DogGuideUsersDivisionMeeting-2020NFBPAConvention
So welcome to the National Federation of the Blind a Pennsylvania guide dog meeting. Whoo. Yay. We sound way more awake than we did yesterday. So, my name is Marcia Drenth. And welcome to Friday, November 13. And nobody be scared, but it's Friday the 13th. Okay, scary. Okay, so this is the Pennsylvania association of guide dog users meeting and at the table, I will introduce the folks that are here. Joe, are we also recording? Okay, so is everybody okay with us recording? Okay, fantastic. I've heard consent. Okay. So if you want to go clockwise, I'm at six. And so let's go all the way around the table. I'm not going to give you the mic because of that whole, you know, issue but um, so just say your name, Denise Hopper,
Rick Hopkins,
V. Gasper,
Esther Gilliard. And it's your daughter here. Oh, sorry. What's your name?
Abigail Collins, go. You're awesome.
Thank you. And Joe's over at the audio table. Okay, welcome. Welcome. Welcome. So I'm not exactly sure. We have not heard from our past president. And so at this point, our affiliate division is a little bit up in the air. And so we do have to guide dogs at our state convention. We have Miss v. Dog, and we have Miss Lynn's dog, which Lynn has done in the room. And I believe she'll be back at some point. And so V is joining us from the great state of New Jersey. Whoo. Hi, New Jersey. And so we have a we have all East Coast, Pennsylvania people here. Ah, well, that's fine, because we're representing. So anyway, so I'm not going to go through the formal sort of business of a typical association of guide dog users, the Secretary, the Treasury, as we don't have a treasury and our treasurer, I mean, our secretary I'm sorry, is a bit a wall? Is that the right term? Okay, well, anyway, so with that said, This meeting is all about guide dogs. And that is something I know I like to talk about, even though Currently, I'm not a guide dog user. And so maybe we can hear from a V about why she chose to become a guide dog user. Do you prefer guide dog or dog guide, Miss v. Okay, and so I'm going to sort of put the mic on the table closest to you. So you can talk. Okay.
Um, so I became a guide dog user, about a month, a little over a month ago. It's something I had thought about for a long time since I was probably 17 or 18. And now I'm 24. And I knew a lot of dog users in the Federation. And the way they traveled just looked so graceful, and I mean, a dog is a little bit cuter than a cane. And they just, they just look so graceful, and it brought them so much joy, and I was kind of like, I'd like to travel like that. Because I do a lot of traveling. And so, you know, I always kind of thought about it. But going through college, I knew that I wasn't ready to handle it. I didn't have money, as very few college students actually do. And I frankly just didn't want the responsibility. I wanted to sleep in late and stay up late and not have to worry about something else. Someone else And so after college, I put more thought into it. Being in Jersey, I did look at other guides that guide dog schools but of course the seeing I was kind of always there. I knew more seeing I grabbed at any other school. So I would try to do research. But then the seeing I just kind of kept pulling me in. And so I went and I got my dog at the end of September. And you know, it is great traveling with a dog and going walking on the boardwalk in Jersey. And she is weaves me in and out of people and around people. I'm just like, whoa. And so that's kind of why I chose to do it just just for that ease of travel. And so far it's it has not been a disappointment by any means.
We have a zoom participant, Kenya just joined our meeting. Welcome to the guide dog users division meeting Kenya. Hi, Kenya.
This is Marcia trance. Welcome to our meeting.
Hello, I was muted the morning.
Oh, sorry. Did I need to make that louder in the room?
Yes. Wait. One sec.
Okay, please say that again, Kenya.
I say hello. Good morning. I had to unmute myself.
That's fine. Good
morning.
Welcome to the guide dog users meeting. I'm glad you could be with us virtually. I don't know if you heard all of our introductions. would now like to introduce yourself and tell us where you're from.
My name is Kenya Thomas and I'm from Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
More East Coast representing. And Mmm hmm. Okay, thank you. And so can you at our table. Sorry, you're not available to be with us. But at our table going from my left, we have Denise hopper who is my mom. We have Abby Gill yard who is Esther's daughter. We have Rick, Rick Hopkins who lives in Doylestown, we have V caspa. I can't say I can't talk today, who is from New Jersey. And then and then we have Esther Gill yard who is also from Philadelphia. Whoo.
All right. Good morning, everyone.
Yeah,
which is kind of sad.
We're in Pittsburgh, but no one from Pittsburgh.
