“We oppose most programs for eye dogs,” said Daphne Nahminovich, vice president of cruelty research for people responsible for ethical treatment of animals (PETA), in an interview with the January 10th LA Times “LA Unleashed”.
Nakhminovic’s objections go beyond PETA’s disgust at breeding programs. "They are kept in a sled almost 24/7, people are not allowed to caress or play with them, and they cannot swim, run and interact with other dogs." PETA also claims that schools force blind people to return their retired dogs.
Nakhminovich doubts the suitability of most blind people to care for their animals: "A deaf person can see if a dog has a medical problem, such as blood in the urine, a blind person living alone cannot." PETA's decision will bring blind people back to a life of addiction; “The human community must do more to support blind people and give dogs a break.”
Insulted guide dogs and raider puppies from many schools have commented that latimes.com has denied every point. Letters to the editor and parts of Op-Ed were submitted to the Los Angeles Times. Some people, such as the clinical hypnotherapist from Tampa, professional musician and speaker Marion Gvizdala, president of the National Association of Dog Hunters (NAHDU), directly referred Nakhminovich.
“The biggest problem we face as blind people,” writes Gvizdala, who has a master’s degree in mental health counseling and has been practiced since 1996, is a misunderstanding and lack of information. Myths that create barriers to our full society. "
Nakhminovich comments are added to emphasize fanaticism towards blind people? Unemployment among blind Americans of working age is seventy percent. Blind Americans are also likely to be incomplete and live in poverty. However, there are blind lawyers, engineers, chemists, doctors, mechanics, teachers, parents, etc.
Why a mismatch? Many believe that it all comes down to the changing nature of what it means to be blind. Throughout history, there have always been blind people who insured themselves from a living and independent life. The ancient Greek poet Homer, the English poet John Milton and the American author James Thurber were blind. Most Americans are familiar with Helen Keller's housing. The fact is, however, that she is the only blind woman that most people can name, and that she died more than fifty years ago, speaks of additional obstacles for public places along the paths of blind women.
PETA’s decision that people who saw people captured guide dogs, including them, simply reflects the prevailing social attitudes. Despite changes in legislation and a revolution in technology that allows blind people to more fully participate in all aspects of modern life, the popularity of sentiment continues to print blindness as a proposition of dependence and helplessness. The truth appeared in a survey of Louis Harris, conducted in 1991. The National Disability Organization (NOD) obliged them to find out what America really thinks about people with disabilities. In a survey survey cited in 1992 in the NOD book “That All May Worship,” edited by Ginny Thornburg, states: “The public views of people with disabilities, as fundamentally different from the rest of the population, are most admired and spared. apathy and fear are also common. ”
We will probably never know the true PETA motivation for these statements. Nakhminovich’s comments are so comprehensive, so concise and so thorough that it is hard to believe that they were not specifically designed to encourage donations from dog lovers who are either unfamiliar with dog programs, or uncomfortable with blind people and misinformed about their capabilities. It is possible, of course, that she feeds the habit of deliberate ignorance and is not inclined to explore all that she is talking about. In any case, mocking PETA on blind people spends a lot of resources.
The idea that schools would force the blind to abandon their beloved helpers is anathema to many guide dog users. Schools have retirement programs, but they are voluntary. They exist to take up slack in cases where a blind person can either leave his retired guide or find a suitable home among friends and family.
“Most often,” Guvizdala continues, “our dogs live their lives with their blind caretakers.
Guvizdala, who is also a music director at the New Life Unity Church in Tampa, works with Louise, his twelve-year-old German shepherd. He performs under the stage name “Marion & Martin” - a reference to his Martin guitar - and records his second solo album, a collection of original songs, covers, and modern arrangements of traditional music in a new genre of thoughts. Visit the NAGDU website at: http://www.nfb-nagdu.org/
Cheryl Echevarria (42) Long Island, New York, is a certified health insurance specialist and medical visitor. Maxx, her three year old black labrador retriever from The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (Smithtown, NY), is Cheryl's first dog.
“Hang in there,” she says in response to PETA's idea that guide dogs are not given any affection and they have to wear their belts 24/7, “Yes, I use my dog when I go to the bus to go out , go shopping or even visit me to be independent. But even when I'm at work, Maxx has a nice comfortable place under my desk, with his team. I take it off, and he sleeps or chews his bone, while I need to go somewhere with him.
