[NAGDU] guide dog matching process

Sat Feb 15 18:58:36 UTC 2020

I will also say that GDB is not the school I knew either.  Short version is
that September was extremely unsafe to work after she was attacked, and all
I ever actually got out of GDB including the field rep who came down and
witnessed all the things I was reporting to them said she is working just
fine.  She was extremely effected after she was attacked.  I could not be
around other dogs or she would run off, street crossings were a total mess,
and GDB, hate to say it, really did not care.  Leader Dogs is not much
better though and after he started having more unsafe street crossing
problem after he was attacked, and Leader not taking the problem seriously
although that dog had a history of problems even during training in class,
they never did see the urgency to get someone down to try to figure him out.
The first field rep that showed up from Leader was exactly a year and nine
months from the time I received him and was absolutely stunned when he
learned that a field rep was needed long before then and they did nothing.
Makes me think that is one of the reasons he left Leader and is now working
for another school.
Jordan 

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione via NAGDU
Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2020 1:19 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Tracy Carcione <carcione at access.net>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] guide dog matching process

Hi Sherry.
I'm so sorry to hear GDB treated you so shabbily, and seemingly based on the
say-so of just one person who didn't even know you.  Really, I'm shocked.
Not the GDB I used to know.  And acting like a dog actually hurting you is
fine?!  Ugh.

I too had a dog who became unsafe, and I too tried to work through it,
really longer than I should have.  But it's hard to give up.  Well, it felt
like giving up.  Really, it would have been being sensible.
It was a great relief though, when I got my next dog, to walk around without
worrying about all the stuff I'd been dealing with before.  Well, I did
worry, but she'd just wag her tail and say "Hey, relax, I got this."  And
she did.
I hope one of the schools you've applied to finds you a good match, and you
can know the relief and joy of working a good dog again.
Tracy

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sherry Gomes via
NAGDU
Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2020 1:03 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Sherry Gomes
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] guide dog matching process

On the subject of matching, though I've been a little quiet about this I
feel I can tell this story now. when I'm deeply hurt, I tend to keep it to
myself for a while until I process it.

I used to think GDB did such a great job matching, not always, in 44 years,
I had a mismatch here and there. But considering my special physical needs,
they did okay. But then, they gave me my last dog Petunia. I was born with
juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, my right knee was fused when I was around
three, early 1960s. as an adult, I've had multiple joint replacements. In
the 1970s, GDB was the only guide dog school to accept me, knowing about the
JRA. I absolutely must have a dog that is easy to manage and focused and
calm in work. That means controllability in work is essential. It doesn't
mean perfection, but my dogs should always be easy to control in a
distracted situation. Due to the lifelong damage in my shoulders from the
JRA, if I fall, I cannot get up on my own. There is also the serious risk of
damaging one of the artificial joints, which would be a catastrophe! So, my
dogs were always fairly calm and focused in their work, until Petunia. 

>From the start, she had a serious dog distraction problem, to the point that
she was nearly uncontrollable. But she was very young and I hoped she grow
out of it. First thing on my I can't handle this list for dogs, is dog
distractibility. During the five years I worked with Petunia, her doggie
issues never improved. She bolted away from me, several times. nearly caused
me to fall multiple times and the work to control her caused more damage to
my left shoulder. A friend who has known me for thirty years and through
several dogs begged me over and over to return Petunia, but I'm not a
quitter and wanted to make it work. 

Finally, when I realized I wasn't going out independently anymore, because I
didn't feel safe and was too worried about what would happen without someone
else to help me control her, I told GDB I needed to retire her. Her behavior
was, or should have been documented in our record. But during those five
years, a new field manager for GDB came to Colorado. She didn't know me or
my history. But when I retired Petunia and did the retrain application, she
tore me apart for anything she considered negative, and she recommended that
I would not be approved for retraining. When I got the denial call from GDB,
I was devastated. I can't even tell you. After 44 years, I couldn't believe
it. I wrote to the CEO Chris Benninger, detailing my long years with GDB and
what I felt happened with Petunia. The darn dog was lovable as can be, but
she was not safe. Benninger just told me too bad in fancier words. It took
me a lot of months to move away from my bitterness and anger and rejection. 

I've been accepted by two other schools and am waiting for a good match from
either one. Both schools' reps immediately when hearing about Petunia's
issues, stated, without my comments, that she was dangerous and not a
suitable match for me. They didn't have to ponder it for a minute.  I look
back and think, maybe I shouldn't have gone home with Petunia, but with an
18-month-old dog, they can grow up and mature out of things, so I was
hopeful. And as I said, I'm not a quitter. In the end, I was and am
completely at peace with my choice to retire her finally, but I'll always
wonder why they picked that dog for me, when they never would have given her
to me in the past.

And that's my bad matching saga! Like I said, mismatches come along now and
then, especially in a lifetime of working with guides, but overall, I think
the schools try hard to do a good job at it. Sometimes, they fail
spectacularly, and after Petunia, I'm not going to defend the really bad
one. But still, I'm confident that whichever school finds a dog for me, they
will give me the best dog they can find for my needs.

Sherry
Sherry.gomes at outlook.com

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