Well, we Yeah, we might actually have a few people from Pittsburgh later, hopefully. So Kenya. This is since this is the guide dog meat and guide dog users meeting. Are you interested in getting a guide dog and have you began that search?
I want to hear a lot about it. I wanted to get a dog but at the time. I still was trying to do with the blindness. Okay. So I kept within the back of my mind.
Okay. Okay. Yeah. And so I don't know if you heard Mrs. Vee talks about why she transitioned from using a cane to a dog guide and how it made her travel smoother and walk faster. And
I came in when she say about the beach walking on the beach and then other people. Other people
Oh, fantastic. So you did hear some of that. Wonderful. Good. So I believe we also have a miss Esther here who is interested in getting a guide dog. Would you like to tell us Miss Esther? Your images or your thoughts about that? I hand you the mic. Okay. Um, well, I want to do more traveling. And I think with a guide dog lb
I think smoother and easier for me. With traveling if I had a guide dog without using Abby so much, my daughter to guide me and I think I'll feel more confident
with a guide dog versus a cane. By myself, just to have that, that companion and self confidence with a dog. And I think it'll be a lot. Maybe a little safer, I think, to, um, it interests me when I went to ASB Association for the blind.
And I met
Marsha, Marsha, Betty,
Miss Betty, who always had her dog, and she talked about traveling on a train a lot, from where she was, where she lives, and how she would take her dog and even traveling on the side of, I think, going seamline Avenue. And how it helped her. And I always thought that was interesting, because I was always nervous of crossing the streets and, and going places. Even though I had the cane, but I still I still kept bumping into things. And I was nervous and scared traveling by myself. I still am. So Miss Betty kind of gave me some insight. And it made me more interesting. More interesting to think about having a dog to give me a little bit more boost of confidence. Yeah. So yeah, just the second fee. Yeah, so I believe Miss heights came into the room. And would you like to introduce yourself Miss heights, and then we can pass the mic back then to V. So I'm going to give the mic to V. And then it's.
So good morning, everybody. My name is Lynn, Hi, Tom, president of the National Federation of the Blind to Pennsylvania. And it's really awesome to be here, for our face to face, virtual. And it'd be a Pennsylvania State convention. I have been a dog user for a long time. And I've also been a cane user. And one of the things I really like about being a dog user is The dog takes me around everything, I don't have to find all of the cafe, outdoor cafes in Philadelphia, I don't have to find all the trees that are planted along the sidewalk. I don't find the potholes in the street. So those are the things that I really do like about using a dog. However, I do also believe that it is extremely important that even though we have a dog, that we also keep our cane skills up, because there could be certain places that even though a dog is allowed to be, it just might not be the right place for you to take a dog. And they can't turn you away. But like going to an ICU to visit somebody in a hospital, you know, like, I'm not sure I would really want to take a guide dog there. So, I want to thank Marcia for the doing this facilitating this meeting today. And it's really awesome to have everybody around the table. So thank you. Hi, Kenya.
Hello, I was muted again.
Okay.
Yeah. So in Lynn touched on this a little bit too, you know, was transitioning from the cane to the dog. See, it's interesting, because sometimes you might actually want to be able to feel what's around, you know, if you know, you're on a long route or something, it's been a busy day and you just have to kind of, you know, park your dog in or take them out to go to the bathroom, they call different things at different schools, you know, so and you have to, you know, you have to pick up after them and you want to find a trash can. You know, it's so, um, and you know, also if there's no one thing that, you know, they taught me is you know, if there's no sidewalk and you actually need, you know, you'd want to use a cane so you're not in the middle of the street. You can kind of walk on the edge. I know in Philly, that doesn't really happen too often. But in some places, if there's not sidewalk, so I always carry a cane with me. In case I do need to say find that elusive trashcan or something like that. So it's, and like, walking in my neighborhood, I always know that I'm at my house because there we have our yard is filled with like little stones. So now I had to find kind of a different landmark because I'm not shoreline looking for those stones. So it's a really interest, it's, they're very different, but it is definitely good to use both. But I see with a cane, you're kind of stopping to smell the roses more, because you get to feel everything with a dog, you're just kind of, you know, just just going zoom, zoom zoom. So that's I think the biggest kind of difference is.
