working
>>>> with someone else), and started applying for schools shortly after.
>>>> I recently found out that I got in to Guide Dogs for the Blind, and
>>>> as of now, my class date is August 4th at the Oregon campus; I am
>>>> also on the cancelation list for San Rafael. I am super excited, and
>>>> definitely looking forward to getting a new dog!
>>>> Cheers, Hannah
>>>>
>>>>
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