[nagdu] Intro from new member

[Elise Berkley]

Hello, Donna.  Welcome to the list.  My name is Elise and my guide is Becky. 
I have been blind for 20 years and Becky is my first (we have been together 
for about 3 1/2 weeks.)  that just broke my heart about Hunter, but thank 
God, he is getting better.  I hope we have many more good conversations.
Elise and Becky

-----Original Message----- 
From: Applebutter Hill via nagdu
Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2015 1:52 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] Intro from new member

Hi Everyone,
I've been monitoring the list and chiming in for a few weeks, and I figured
it was time to introduce myself. My name is Donna W. Hill, and I live in a
rural part of northeast Pennsylvania. I've been using guide dogs since '71,
and have had 4 dogs - all black, all male and all from GDF. My hubby Rich
and I  spent most of our lives in the Philadelphia area.

I know many of you from other lists like the NFB of PA, Stylist and
GDF-talk. Marion and Passle worked with me years ago on some articles I
wrote about guide dog issues for online magazines, and Marion also helped me
out when I filed my first ADA grievance - we got thrown out of a room we'd
already occupied, because the motel folks thought they could restrict us to
the "pet's only" rooms. We have a settlement and most of it has been
enacted.

Currently, I am with Hunter, a black Lab who just turned 12. He is on
modified assignment. Last fall, after he lost 12 pounds in 3 months, he was
diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). $6,000 later and after
ultrasound, endoscopy and many other tests, he's finally turned the corner.
He's down to only 4 pills a day and up to about 60 lbs. Essentially, he was
starving to death, because the lining of his stomach and small intestines
were so inflamed that he couldn't absorb nutriants.

We're currently feeding him a prescription vennison and potato food from
Royal Canin, but I'm looking into changing over to a commercial grain-free,
LID food. So far, I haven't found one that quite meets his needs. Anyway,
meanwhile, he goes wherever my husband and I go, but between the ice and his
health, we're not doing much recreational walking.

I told him his job is to go lay down and gain weight. I wish there were a
group policy for service dogs, and that all the schools participated. They
could lay off a couple of their deadwood employees and cover premiums for
everyone. We had the money (not that we didn't feel the pinch of it), but I
hate the thought of another handler having to make a decision to retire or
euthanize a sick dog because they didn't have the money for the testing and
meds.

OK, I hope that's enough of an intro. Anyone who wants to contact me can
reach me at:
ApplebutterHill at gmail.com

Cheers,
Donna & Hunter

-- The Heart of Applebutter Hill - a novel on a mission:

http://DonnaWHill.com <http://donnawhill.com/>


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