Cheryl works at Sunrise Medical and was the first visually impaired person to graduate from the Branford-Hall Career Institute in medical billing. She is a member of the New York Guide Dog User Association and Treasurer of the Head of the Big Long Island National Federation of the Blind in New York.
She recently launched a free group for one of her favorite cooking activities. The Blind Cooks mailing list is a place where people can exchange ideas about methods, equipment, accessibility issues and other issues of interest to blind chefs, as well as professionals in the field of culinary art and those who want to enter the field. For more information, go to: http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-cooks_nfbnet.org.
Guides schools, skins all teach handlers, so that they do not allow people to love dogs in sledding. There is a difference between work and play, and it is safer when people respect it. The heads of dog-hunters regularly report that people come up to them while the dog is in harness, and the dog’s pet, without even saying hello. Most people ask to pet an unfamiliar dog and respect the wishes of a person. If they say no, they still won’t pet the dog or suggested that no one ever drank this dog. The fact that this is what happens when strangers encounter guide dogs suggests that blind people are not respected as independent adults.
“When we're at home,” says Echevarria, who has a twenty-year-old daughter, three adult stepdaughters and four grandchildren, “he runs around the house like any dog, daughter, and any friends who come in contact with us.”
Cheryl, legally blind due to diabetic retinopathy, had a kidney transplant from a live donor in 2005. It belongs to the Diabetic Action Network (DAN). DAN is a resource for all diabetics, especially with vision loss. Blind diabetics can and neatly make up insulin and control blood glucose levels.
Are blind people, many of whom monitor their serious health conditions, such as diabetes, unconditionally meet the health needs of their dogs as the effects of PETA? Comments made to me by my first veteran guide in Ella Philadelphia for decades. One of his professors at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania said that if a blind man brings his guide dog and tells you that they think something is wrong and you cannot find anything, keep looking.
For a less anecdotal and more modern perspective, we need to look no further than the 2008 report on the Dog Health Review of the Morris Foundation (MAF). MAF, which was launched in 1948 as the Buddy Foundation to meet the health needs of the first giant dog, has since funded more than 1,600 studies that involve animals throughout the world. Concerned that health information for adult guide dogs was insufficient, they conducted a survey, not veterinarians, spouses, parents or a lady on the street, but the users of guide dogs themselves. It is the first of its kind and is intended to be used as a baseline for future research. Their concern for the preparation and preliminary testing of an online survey, which was easy for screen reader users, corresponded not only to the breadth of the study, but also to the numerous opportunities for guide dog users to freely comment on their problems and experiences.
More than 1,000 respondents polled more than 11,500 open comments, which caused the report's author, Patricia Olson, DVM, Ph.D. (President / CEO of MAF) to write: “The leadership of canine teams was called the gold standard for communication between a man and his dog. Their overwhelming response to the survey made it abundantly clear how many leading dog breeders appreciate and love their dogs.
Blind people share PETA's concern about unwanted dogs. PETA, however, does not recognize that most guide dogs schools have already tried to use canine dogs. Too many shelter dogs have failed programs, adding to the cost of training. Breeding programs provide a healthier dog with the ability and temperament to work. Guide dogs perform advanced tasks, avoiding overhanging obstacles, navigating public transport and safely traveling through crowded pedestrian and road vehicles. They can find specific places when they are trained with patience and praise.
Here again, the comments from the MAF review emphasize the validity of specialized breeding programs: “In fact, guide dog schools are often a model for assessing trends in health and reducing morbidity through appropriate breeding.”
A letter in the form of Heidi Parker, coordinator of the PETA mail, sent people like Gwizdala and me, the back pedals on Nakhminovich’s notes. “Our comments are not intended to reflect poorly on people who use or train guide dogs.”
I wonder if Ms. Parker really read the comments of her boss. If so, what else does she think that Nakhminovich should have said if she “intended” to poorly reflect dog sledding programs and those who use it? From disinterested people who grow them as puppies - the family of the Hudson River pilot hero Sally Sallenberger among them - volunteers in the nurseries and the trainers themselves, many dog lovers are involved in the care and training of guide dogs. If cruelty was endemic in programs, wouldn't someone have talked about it before?
Echevarria has some tips for the LA Times: “People who write such articles should go to schools and talk with professionals about learning.” She also has partial thoughts for PETA: “I hope you never dazzle or need a dog. I also say that you must learn from the experts before you open your mouth and insert your foot. ”
PETA did not consider it necessary to apologize publicly, and the LA Times has not yet responded.
Copyright 2009 Donna W. Hill
