Lee.Mounger@f729.n106.z1.fidonet.org (Lee Mounger) (11/02/90)
Index Number: 11460
[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]
Hi Scot,
Just thought I'd take this opportunity to express a few oppinions
concerning the eternal guide dog versus cane question. After graduating
from high school, I obtained my one and only guide dog from Seeing Eye,
and being a hard core dog lover anyway, experienced eight wonderful
years with Dasha, my dog, until she died at the age of ten. We were
together all through college and afterwards as well. However, by the
time she passed on, my lifestyle had changed and I no longer had as much
need for a dog so I didn't go back for another one. I've been without a
dog for a dozen years now but all the talk on this echo lately has
certainly made me want to go back for a second one. I think the biggest
problem with the dog or cane question is the perception that one must
use either a dog or a cane, but not both. I remember my first day at
Seeing Eye, my instructer said, "just think, now you can throw that cane
away and never have to mess with it again." After returning home with
my dog, and being practical above all else, I quickly realized he had
been dead wrong. I discovered that there were many situations where it
was better and simpler to use a cane. For example, during college, I
was involved every day with wrestling and judo at the campus gym. There
would have been no place where I would have felt good about leaving my
dog while doing these activities so, I simply left my dog in my
apartment and used my cane for travel to the gym. Aside from any other
considerations, I don't think there's any contest between dog and cane
where traveling itself is concerned. In my oppinion, the dog wins
hands down. However, to me, having both a guide dog and a cane is like
having a smooth-riding cadillac and a functional, dependable old truck.
Sometimes you take the cadillac, but for certain situations, you leave
the good car at home and take that old truck. I am probably going to
step on some toes here but although I am definitely pro dog, my pet
peeve with dog users is that after obtaining a dog, many of them place
their idea of independence ahead of practicality. They insist on taking
the dog everywhere, even when they are accompanied by sighted friends.
When going to a theater, restaurant, ball game or other recreational
activity with sighted friends, why put your dog through that kind of
misery. In short, I think every blink should use whatever manner of
mobility aid he or she finds the best, be it dog, cane, or even where
most practical and sensible, a sighted guide person. After all, the
biggest key to ultimate independence, in my oppinion anyway, is
adaptability.
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