So this is Marcia again. And so I've also been a longtime guide dog user, I lovingly refer to myself as in between dogs at this point. So for all of those who don't know, I recently Well, I guess, not recently, but it's been two years in October, since I retired many, and many was my last guide, she was from guide dog Foundation, up in Long Island, New York. And so not only was she a guide, but she helped with balance. And because I'm hard of hearing, she helped with alerting for different sounds. She also now that I think about it had some very other special attributes, because she always knew when I was going to have an asthma attack, or, you know, like when I was stressed out, or, you know, she just had some empathy that obviously can't be trained. And so it's been a long process for me to sort of heal from many retiring, she worked for seven years. And we were connected in many, many ways beyond just that person. companion, person and, you know, working dog. So I don't, you know, I, I love the fact of being a guide dog user, I love the fact that, you know, I don't have to find every pothole being that I have balance issues, that's a really good thing, because sometimes I can spray my ankles in those potholes. There is some security walking with a dog. And because I don't hear so well, it also helps takes it helps me walk in straighter lines with a cane, I tend to veer a lot. But you know, at the same time, I'm at this point in my life, I'm not sure that I have the time, energy or whatever. So, you know, there's always taking out the dog to potty the dog. There's always feeding the dog. There's grooming the dog, there's taking it to the vet. So there's obviously things that you have to think about when you do want to get a guide dog that you may not necessarily think about beforehand. You know, in retrospect, you know, I would have obviously not traded those things in for using a cane when I had many because I was willing to do whatever it took to make my mini girl healthy and happy and well. And she was and you know, she's now living the nice retired life with her puppy raisers and Virginia. And I'm really happy that I was able to give her those years when she worked so hard for me for seven years. Now. She's being spoiled, absolutely. 100% rotten, and you know, that's a good thing. So the guide I had before Minnie was Emma, and she was from the seeing eye. And then I also had Heather, who was from guide, Guide Dogs for the Blind over in California. And so you're probably wondering, why did I change schools? And there's a whole huge, long debate about why a person goes with which school and you know, I don't know if that's something Yes,
hold on a second. Yes, this is Joe. We have a new zoom guest participant. We have Alice Eddie has arrived.
Hi Alice.
If you'd like to introduce yourself, Oh, there you are.
Hi, Alan. Sorry. Hi.
Would you like to introduce yourself and tell us about a little about where you're from, and your guide dog journey?
Okay, I'm Alice Edie, I'm the president of the National Federation of blind deaf blind division, and I just recently acquired a brand new dog. Um, and I know that retirement part was really hard. I was, I put it off. Well, actually, I got one, I got my new one, I was thinking I wasn't getting a new one until spring. But I didn't, I got lucky. I started training with my prince on the 29th of September, and I, he's all mine now. And I completed training. Around the third of October, my dog came from freedom guide dog. And my previous two were also from freedom guide dog. But um, it's hard to acknowledge how much Well, not just missing my old one. And I know she's rehoused in the best place possible. And she's even got a sibling sister. So she's really having fun. And he sent me a video of her playing tug of war with her sister, and it was really just too cool. So it's, it's, it's nice to know that when you change, that, you made the right decision and taking the new mommies. And it's hard when I've now that I've got the new one, sometimes I still randomly call them Wanda. Or tell him he's a good girl, he's a boy. But um, you know, what's cool is when some of his walking around obstacle mannerisms are very much like one. So I maybe it's just, that's their particular trait, and how they handle that notification to you. So it's really great to adjust to my new one. And when we run into new obstacles that, you know, might not have been in the same place the day before, because I go to travel, I travel a lot to go to Planet Fitness. And so from day to day, it's different. And he handles it so well. It's so friggin amazing. So I really am grateful to my school, my dogs came from freedom guide dog, and that it's like, seriously a match, they have never had to find out what my other dog might have been. It's always been perfect. So I'm lucky. And thank you don't want to take too much time.
Thank you, Alice. This is Marcia. So I'd like to hear from Kenya about Have you thought about different schools? Do you have a school in mind? What are you looking for in a school? And? Or if you haven't thought about any of it? That's fine, too. No,
I haven't
looked into any of it. I just been hearing stories like from this buddy. And quite a few times, he had a couple of speakers come and talk about different schools or stuff. And no, I haven't really. But I always thought like having a dog is like having a kid. Because you have to take care of you have to feed them have to make sure you take them out to go to the bathroom, keep them clean, healthy. Give them attention and stuff like that. So that's why I haven't really get get one yet. Because I still was, like I said going through the blindness and then I was on dialysis. And so I just like to hear the stories that give me courage to push me to just do it.
