[Cagdu] thoughts on guide dog board

[Robert Stigile]

Hello Ken,
I agree with you, on all of your points about the Board.
The only thing that you need to know, is that the bill sb 475 
deals with increasing the amount that schools must pay to the 
Board on an annual basis.
I hope this helps,

Robert Stigile


> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Ken Volonte" <kenvolonte at comcast.net
>To: "Cagdu" <cagdu at nfbcal.org
>Date sent: Sun, 5 Apr 2009 09:44:37 -0700
>Subject: [Cagdu] thoughts on guide dog board

>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.

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