[Cagdu] thoughts on guide dog board

[Ken Volonte]

Hi cagduers.  The following thoughts represent my views on the guide dog 
board and its function.

    The society we live in now is a more mobile one.  People travel about 
all the time for jobs, for increased opportunities, for a change in their 
individual needs and preferences.  I happen to live in California, but I 
should be able to go to a guide dog school of my choice safe in the 
knowledge that my chosen school can provide me with follow up services if 
needed.  The position of the guide dog board is at odds with this because 
the board requires all schools to obtain licensure in California.

    Every school has its own specialty which might dictate a desire to go 
there.  For example, Pilot dogs was, for a long time, the only school that 
was comfortable with guide dogs using escalators.  GDB dogs have the edge in 
terms of soundness and consistency.  Fidelco uses German Shepherds, and so 
on.  All of these schools know how to train guide dogs, and the law should 
recognize this and not put encumbrances in the way of any student making any 
choice.

    Now we come to the matter of trainers who will train a pet dog to be a 
guide dog for a small fee of, say $1,000.00 a month.  Suppose I want to 
train my pet Poodle to be a guide and go to one of these unscrupulous 
trainers.  What guarantee do I have that this trainer knows what is expected 
of a guide dog?  What protection do I or the public have under the law?  If 
push came to shove, none at all.

    I have no problem with a licensing body or with supporting that body.  I 
have two problems with the California State Guide Dog Board.  First, board 
members are appointed by the governor and this appointment can be secured by 
a big contribution.  People on the board don't necessarily have to know 
anything about guide dogs or their function.  Second, the board presumes to 
regulate schools outside of California, and that's the focus of this whole 
business with 475.  Cagdu may have inadvertently caused this problem by 
inviting members of the board to our seminar last year, and it's up to us to 
fix it.