Awesome. Thanks, Kenya, that's okay. Because I don't think at our guide, our association, a guide dog users meeting we've ever had this many people from different schools. We have our CI we have our pilot, we have our freedom dogs, and we have our guide dog foundation. And I've also been to sing I in Guide Dogs for the Blind out in California. So we have a wealth of experience from different schools. So I'm in and out ask Esther the same question. Have you thought about schools have you do you know what you want from a school and that kind of stuff. So I'm going to hand you the mic. No, I haven't really thought about any schools as of yet. Um, that's what I will end to learn more about, like the different schools and where to actually start from and how to go about it. Um, yeah, just the second show, that's a really, that's totally fine that you haven't thought about it. And so maybe we can go around and talk about our different experiences at the schools, those of us who have been there. So we'll start with Miss v.
So the seeing eye, let me think of how to explain it. So one of the big things of the seeing AI is, you have complete ownership of your dog when you leave. So I, you know, I don't get any, I won't get any assistance for medical bills or anything like that. But you know, when the awful time comes to retire her, which I hope is not for a very, very long time. I can, you know, she can, you know, I get to make the plan for her wherever she goes next. You know, I don't have any obligation to like, return her to the school or anything like that. But in terms of the actual training experience, I was at the Seeing Eye for three weeks, I was the second COVID class. So I was there a little bit less time than normal. And there were, of course, less of us, they cut this, they cut the class size, a little under half of what they could, they could do it full capacity. So normally, it's 24 is full capacity, and it was 10. So it was me and nine others and Oh gosh, it's it's being at least at the seeing eye, it's like another planet. Because you don't have to do anything but focus on your dog. You know, the facilities great, the food is out of this world. And so it was instead of having four students to an instructor, it was two students to an instructor. So the instructor got to focus a lot of time with me and the other student that was that was matched with her. You got your you got your dog on the third day you were there. And, you know, then you started doing a couple of just kind of basic routes that they you know that they kind of map out around town. And then you get to do some things that you want to do whether it's grocery stores, escalators, we did a train trip, because I take the train a lot. We did go into New York City. They What? We did not do subways this time. They usually do subways. But we they didn't want us on the subway right now. But we did go into New York. And if anyone's ever been to New York, I crossed 34th street in front of MSG on an all quiet. So that was new. But it was it was really good. They took us in one at a time because of the restrictions. And so that one on one help was really good. I have had to call them a couple of times since I left. Just a couple of minor little issues, little questions just adapting to home. And I would tell the admissions person I need to speak with a trainer within like 45 minutes, I got a call back. So they really so far since I've left they really show that they do care about their graduates. And they're always there. We, let's see. And another big kind of thing about the seeing eye and I know other schools are like this too, but every school has different training methods and different reward methods, the Seeing Eye rewards with praise. So that's one thing about them and their training. I know some do treats so I might have other methods but we do praise. So the seeing eye with puppy raisers. They see you get your puppy profile and if they send anything with it, you do not get to meet the puppy raisers and they keep the puppy raisers anonymous. If you would like to have contact with the puppy raiser use, you can send a letter or send whatever to the seeing eye and then they'll send it out to the puppy raiser so it's like a middleman and they used to allow you if you want it to put your contact info in a letter, then you could you know, then the public razor could contact you if they wanted to, and you know, cut out that middleman, they do not allow that anymore. Mm hmm. Although it's interesting with social media, it is easier to find people but it is also harder to stay hidden if you want to stay hidden. So that's how the Seeing Eye handles puppy raisers. You know, people have found their puppy raisers through social media, some want to be found some don't. So that's, that's a, that's an interesting one. Okay, so the equipment I got, so I got the harness. And I got one leash, I chose to buy extra leashes, but I, they give you one, they give you a tie down.
They gave me a bone and a combo. And they gave me a mat. So it's just it's pretty basic, Matt, but it's good. If you have, you know, just like to show the dog like, Hey, this is your place in this room. And then they gave me measuring cups for food. They sent me home with a gallon sized bag full of food to get me started. And then you could buy other things. So the program fee for first time dog at the seeing eye is $150. If you're a veteran is only $1. And then it's Yeah. And then it's $50 for each dog after your first one. So that was the that was the price that was involved in that. Then there was other equipment that you could buy if you wanted, you could buy extra tie downs, like me, you could get extra leashes, you could buy collapsible bowls, you could buy a little pouch that you put on the harness, so it's good for putting like, if you just want to go somewhere just take your credit card, you want to take anything else you can flip it in there. I use mine for just like extra poop bags and stuff. I also bought a little beacon that I put on the harness and at night, I can turn it on and it will kind of flash to let people know know that so that people can see you. And especially because my dog is a black lab. So at night that's kind of helpful because she does not have a nice golden coat or anything. And I typically wear a lot of dark clothes so I like the beacon to kind of especially if for crossing streets at night. So just before I pass Yeah. Does anyone have any questions about the seeing I before I pass it on? Okay. When do you want to go next immersion Do you want to go?
