[Cagdu] FW: Animal Advocate Calls Blind Guide Dog Users Cruel &unfit

Sun Mar 8 11:18:22 PDT 2009

Subject: Animal Advocate Calls Blind Guide Dog Users Cruel &unfit

Animal Advocate Calls Blind Guide Dog Users Cruel &unfit, PETA, Off-Base or
Playing to Public Fear?
Donna W. Hill
The American Advocate
March 07, 2009
"We oppose most seeing-eye-dog programs," says Daphna Nachminovitch, PETA's
vice president for Cruelty Investigations, in an interview with the LA
Times´ "LA Unleashed." 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/01/when-we-first-r
...html

E mail PETA at: DaphnaN at peta.org 

Nachminovitch´s objections go beyond PETA´s distaste for breeding programs.
"They are kept in harnesses almost 24/7, people are prohibited from petting
or playing with them and they cannot romp and run and interact with other
dogs." PETA also claims that schools force blind people to return their
retired dogs. 

Nachminovitch doubts the fitness of most blind people to care for their
animals, "A deaf person can see if a dog has a medical issue such as blood
in her urine, a blind person living alone cannot." PETA´s solution would
return blind people to lives of dependence; "The human community should do
more to support blind people, and give dogs a break. ."

Outraged guide dog handlers and puppy raisers from many schools commented on
latimes.com refuting every point. Letters to the editor and Op-Ed pieces
were submitted to the Los Angeles Times.
Some people, like Tampa-based clinical hypnotherapist, professional musician
and speaker Marion Gwizdala,, president of the National Association of Guide
Dog Users (NAGDU) http://www.nfb-nagdu.org/

wrote to Nachminovitch directly.

"The biggest problem we face as blind people," writes Gwizdala, who holds a
Master of Science degree in mental health counseling and has been in
practice since 1996, "is misunderstanding and lack of information. It is
unfortunate that you choose to promulgate the myths that create barriers to
our full inclusion in society. "

Are Nachminovitch´s comments adding to an underlying bigotry toward blind
people? Unemployment among working-age blind Americans is seventy percent.
Blind Americans are also more likely to be underemployed and living in
poverty. Nonetheless, there are blind lawyers, engineers, chemists, doctors,
mechanics, teachers, parents, etc. 

Why the disparity? Many believe that it all boils down to the changing
nature of what it means to be blind. Throughout history, there have always
been blind people who have insisted upon living productive and independent
lives. The ancient Greek poet Homer, English poet John Milton and American
author James Thurber were all blind. Most Americans are familiar with the
accomplishments of Helen Keller. The fact, however, that she is the only
blind woman most people can name and that she died over fifty years ago
speaks volumes about the added obstacles society places in the paths of
blind women.

PETA's solution of having sighted people take over for guide dogs, insulting
as it is, simply mirrors the prevailing social attitudes. Despite changes in
legislation and a revolution in technology which allows blind people to
participate more fully in all aspects of modern life, popular sentiment
continues to paint blindness as a sentence to dependence and uselessness.
The truth came out in a Louis Harris poll done in 1991. The National
Organization on Disability (NOD) commissioned them to find out what America
really thought about people with disabilities. The survey summary, quoted
from NOD's 1992 book "That All May Worship," edited by Ginny Thornburgh,
states, "The public views disabled people as fundamentally different than
the rest of the population, feeling admiration and pity most often.
Embarrassment, apathy and fear are also common." 

We will probably never know PETA's true motivations for making these
statements. Nachminovitch's remarks are so all-inclusive, so concise and so
thoroughly off-base that it is hard to believe they were not deliberately
calculated to prompt donations from dog lovers who are either unfamiliar
with guide dog programs or uncomfortable with blind people and misinformed
about their capabilities. It is possible, of course, that she nurtures a
habit of willful ignorance and is not inclined to investigate anything she
speaks about. In either case, PETA's bullying of blind people seems a waste
of resources. 

