[nagdu] Stephen Kuusisto

[Star Gazer]

I wonder why the author of the article touts the bennifits of
"professionally trained dogs"? Why is owner training not evenmentioned? 
Also, why does he write that guide dog users don't have the ability to
protest? Talk about disempowerment. 


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Debby Phillips
via nagdu
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2014 1:50 AM
To: Criminal Justice Major Extraordinaire; NAGDU Mailing List, the National
Association of Guide Dog Users; nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Stephen Kuusisto

Well, this is indeed an interesting article, but not altogether accurate.
I'M not defending what Seeing Eye, Guide Dogs for the Blind or Guiding Eyes
have done.  I'm just saying that if you're going to write about something,
at least be accurate.  First, schools in general don't train the dogs for 6
to 8 months.  
Second, 700 million sounds like a lot of money, but have you checked out
airline fares, for instance? And they (the schools) don't always have the
ability to look several months ahead and buy tickets when they might show up
cheap.  That's just one example.  As a grad of The Seeing Eye, I was and am
still dismayed at their decision to lay off people.  And I will say that
when I brought up my concerns with senior staff, (not instructors), the
reaction was a bit defensive.  Perhaps the person I spoke with was tired of
hearing grads complain about this subject.  Up until two years ago, my
husband and I pretty consistently donated to TSE, and I encouraged family
and friends to do so.  I will admit that I almost switched schools because
of my concern about whether TSE would be able to do good follow up,
especially for those of us on the West Coast who choose to get our dogs from
TSE.  I still am concerned, and am just happy that Neena and I are doing
well.

It seems to me that all charitable organizations have had to make some
pretty tough choices, not all of which I have agreed with.  
In getting rid of more experienced people I think that the schools have made
a rather short-sighted decision.  I know that there are still lots of people
who don't feel as confident and good about Seeing Eye, for instance.  I have
good friends who work there, and I keep wondering in the back of my mind:
will they be next? If that should happen I can guarantee that I'll be
looking elsewhere next time I have to get a dog.  I'm sure my friends may
wonder in the back of their minds, too.  I would.  
That's not good for morale.  When employees feel insecure about their place
of employment it stifles creativity, it makes for an uneasy atmosphere in
general.  Perhaps in the short run, The Seeing Eye has saved some money, but
I think in the long run they will find that what happened will hurt them, or
to put it more
bluntly: "That will come back to bite them in the butt".  Perhaps it already
has.  I have always loved Seeing Eye, because they believed in me when a lot
of other people didn't; they gave me a sense of dignity and freedom, and
independence, and all of my dogs (except for maybe one) have been wonderful.
So it makes me sad that I have these feelings of reservation about a school
that I have respected and that has been a big part of my life.  I still have
not totally lost faith in TSE, as there are wonderful, awesome instructors
and supervisors there, and I love my current dog.  She's awesome and though
we're working out some stuff (who doesn't in the first year at least) but I
hope that my trust will not be betrayed in the future, meaning that the
school will have as much regard for their instructional and other staff as
we as graduates do.  It's not a good feeling to know that really really good
people were let go all in the name of The Bottom Line.  
Guess I'm not a very good capitalist.  Maybe that's because I remember a
time when businesses really cared about their employees.  And maybe it's
just cuz I'm getting old and crotchety and I don't like the "new and better
way" of looking at the world.

Please accept my apology for this long post.  This got me a 
little riled.  And now I have to go to sleep.    Peace,    Debby 
and Neena

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