So I got all of my dogs from pilot dogs in Columbus, Ohio. And one of the reasons I started going there was because I am asthmatic. And I have a daughter who's asthmatic. And pilot dogs was one of the only schools actually it was the first school to start training standard poodles to be guide dogs. And so standard poodles are really, really smart. They don't shed, however, you do have to get them groomed. Like every four to six weeks. And with grooming Danny, it's it's about $100 a shot but the I don't take him to the groomer. I have a groomer who comes to the house with her truck and she grooms him like outside of the house. I went to get Danny in August, I was at pilot for two weeks. There were four students in the class. And what really impressed me about this time at least around going to pilot is that not all of the four students took dogs home. So what that kind of told me is that number one, you know the trainers are really looking out for the dogs. And number two, the trainer's are really paying a lot of tension, a lot of attention to how the users are working with the dogs. So only two of us took dogs home. Like the seeing eye, the dogs are 100% yours when you leave you are responsible for their feeding, grooming, veterinary bills, all that you do not get to know who the puppy raiser is. Pilate also has a an alumni association and once a year the alumni does have a connection. vention of course this year was cancelled. So they usually get together in different states and the dogs get to go through their obedience trials. And there's a, there's a walk that you can take. And then there is awards given out for how well the dogs do. I'm trying to think what else Oh, so this year, whenever I went in normally, in in the past pilot would cover the cost of your transportation to get to the school and to get back home with Dog. However, with this being COVID, there was no flying or busing or anything like that. So we had to drive out to pilot. And then they had to drive out and pick me up to bring me home. Fortunately, they wanted to bring me home. So I don't know if there's any other questions anybody might have? Yes. Oh. So, so no, there is no charge at all through pilot for a dog. Like the seeing eye, you know, they feed you three meals a day, they do your laundry, you know, your main focus is working with that dog and getting to know that dog and having the dog get to know you, and having it teach you what it needs to teach you. So anything else?
If that's it, we would like to have Ellis talk about her experiences at freedom dog.
This is our, um, well,
I, when I get my dog, I get the bowl, the curry brush, the big bone, the chewing grown the ear cleaner. a month now six months supply of their heart guard. And the the lunation harness is totally different from before I really like it. And I don't have to have an S harness anymore because I'm actually walking much straighter. So I'm really pleased with that. So it's really that part is good. You get full ownership. There's no real assistance for you know, like, their medical care or anything. But you get you know, you get our full, his full shot records and his history and all that playing phone call access if I want. And I did get the opportunity to communicate with his puppy Walker, they asked me if I wanted to. And I did agree. And he put it he set it up for me to see him in messenger. And he had the his puppy Walker has a Facebook page. So he put that in for me. And I'm enjoying it. I'm really enjoying the communications that we have. And hopefully next year, they're in Virginia. Hopefully next year when I go to the next TSA coalition meeting, I might get to meet them. That's assuming it's in person by then. So that would be really cool. And it's fun. It's really nice to see his baby pictures and I liked one of his siblings. So now I can see that one. It's really it's really, I've never actually had a relationship with it probably walkers before. One is puppy Walker. I only had a few casual conversations on Facebook when I posted pictures of us attract me. And Wanda was alone on the anywhere. It's like a bike. It's a It's a race, race walkway, but we were doing the I was throwing the discus and Javelin and shot put at the time. So while I was doing my rotation, she had to be out of the way where nothing could actually accidentally clunk or anything. So that was the place she was at and she had her nose resting on my my backpack with all my emergency supplies. And it said, Wanda waiting and she said What's she waiting for? And I said she was waiting for my rotation to get over. And she stayed. It was really amazing. She stayed because it was takes a long time. But so having a relationship with the puppy walkers is really nice. Because you get to know if they had any you know what their favorite toy was, or you know, some of their back history. It's fun, I'm really enjoying it. And like they sent me pictures of him when they brought them back. And it's nice to it's nice to invite them to tip things that I'm doing now. So it's kind of cool. It's really it really is if you get a chance to I would do it. It's kind of like being being adopted. Well, I've already been told that's technically we were adopted. We're family. So it's, it's it's a nice thing. That's it. I'm done.