The thought that schools would force blind people to give up their beloved
helpers is anathema to many guide dog users.
Schools have retirement programs but they are voluntary. They exist to take
up the slack in cases where a blind person can neither keep their retired
guide nor find a suitable home among friends and family.

"More often than not," Gwizdala continues, "our dogs live out their lives
with their blind caretakers. My previous guide dog worked until he was
fourteen years old and lived out the remainder of his sixteen years with
me."

Gwizdala, who is also the music director at New Life Unity Church in Tampa,
is working with Louiza, his twelve-year-old German Shepherd/Collie mix. He
performs under the stage name "Marion & Martin" – a reference to his Martin
guitar – and is recording his second solo album, a collection of original
songs, covers and contemporary arrangements of traditional music in the new
thought genre. Visit Marion's web site at: http://marionandmartin.com

Cheryl Echevarria (42) of Long Island, New York is a certified medical
insurance specialist and medical biller. Maxx, her three-year-old black
Labrador retriever from the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (Smithtown,
NY), is Cheryl's first guide dog. 

"Hold on there," she says in response to PETA's idea that guide dogs aren't
given any affection and are forced to wear their harnesses 24/7, "Yes I use
my dog when I walk to the bus and go out shopping, or any place I go to be
independent. But even when I am at work, Maxx has a nice comfy spot under my
desk. No, he doesn't need to be tied down, and no, he doesn't sit there all
day with his harness on. I take it off and he sleeps or chews on his bone
until I need to go somewhere with him." 

Cheryl works at Sunrise Medical and was the first visually impaired person
to graduate from Branford Hall Career Institute in medical billing. She is a
member of New York's Association of Guide Dog Users, and treasurer of the
Greater Long Island chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of New
York:
http://www.NFBNY.org

She recently started a group for one of her favorite activities, cooking.
The Blind Cooks e mail list is a place where people can exchange ideas about
techniques, equipment, accessibility issues and other topics of interest to
blind cooks as well as professionals in the culinary arts and those who wish
to enter the field. For more information go to,
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-cooks_nfbnet.org

Guide dog schools all teach handlers not to allow people to pet the dogs
when in harness. There is a difference between work and play, and it is
safer when people respect that. Guide dog handlers regularly report that
people approach them while the dog is in harness and pet the dog without
even saying hello. Most people ask to pet an unfamiliar dog and respect the
person´s wishes. If they say no, they don't pet the dog anyway or assume
that no one ever pets that particular dog. The fact that this is what
happens when strangers encounter guide dogs is evidence that blind people
are not respected as independent adults.

"When we are home," says Echevarria, who has a twenty-year-old daughter,
three grown stepchildren and four grandchildren, "he runs around the house
like any dog. Plays in the backyard, and gets spoiled by my husband and my
daughter and any friends that come in contact with us."

Cheryl, who is legally blind due to diabetic retinopathy, had a kidney
transplant from a living donor in 2005. She belongs to the Diabetic Action
network (DAN):
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Diabetics.asp?SnID=2100697185

DAN is a resource for all diabetics especially those with vision loss. Blind
diabetics can and do accurately draw up insulin and monitor blood glucose
levels.

Are blind people, many of whom monitor their own serious health conditions
like diabetes, unqualified to meet the health needs of their dogs as PETA
implies? The comments made to me by my first guide's vet in Philadelphia
echo across the decades. One of his professors at the University of
Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine said that if a blind person
brings in their guide dog and tells you they think something's wrong and you
can't find anything, keep looking. 

