The Blind and Visually Impaired of Central Kentucky

El Ciego y Persona Corta de Vista de Kentucky Central
Home     About Us     Group Calander     Dave's Page     Shared Stories     Links     Contact Us     Q&A     Did You Know     issues     Photos      
             
 
 
 

 
  
 
 Many people have asked me why I decided to use a guide dog to assist me when I travel,
there are quite a few reasons that I made this decission and I would like to share a few of
them with you. The main reason is that I feel a guide dog gives you better feedback when
you are traveling. I use a long white cane to travel as well but it seems that avoiding
obstacles and traveling safely is easier for me to do when I am using the dog. He will stop
 at anything that is in my way and then he will find a route that is safe for me to travel,
when using the cane sometimes i do not find the obstacle right away and can (and have)
walk into something that I did not know was there. Another reason I decide to use a guide
dog was the fact that people seem to notice you more when you are using a dog, I feel that
when a person has a visual condition it sometimes can shut him ( or her) off from the rest
of the world, when you use a guide dog people do not avoid you like they can if you use a
cane, more often than not it seems they will  come up and ask questions about the dog and myself which in turn keeps me from being shut out of society. Another reason I use a guide
 dog and it goes back to better mobility involves one of the main problems people have when traveling with canes on broken sidewalks, sometimes the cane can get stuck in a crack
and you can jab yourself in the stomach ( it hurts believe me), so far i have not gotten my
guide dog stuck in any cracks, using the guide dog  lets me know i can travel without
hurting myself. It is important to remember that using a guide dog is a choice that each
person has to make for themself, a guide dog will not work for everyone that needs to use
 a aid when traveling, it is that persons choice about what they feel most comfortable with.
There are drawbacks to using a guide dog that you will not have when you use a cane, the
one that is probably the most noticeable is that a guide dog will probably cost more to
use than will a cane, you have to feed a guide dog and take him to the vet for shots and
 other things they need, a cane usually is only a one time fee unless you break it). Whatever method of travel a person uses I feel the most important thing is that they use what they
 feel comfortable with and that they are able to live the life that they choose.
 
 
 
 
 
Well hopefully everyone had a great Holiday season, now whether or not we want to we
have to return to the real world, some of us have to go back to work while other return
to school, I myself will be starting a new journey this year as I will be retiring my present
 guide dog  that I have had for the past 6 1/2 years and felt I should share some of that
 process with you. My guide dog  (Gus) came for the guide dog school Leader Dogs for
 the Blind in Rochester Michigan, I mention this as each school more than likely does
 things a little differently, I can only tell you what occurs with this school. My wife and
a few others have noticed in the past that Gus was showing some signs of arthritis after
we had been walking and that maybe it was time to retire him. I called the school and
asked them at what age should a dog retire and their answer was somewhat surprising
to me. They told me it was really up to me when the dog retired, if we were traveling in
a high traffic area such as a big city then he may need to retire at a earlier age as the
stress of traveling may be starting to wear on him. If I travel in a low traffic area then he
might get to work longer as stress may not be to much of a factor. Usually they said that
 a dog worked well until they reach the age of 8, as I have learned from various vets
 bigger dogs do not have the life expectance of smaller dogs so at the age of 8 a large
dog may have more health problems than a smaller one. At the time I spoke to the
school I felt Gus was not ready to retire yet but I  knew that his working days may be
coming to a end. This past summer ( really hot) seemed to take a toll on him and I was
beginning to feel another hot summer may be to much for him as wer travel a lot ( 3 - 5
miles a day). After Thanksgiving I again contacted the school telling them this time I was
ready to begin Gus's retirement process I felt sure that nothing would happen until after
the first of the year and was very surprised to get a application in the mail about a week
after I called them. Since then I have returned the application and completed the physical
 now it is up to the school as to when i get to go  get a new dog, now I have the job of
finding Gus a good home, I would like to keep him near me but if that is not possible the
 school told me there is a 7 year waiting list of people that want retired guide dogs. Many
people might ask what the fuss is all about he is jsut a dog and i might have felt that way
before too, when I got him the instructor that trained with him cried for days and i did not understand why, I do now however as it to me at least it feels like I will be giving away a
close friend or maybe even a family member. I know that I will get another dog and hope
that he and I ( or she and I ) form as good a team as Gus and I did, as many people I have
 talked to that have retired guide dogs have said your first dog is probably the one that is
the most special to you and it is hard to think of not having them with you anymore. I will
 let everyone know when i get my new dog and I will  share with you some of the
 adventures we went through as we learned how to work with each other.
 
 As I mentioned I retired my first guide dog in Feb of this year. At that time I was introduced
to my new dog Deacon, he is a yellow lab about a year and a half old, I would like to tell
 you a little of how our first months have gone. The training at the guide dog scholl went
 very well and the weeks flew by ( do not go to Michigan in Feb. if you want it to be hot).
Before I knew it we were back home alreay starting to train on the streets I thought I knew
so well. Deacon does his job very well, but there are a few things that distract him that
my other dog never paid any attention to. His biggest challenge so far is pigeons, if they
 are on the sidewalk we have to try to sniff them, this does not help me get where I am
going and it is something we are trying to break him of. Branches that hang down are
another problem, when we first started walking it was winter and the braches were barem
now in summer they are full of leaves and hang a little lower, he thinkis if he can make it
under i can too, so far only a fews bumps on the head, this is another thing we are still
working on. The guide dog school we graduated from said it could take a year before he
and I are as good a team as my first dog and I were,I think we will be that food much
sooner than a year if we keep working  on the issues that are causing him his problems.