Okay. Well, Marsha is out. She
gets
Kenya sorry. Okay, go ahead. Kenya, I want you to know is, excuse me is all the
places the schools they have? Do you have to stay? like two weeks a month? Are they different times or?
This is Alice, mine was not, has no residential, they homeschool, they literally come to me with my dog and we train. So no. And my school has served me with three dogs. And but they're Eric, who usually trains me does not know ASL. But we Jerry rig all kinds of methods to deal with that. And he doesn't have a problem with it. Um, whereas I have never been able to get into seeing I because I'm deaf blind, but some people do. And that's great. But I've never been able to. And I've only been to one other school a bazillion years ago, like, more than 30. Um, it was Guide Dogs for the Blind in, in New York. And I liked it there too. But you know, that was literally right after my son was born. And I think I left after my first month with him. And that would trust me that was probably dumb. But it worked out. But um, my husband actually learned grill while he while I was gone because he wanted to send me letters. And he did while I was gone. That was the only residential I've ever been to. And I really enjoyed it. I'd never been away from home and family other than like foster care or something as a kid, so it was different to be somewhere residential. And then the next time it happened, was it Helen Keller and I mean, I was so long my kids are grown, but it was still a very different experience to be in a residential program.
Okay.
And there are some schools that are different. You're they're different periods of time. You know, Lynne mentioned that she was only a pilot for two weeks and she did step out I'm not sure if that was different pre COVID or not. Or if it's different if you're because some schools so at the seeing eye, so I was there for exactly three weeks from Monday, September 28 to Monday, October 19. retrains who are people that are there for you know their second third fourth you know, etc. They left on October 15 so some places you know, you're there longer if you're new but then not as much time if it's your second or third or whatever dog I think guiding eyes they are in White Plains New York I think their program is four weeks although I think right now there are a lot of schools right now are only doing home training. You know, I guess we now know since Lynn went pilot has started doing in person or on campus stuff. The seeing is has welcome students back based on where they're coming from, you know, cuz New Jersey has a quarantine list for states. So just depending. And I'm not I think South Eastern and Florida might be starting to take people back on campus or they're at least talking about it. But a lot of schools and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the home training stuff kind of kind of sticks. I think the delco is doing some home training there in Connecticut. They only do shepherds and Marcia could probably tell you more about some of the other residential programs. Okay, thanks.
This is Marcia. Yeah. So good question Kenya. So I went to guy doc foundation in Long Island, Smithtown, Long Island, New York. And it's very suburban, but also very close to roll, there is an opportunity to go into the city a lot. There is no cost, per se you do receive transportation, housing, food board, and all the other equipment with the dog for free. The one bad thing about guided foundation it is all obviously donation based. And so they tend to flaunt the fact that you're getting this wonderful talk and it's gonna give you all this independence. But they're they are good school. They're small school. Their facility is very small, but I liked the one on one training that I received. They do poodles, labs, Golden's and, and have very, very few shepherds. So you go for about three or four weeks, depending on your level of orientation and mobility. And I know that, that I was there for a total of three weeks, and this was obviously pre COVID. And but I was also a retread. Sorry, a retrain? It's it's, yeah, so the guide dog schools do tend to talk to each other. They, the trainers, some of the trainers tend to go from school to school. And the nice thing about guided Foundation was that you do get to meet your puppy raisers at on graduation day, if they do come. And you can choose to stay in contact with them. You know, each of the schools has a different policy about that. I obviously abided by seeing eyes policy when I got Emma there. But, you know, it was fine that I had contact with minis puppy raiser, because she ultimately just went back to them. They do provide financial assistance for not only just vet visits on a yearly basis, but they will cover emergency type of situations. For example, I could have gotten some emergency assistance, for example, when a mini eight a towel. She was she was about to retire anyway. So you know, I didn't choose to do that. It would have been something I would have had to apply for. And at the time, I was sort of emotionally traumatized by the fact of retiring her and then she needing like three surgeries right in a row very quickly. And so I chose to not get that assistance. But they will also provide assistance in buying the flea and tick or the heartworm medication that you need to give your dog on a yearly or monthly basis.
