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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>Subject:</B> Arizona, USA:
Charity's woes threaten guide-dog training<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
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<P>Phoenix Arizona News - Arizona Local News<BR><BR>Charity's woes threaten
guide-dog training<BR><BR>Lindsey Collom<BR>The Arizona Republic<BR>Nov. 2, 2007
12:00 AM<BR>A chain and padlock have shackled the gates to the<BR>Phoenix-based
training center for the Eye Dog<BR>Foundation for the Blind since early
October.<BR><BR>The facility, one of only two in the nation dedicated<BR>to
training German shepherd guide dogs, has all but<BR>closed after trainers and
other employees walked<BR>off the job in a dispute over the management of
the<BR>non-profit agency.<BR><BR>Those close to the organization say it's the
latest<BR>display of mismanagement from the 65-year-old charity<BR>that, in the
past year, has experienced financial<BR>troubles and major infighting among
board members.<BR><BR>An attorney for the board said that those issues
are<BR>behind them and that leadership is working to revive<BR>the training
center, though no reopening date<BR>is scheduled.<BR><BR>In the meantime,
volunteer puppy raisers and the blind<BR>have banded together to keep the
charity's mission<BR>alive.<BR><BR>The organization was founded in 1952 as a
California<BR>non-profit but for years existed only on paper while<BR>leadership
collected and invested donations. By<BR>the 1970s, the foundation began
contracting for the<BR>acquisition and training of German shepherd dogs
as<BR>guides for the legally blind.<BR><BR>Of the 10 million people in the U.S.
who are blind or<BR>visually impaired, only about 7,000 use guide
dogs,<BR>according to the American Foundation for the Blind.<BR><BR>There are
about 20 guide-dog schools nationwide, most<BR>of which train Labrador
retrievers. German shepherds<BR>are a prized breed of working guide dog,
favored<BR>for their focus and strong work ethic.<BR><BR>Group's troubles<BR>The
local organization has paired more than 50<BR>handler/dog teams over the past
decade, but it has had<BR>legal issues in the past, the first being in
the<BR>1980s,<BR>when a California judge prohibited the foundation
from<BR>establishing a training facility in-state. In 1988,<BR>the organization
purchased a 3-acre parcel on<BR>15th Avenue south of Baseline Road in Phoenix
for a<BR>training center, while executive operations remained<BR>in
California.<BR><BR>Legal issues arose again in March, after the<BR>six-member
board deadlocked over management issues in<BR>the wake of its executive
director's resignation. Half<BR>of the board members sued to dissolve the
foundation.<BR><BR>Joey Etienne, a court-appointed receiver, took over<BR>the
foundation and found that "there were bills that<BR>weren't being paid . . . and
it took us awhile<BR>to get the money back on track."<BR><BR>With a net worth of
at least $12 million, Etienne<BR>said, the foundation was well-funded, with
competent<BR>training staff in place. He said some of the board<BR>members had
been with the agency for many years and<BR>had not kept up with modern
management techniques.<BR><BR>"Not only did this board need to go away, but
the<BR>entire organization needed to leave the state of<BR>California," Etienne
said. "There was no other nexus<BR>other than this was where the money was
housed."<BR><BR>He was also concerned about the foundation's<BR>administrative
leadership.<BR><BR>"There needed to be a professional non-profit
person<BR>running the foundation," Etienne said. "That
didn't<BR>exist."<BR><BR>But before Etienne's recommendation was
submitted,<BR>founder and board member Lequita McKay died, and the<BR>suit was
dismissed.<BR><BR>In the months following, board member Gwen Brown was<BR>voted
in as executive director. Vendors began<BR>complaining about lack of payment by
September; the<BR>head<BR>trainer, Manny Gonzales, quit, as did the
kennel<BR>manager. A month later, another trainer and staff<BR>member resigned
when their paychecks didn't come<BR>through.<BR><BR>Barbara Kuhns, whom Etienne
appointed as administrator<BR>at the training facility, put the chain and
padlock on<BR>the gates before she left.<BR><BR>"Non-profits don't pay a lot,
and when you don't get<BR>paid, you can't live off air," Kuhns
said.<BR><BR>Since the facility closed, three pairings, scheduled<BR>for
September, October and November, have not<BR>occurred.<BR><BR>Working
together<BR>Anna Thomasson has raised two German shepherd puppies<BR>that went
on to become guide dogs for the blind. She<BR>has been organizing bimonthly
meetings for the<BR>30 puppy raisers and their charges since the
facility<BR>closed.<BR><BR>Trainers used to host puppy classes every two
weeks<BR>for troubleshooting and obedience work, so raisers<BR>have rallied to
keep the puppies on track.<BR><BR>"My concern is the dogs losing momentum in
their<BR>training," Thomasson said. "Puppies, just like<BR>children, have key
developmental periods. I think you<BR>risk<BR>. . . losing the dog as a
guide."<BR><BR>Thomasson said puppy raisers have been connecting<BR>"more than
usual" by e-mail to keep each other<BR>encouraged and motivated. That's all they
can do, she<BR>said.<BR><BR>"I hesitate to say we've been abandoned, but we
have<BR>no leadership, we have no direction and we don't have<BR>the
professional guidance we need," Thomasson<BR>said. "I wish that I would have
received some<BR>correspondence or some contact saying, 'We know<BR>there's no
staff here, and we acknowledge you may be<BR>concerned.'<BR><BR>"We've heard
nothing."<BR><BR>River Forest of Phoenix used to take her guide-dog<BR>Chili to
puppy classes as a refresher. She said<BR>Gonzales, the former head trainer,
visited her home to<BR>work with Chili when the dog was skittish about
heavy<BR>traffic coming up from behind.<BR><BR>"To be able to call him, have him
come out and look at<BR>it was good because it saved a great dog,"
Forest<BR>said. "I just want to be able to get the help if<BR>I need it." With
no word from the foundation, she<BR>said, she has been left to scour the
Internet for<BR>resources.<BR><BR>Bob Barta, an attorney for the foundation,
would not<BR>answer questions about how or if the charity has<BR>attempted to
communicate with its clients and<BR>volunteers.<BR>In an e-mail, he said the
foundation has been offered<BR>assistance from other guide-dog programs and
would<BR>arrange for someone "who is qualified to call<BR>them
back."<BR><BR>Even so, volunteers and clients worry the foundation,<BR>long
known for its reliable dogs, is developing a poor<BR>rapport with the blind
community and the public.<BR><BR>Barta said the foundation is interviewing
guide-dog<BR>trainers and hopes to reopen as soon as possible.<BR><BR>In the
meantime, Thomasson said the puppy raisers plan<BR>to fill in the
gaps.<BR><BR>"The organization only has trouble in the background,"<BR>Thomasson
said. "It's about the puppy raisers and the<BR>dogs. My personal plan is to
continue my commitment<BR>to Nisha. I am passionately committed to my dog
and<BR>seeing it through for her."<BR><BR>article URL: <BR><A
href="http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1102blinddogs1102.html#">http://www.azcentra<WBR>l.com/news/<WBR>articles/<WBR>1102blinddogs110<WBR>2.html#</A><BR><BR>Copyright
© 2007, azcentral.com. All rights
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