[nagdu] just when you think you've heard it all

[Shannon Dyer]

The only way I can think of that would make guide dogs experimental would be on an extremely personal level. Working my first dog was experimental for a lot of reasons. Because my first dog worked well for me, I've gone on to work other dogs. If I had been poorly matched, or, if I had decided that a guide dog really wasn't for me, I would have retired her and gone back to using my cane.

As far as dogs being "better" than canes, so much of that is a matter of personal preference. I really don't like cane travel, have never liked it, can't imagine liking it at any point in the future. so, for me, having a dog is a better choice, but I recognize that what's best for me may not be best for the next person.

I hope this makes some sense. It's getting late, and I'm tired.

Shannon and the Acelet
On Oct 19, 2014, at 7:40 PM, Buddy Brannan via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> “Better” is a matter of perspective. No one has ever said that a guide dog is “better” for everyone. Anyone who has said such a thing in any seriousness doesn’t know what s/he is talking about. Clearly, guide dogs aren’t “better” for everyone, for a variety of reasons. They’re certainly not “better” for people who don’t like dogs. They’re not “better” at finding the fourth sidewalk on the left past the mailbox, until they’ve been patterned to that. They’re not “better” in respect of maintenance, expense, care, etc. These are all practical considerations. They may be the price that some people are willing to pay for the benefits that they provide, which makes them “better” for some. I think, however, that after 80+ years, they can’t really be considered “experimental” anymore though. 
> 
> — 
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: 814-860-3194 
> Mobile: 814-431-0962
> Email: buddy at brannan.name
> 
> 
> 
>> On Oct 19, 2014, at 4:33 PM, Star Gazer via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Debbie, 
>> You could probably be describing me. Part of it is that we are promised dogs
>> that will enhance our lives. They are billed to us as "way better then cane"
>> and so I expected that. 
>> I think that if they were billed as "different" or even as "experimental"
>> I'd have done better. I know how to work with experimental stuff, both in
>> the technology itself and how people relate to it. I know how to work with
>> "different". But when I'm told again and again and again that this will be
>> better then what I used before, well that's what I expect. 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of debby phillips
>> via nagdu
>> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 10:46 PM
>> To: Tracy Carcione; NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide
>> Dog Users; DLewis at clovernook.org; nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] just when you think you've heard it all
>> 
>> Hi Tracy, I think people have this fear that we take them to a shelter or
>> something.  And I suppose, (God forbid) that there are people who do.  I
>> have met a few people in my life who don't seem to have much feeling for
>> their dogs.  It's a wonder that the dogs have worked for them.  There was
>> one person I know and people told me that the dog deliberately walked him in
>> to a telephone pole.  I don't know if that's true, but after having seen
>> this person with their dog, I would say they deserved it if the dog really
>> did deliberately do that.  And though I don't know if dogs can think that
>> kind of thought, I did laugh secretly when they told me.  I don't normally
>> hold grudges and try not to think 
>> unkindly of my fellow human beings, but, well, um, anyway.    
>> Debby and Neena
>> 
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