There is an association for graduates. And they do have a good customer service. They do all of their training on treats or clicker, which is just a different method. Neither one is good or bad. They're, they're a good school. They were the first school to sort of multi train a dog for folks who are deafblind if that's what they needed. They can train a dog for balance and for guiding. But, you know, guiding is a hard job and it can be a hard job depending on where you live and the circumstances. And so you know, that also can mean that that the addition tests that that dog is trained for, you know, can wear on their life expectancy in their career. There is some debate about that. But, you know, they are also now doing in home training. They are having select groups come to the campus, the nice thing about being, wherever whatever school you choose to go to is that you're away from home, you're away from all of your normal life responsibilities, all you have to do is worry about getting yourself up in the morning, getting dressed, getting fed, and then working with that dog. Although, I think when I went to get many I was in a university program. And so I did schoolwork, while we were waiting in the bus or in the training center. And so that made it very, media very difficult, I will never do that again. But, um, it can be done. Um, you know, my university gave me permission to go and do that. And so they do also go into New York City, they give you multiple opportunities to do different types of training. When I was at the CBI at the time, which was a long time ago, at this point, when I had Emma grace, my daughter was looking into doing horseback riding lessons. And so I took, I had the CNI. Take me to a horse table, so that we can interact with the horses and see how my dog would react. And she did fine. But I also went into New York City, I went into New York City with both schools, and it was a very positive experience with many, she was much more of a city dog. Eventually, Emma retired because of the city. She couldn't handle Philadelphia. But that's okay. So, like v said, a lot of the schools are going to home training. You know, there's good and bad about both. So hopefully that answered your question Kenya.
Yes.
Thank you. Um,
so were at about 10 o'clock. And, Esther, do you have any questions?
So, do you have to retire dog? After you had the dog for all the, I guess the work that she that the dog does? Could you decide to adopt the dog? I'll talk about that. And so I'm sure Alice can talk about that. And did Lynn come back? Okay. So I've retired three dogs now. And it's never I easy process. It's both it's both emotionally and physically draining. You know, that's probably the biggest downfall about having guide dogs. because like you said, Esther, you're putting all this time into this fantastic animal that is precious to you. And in many of our cases, and I'm sure v has now experienced this too, in some cases, saving your life, you know, especially in large cities, and maybe not so much, you know, like in the COVID time, but, you know, there are many cases where I was crossing a street near Temple University. And I have no idea I would have not have been alive if I had been using a cane. But because many pulled me out of the street, when a car when a truck or a car decided to pass my way, you know, there there were multiple, so retirement is a very difficult thing. And so whenever, you know, guide dog users will say if you're at that point, you will know when it's time to retire. And I don't know if that's necessarily true. But nevertheless, my point to that is that you will see signs in your dog that will say they are slowing down. They're getting old, they're getting they have more health issues. They're no longer interested in working. They want to get in the harness. They may not want to leave the house, they may want to get in harness, they may want to leave the house, but then when you get out of the house, they don't want to walk down the block, they have more distractions than they do anything else, you know, they're just no longer interested in working. Typically, the dogs will tell you that. And, you know, for some of us, I can say this only for myself, because I don't know other person's experiences. But, you know, it's like, you want this, this wonderful dog to continue working. And you're stubborn, and you're hard headed, and you don't want to see the signs. You know, when many ate a towel, because she was so stressed out, I knew that it was time when I took her to convention and and she no longer enjoyed weaving in and out of the crowds like she had previously, I knew that it was time and trainers told me at the time, the nice thing about going to a national convention is that well in person national convention, is that you're going to see a lot of the guide dog schools. And so if you're having any problems there, then they can work with you at that point. Now there is some dis, you know, some controversy about whether, as a guide dog user, you should take your dog to convention or not. And that's a personal decision. You know, I chose a few years in a row not to take many or ama, because it's just very stressful. At an in person national convention, there's hundreds of guide dogs, I mean, hundreds. And because of the National Association of guide dog users is very large, which I'll put a plug in for that, too. If you're not already subscribed, V or Alice, there is an email list. And or Esther and Kenya. There's an email list for those folks who are interested in guide dogs, everything to do with guide dogs, and want to learn more about guide dog users who are in the NFB. It can be found on NFB net.org. And I'll get that information to you faster, so don't worry.
And so, you know, like, it's a great way to ask questions to get information. We also have a Pennsylvania guide dog email list. And it's kind of active, like an email every once a week or once a month. But that's specifically for folks in the state who are interested in guide dogs and um, and so there's a lot of Facebook groups that deal with guide dog sitters. If you're there's multiple ways you can get information. Um,
Oh,
I know. Testing 123. Testing.
I still hear you but you were blinking out. Okay. That's okay.