For a less anecdotal and more current perspective, we need look no further
than the November 2008 report "Guide Dog Health Survey" by the Morris Animal
Foundation (MAF):
http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/pdf/GuideDogHealthSurvey-FI
NAL_12-12-08.pdf

MAF, which was started in 1948 as the Buddy Foundation to address the health
needs of the first guide dog, has since funded over 1,600 research studies
benefiting animals around the world.
Concerned that health information for adult guide dogs was scarce, they
conducted a survey, not of veterinarians, spouses, parents or the lady down
the street but of guide dog users themselves. It is the first of its kind
and intended to serve as a base-line for future surveys. Their care in
preparing and pre-testing an online survey that was easy for screen reader
users to complete was matched by not only the breadth of the study but the
many opportunities for guide dog users to comment freely about their
concerns and experiences. The 1,000+ survey participants gave over 11,500
open-ended comments, prompting the report's author, Patricia Olson, DVM,
Ph.D. (MAF's President/CEO), to write:

Block quote

Guide dog teams have been referred to as the gold standard for a bond
between a person and his or her dog. Handlers provide love and care to their
dogs; the dogs provide independence and loyalty to their handler. The
overwhelming response to the survey made it abundantly clear just how much
guide dog handlers appreciate and love their dogs. Any work that allows
these wonderful teams to enjoy even better health and wellness is very
important to MAF.
After all, it was important in our past to help Buddy and remains important
in our future to give all guide dogs better health.

Block quote end

Blind people share PETA´s concern for unwanted dogs. PETA, however, doesn´t
acknowledge that most guide dog schools have already tried using shelter
dogs. Too many shelter dogs failed the programs, adding to the cost of
training. Breeding programs provide healthier dogs with the aptitude and
temperament for the work. Guide dogs perform advanced tasks, avoiding
overhanging obstacles, navigating public transportation and moving safely
through crowded pedestrian and vehicular traffic. They can find specific
locations, when trained with patience and praise. 

Here again, comments from MAF's survey underscore the validity of dedicated
breeding programs, "In fact, guide dog schools have often been a model for
evaluating health trends and reducing disease through appropriate breeding."

A form letter from Heidi Parker, PETA´s Mail Coordinator, sent to people
like Gwizdala and myself, back-pedals on Nachminovitch´s remarks. "Our
comments were not meant to reflect badly on people who use or train guide
dogs." 

One wonders whether Ms Parker actually read her boss's remarks.
If she did, what else does she think Nachminovitch would have had to say, if
she had "intended" to reflect badly on guide dog programs and those who
benefit from them? . From the selfless people who raise them as puppies –
the family of the Hudson River hero pilot Sully Sullenberger among them – to
the volunteers in the kennels and the trainers themselves, many dog lovers
participate in the care and training of guide dogs. If cruelty was endemic
in the programs, wouldn't someone have spoken out before now?

Echevarria has some advice for the LA Times, "people who write such articles
should go to the schools and speak to the professionals about the training."
She also has parting thoughts for PETA, "I hope you never go blind and need
a dog. I also say that you should learn from the experts before you open
your mouths and stick your foot in."

PETA has not seen fit to make a public apology, and the LA Times has yet to
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  Donna W. Hill
 Donna W. Hill is an author, singer/songwriter, recording artist, speaker
and avid knitter in rural Pennsylvania. Donna started her music career as a
street performer in Philadelphia´s Suburban Station, a center city commuter
hub, where she sang for thirteen years. Hear clips from her third recording,
"The Last Straw" at:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill

Born blind from Retinitis Pigmentosa, she has a black Lab guide dog named
Hunter. He is her forth guide from the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind in
Smithtown, NY. She taught herself to read Braille after graduating from
college with a BA in English Lit. She uses a computer with the popular
screen reader, Jaws for Windows.

Donna works to foster understanding of and improve opportunities for blind
Americans, as a volunteer publicist for the nonprofit Performing Arts
Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
http://www.padnfb.org

An 18-year breast cancer survivor who found both tumors herself, she also
promotes self-exam. Her articles cover a wide range of topics including
politics, literature and humor.

She is working on her first novel -- a fantasy. Her other interests include
playing piano and guitar, writing music, knitting afghans for her local
interfaith ministries and traveling with her husband Rich and Hunter. She
has also written several editorials about the Harry Potter books for
Mugglenet.com.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/93706 

Ginger Bennett Kutsch
Morristown, NJ

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