[Cagdu] FW: Arizona, USA: Charity's woes threaten guide-dog training

Tue Nov 6 19:27:38 PST 2007

Subject: Arizona, USA: Charity's woes threaten guide-dog training

Phoenix Arizona News - Arizona Local News

Charity's woes threaten guide-dog training

Lindsey Collom
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 2, 2007 12:00 AM
A chain and padlock have shackled the gates to the
Phoenix-based training center for the Eye Dog
Foundation for the Blind since early October.

The facility, one of only two in the nation dedicated
to training German shepherd guide dogs, has all but
closed after trainers and other employees walked
off the job in a dispute over the management of the
non-profit agency.

Those close to the organization say it's the latest
display of mismanagement from the 65-year-old charity
that, in the past year, has experienced financial
troubles and major infighting among board members.

An attorney for the board said that those issues are
behind them and that leadership is working to revive
the training center, though no reopening date
is scheduled.

In the meantime, volunteer puppy raisers and the blind
have banded together to keep the charity's mission
alive.

The organization was founded in 1952 as a California
non-profit but for years existed only on paper while
leadership collected and invested donations. By
the 1970s, the foundation began contracting for the
acquisition and training of German shepherd dogs as
guides for the legally blind.

Of the 10 million people in the U.S. who are blind or
visually impaired, only about 7,000 use guide dogs,
according to the American Foundation for the Blind.

There are about 20 guide-dog schools nationwide, most
of which train Labrador retrievers. German shepherds
are a prized breed of working guide dog, favored
for their focus and strong work ethic.

Group's troubles
The local organization has paired more than 50
handler/dog teams over the past decade, but it has had
legal issues in the past, the first being in the
1980s,
when a California judge prohibited the foundation from
establishing a training facility in-state. In 1988,
the organization purchased a 3-acre parcel on
15th Avenue south of Baseline Road in Phoenix for a
training center, while executive operations remained
in California.

Legal issues arose again in March, after the
six-member board deadlocked over management issues in
the wake of its executive director's resignation. Half
of the board members sued to dissolve the foundation.

Joey Etienne, a court-appointed receiver, took over
the foundation and found that "there were bills that
weren't being paid . . . and it took us awhile
to get the money back on track."

With a net worth of at least $12 million, Etienne
said, the foundation was well-funded, with competent
training staff in place. He said some of the board
members had been with the agency for many years and
had not kept up with modern management techniques.

"Not only did this board need to go away, but the
entire organization needed to leave the state of
California," Etienne said. "There was no other nexus
other than this was where the money was housed."

He was also concerned about the foundation's
administrative leadership.

"There needed to be a professional non-profit person
running the foundation," Etienne said. "That didn't
exist."

But before Etienne's recommendation was submitted,
founder and board member Lequita McKay died, and the
suit was dismissed.

In the months following, board member Gwen Brown was
voted in as executive director. Vendors began
complaining about lack of payment by September; the
head
trainer, Manny Gonzales, quit, as did the kennel
manager. A month later, another trainer and staff
member resigned when their paychecks didn't come
through.

Barbara Kuhns, whom Etienne appointed as administrator
at the training facility, put the chain and padlock on
the gates before she left.

"Non-profits don't pay a lot, and when you don't get
paid, you can't live off air," Kuhns said.

Since the facility closed, three pairings, scheduled
for September, October and November, have not
occurred.

Working together
Anna Thomasson has raised two German shepherd puppies
that went on to become guide dogs for the blind. She
has been organizing bimonthly meetings for the
30 puppy raisers and their charges since the facility
closed.

Trainers used to host puppy classes every two weeks
for troubleshooting and obedience work, so raisers
have rallied to keep the puppies on track.

"My concern is the dogs losing momentum in their
training," Thomasson said. "Puppies, just like
children, have key developmental periods. I think you
risk
. . . losing the dog as a guide."

Thomasson said puppy raisers have been connecting
"more than usual" by e-mail to keep each other
encouraged and motivated. That's all they can do, she
said.

"I hesitate to say we've been abandoned, but we have
no leadership, we have no direction and we don't have
the professional guidance we need," Thomasson
said. "I wish that I would have received some
correspondence or some contact saying, 'We know
there's no staff here, and we acknowledge you may be
concerned.'

"We've heard nothing."

River Forest of Phoenix used to take her guide-dog
Chili to puppy classes as a refresher. She said
Gonzales, the former head trainer, visited her home to
work with Chili when the dog was skittish about heavy
traffic coming up from behind.

"To be able to call him, have him come out and look at
it was good because it saved a great dog," Forest
said. "I just want to be able to get the help if
I need it." With no word from the foundation, she
said, she has been left to scour the Internet for
resources.

Bob Barta, an attorney for the foundation, would not
answer questions about how or if the charity has
attempted to communicate with its clients and
volunteers.
In an e-mail, he said the foundation has been offered
assistance from other guide-dog programs and would
arrange for someone "who is qualified to call
them back."

Even so, volunteers and clients worry the foundation,
long known for its reliable dogs, is developing a poor
rapport with the blind community and the public.

Barta said the foundation is interviewing guide-dog
trainers and hopes to reopen as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Thomasson said the puppy raisers plan
to fill in the gaps.

"The organization only has trouble in the background,"
Thomasson said. "It's about the puppy raisers and the
dogs. My personal plan is to continue my commitment
to Nisha. I am passionately committed to my dog and
seeing it through for her."

article URL: 
http://www.azcentra
<http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1102blinddogs1102.html#>
l.com/news/articles/1102blinddogs1102.html#

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