Testing 123. Testing 123. So, wait a while just to Oh, we go. Hmm. I think maybe the battery's dying. Yeah. Okay, so what I was saying is that retirement, yes, you can keep your dog after they retire. It depends on the school. Some do ask that you return it because they will have long lists of people who want to adopt it. Most that provide ownership to something Oh, hold on. Let me finish my statement. Most provide ownership will allow you to keep your dog after they end their relationship. So Alice, do you want to Alice, do you want to talk about your retirement experiences?
Yeah, well, I've had two so far. Um, I mean, my first one passed away. So that was non negotiable, but my the very first one split I was so we actually had a retirement party. My friends threw us a retirement party. Welcome to the neighborhood for my new dog even though I didn't have it at the time. So that made the transition of saying goodbye easier because she had her toys that she had from home packed, and she had her toys and gifts from her retirement party in a bag. And her new mommy was heading to the door. And she was like, as long as she was following her toys, she was good. In a way it was. It was kind of weird, bittersweet in a weird kind of way, because you say goodbye without really doing too much, because I didn't want her to think she was going home with me either. And I had rehome her the first time much earlier than I had with Wanda, so that I was dogless for several, maybe four or five months. And with Wanda I did literally the night before. I was supposed to start training. Equally, not necessarily the smartest move, but I got to visit with his nude hers and her new family and and watch her and like the first thing we did was I gave him her. It's like a handheld leash that comes out of the handle. So that you know, we they have a lake nearby. So we walked just to see how she do with somebody else leading her. And she even made a deposit. So she was comfortable. And she had a lake like really, you know, and we told me about the grounds like they get a walkway like a path in the back of a house and completely enclosed yard and all that. Once you saw that she was in heaven, she was like, she said hi to our new sister ran off the deck, immediately started running in the backyard came back as if to say Is it okay?
Thank you, Alice. So,
but I'm happy about it. So that's it.
Okay, sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off. Go ahead. Okay. Okay. Um, so thank you. I hope that answered your question, Esther. She says yes. So do we. Did anybody else come in? No. Okay. Well, it's now 10 1010. Thank you. And so, I would like to thank you for coming to the Pennsylvania association of guide dog users. We can cross our fingers and open prey and everything that V will eventually move to Pennsylvania, right?
Yeah.
She says no. Okay. Well, that's okay. But remember, Jason lives in Harrisburg. So,
you know,
pencil tucky?
What?
pencil tucky? Okay, I'm not even gonna go there right now. But okay, we'll have to talk about that. Right, Miss Esther and Kenya pencil tucky. Okay. Yeah. That's funny. So, um, I think all those people in Kentucky might have an issue with you. But nevertheless, I'm gonna leave it at that. So I, again, I believe Esther, in Kenya, you have my contact information? Yeah. as Alice and Kenya came in just a teeny tiny bit late, where we skipped all of the formal secretary and Treasurer reports as the division at this point in time is a little bit up in the air and some of our members are a wall and so you know, as you become more ingrained, or thinking or would like to become a guide doc user, or and or starting to put applications in and you'd like to become more involved in this affiliate division, please let me know. We are looking for willing and able bodies to step up for leadership that entails helping Others in the state who are guide dog users with maybe issues because of course, even though we know that the ADA is alive and well, and for the most part, being abided by, there are still sometimes access issues. And that doesn't happen a lot. Have you had any access issues so far be? She says no.
Okay, she took her first lift it yesterday and she said it was perfect. So you know, there's a lot of work still, that has to be done, I guess, as you could say, in rural Pennsylvania, where got Doc's are not as common or as like, visas, pencil tucky. And, but even in the city, there can be some access issues. And so whenever there might be an access issue that you run in with your dog. You know, like, we as a division, affiliate division or group can sometimes go and take all of our dogs and invade the business, and show them all what it's about regarding access. And so and if you know, you are interested in getting to know other guide dog users, besides the folks that are here today, you know, I can definitely put you in touch with some that are in Philadelphia and around the state. So with all that said, do we have any last minute questions from anybody that hasn't asked a question or who has? Abby, do you have any questions about your mom getting a guide dog? No. Okay. Would you like her to get a guide dog? Yes. And why do you think that this would be an A good for why do you think this would be good or bad for your mom? Give her a break. Okay, okay. That's fine. That's totally fine. And so I'm definitely it would, it could help. But I think as Kenya and Esther know, we, that also means that they need to bone up on their own em skills to so yes, you have to be a good king user. So with all that said, I thank you very much for coming. Hope you have a wonderful convention. And to all those out there are who are listening and that are attending live. Thank you for coming and bye bye.
All right,
bye bye bye.