Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!bunker!hcap!hnews!130!10!Henry.Kasten
From: Henry.Kasten@f10.n130.z1.fidonet.org (Henry Kasten)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: canes versus dogs
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Date: 9 Oct 90 20:25:50 GMT
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[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Hi Al, 
You asked some questions about the benefits of being a dog guide
user.  Your first question was, "1.  What can you do with a dog
that I can't with ease and speed with my cane."  Al, the number one
purpose of a trained dog guide is to get the master where they want
to go safely.  That is all.  Anything else they may do is purely
secondary.  The function of your cane is the same as that of the
dog guide.  This brings up an interesting subject.  If the
functionality of the two are the same, then why bother with having
a choice?  If you were to do a Value Engineering study on travel
for the visually impaired, and dog guides and canes were the only
viable options, I think the outcome would boil down to personal
reference of the evaluator. In other words, neither would win.  Al,
different strokes for different folks.  Obviously, to me, Falcon is
the best dog guide in the world and of course he came from the best
school.  Whether you or anyone else believes this, is irrelevant. 
I only have to satisfy my needs, no one else.  I am sure that there
are people out there who will disagree, dog guides, they might say
are safer, There are dangers out there that a cane won't find in
time, etc. I can't buy those kinds of statements because dog guide
users are just as likely to have an accident as a cane user.  We
all need to pay attention to where we are headed.
That was the end of your questions, the rest were arguments.  I did
have one question though, you said, "I bet a dog user would get one
advantage here traveling on the subways however.  The person would
get a "handicapped," seat faster than the cane traveler."  Tell me
Al, why in the world would you need a handicapped seat?  Are you
Orthopedically impaired as well as Visually Impaired?  Al, allow me
to reiterate, no one needs a dog.  There is nothing magical about
a dog, unless of course you want a dog, then their is inexplicable
magic.   Henry

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