Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ogicse!mintaka!yale!bunker!wtm
From: mcgrew@Eng.Sun.COM (Darin McGrew)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: GUIDE DOGS
Message-ID: <14871@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 10 Oct 90 02:57:53 GMT
Sender: wtm@bunker.UUCP
Reply-To: mcgrew@Eng.Sun.COM (Darin McGrew)
Distribution: misc
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
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Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP
Fidonet: Blink Talk Conference

Index Number: 11018

In article <14749@bunker.UUCP> Al.Hoffman@p0.f143.n109.z1.fidonet.org writes:
>1.  What can you do with a dog that I can't with ease and speed with my 
>cane.  I am not unimaginative.  I won't even mention the things that 
>limit a dog, but is the limit on a cane--thats the limit of the user, as 
>you will no doubt say holds for the dog as well.

The following are based on my experience with my wife.  She has
used a guide dog for over 8 years (actually, 8 years with the
first, and now 3 months with the second), and I have been her
primary orientation instructor for the last 5 years or so
(although I don't have any formal training in orientation
instruction).

- - A guide dog can take you to a curb if you get disoriented while
  crossing a street.

- - My wife can't check the path in front of her with a cane as
  quickly as her dog can check it visually, so she walks much
  faster with a dog than with a cane.

- - A guide dog allows my wife to get around without being as
  thoroughly familiar with the route as she'd need to be with a
  cane.  This makes orientation easier and quicker, and allows
  her to remember more routes, since she doesn't need to know
  each individual route in as much detail.  This is especially
  true for routes that are "visually simple" (eg, "turn left and
  follow the paths that direction until you get to the gravel
  walkway") but "non-visually complex" (eg, the above route may
  have a lot of obsacles like bike racks, benches, etc., the path
  may jog to the left or right a couple times, the shoreline may
  be hard to pick up with a cane, etc.).

- - A guide dog can sometimes figure out how to get where you want
  to go, even when the route you know is blocked or when you've
  become disoriented.

- - A guide dog can sometimes fetch something that you just
  dropped, assuming you didn't drop something that could hurt the
  dog's mouth.  Also, a dog tends to eat things that are edible,
  rather than retrieve them.  :-)

- - A guide dog makes a great conversation starter, which can be
  very useful if you need to ask someone where you are, or if you
  just want to be sociable.

- - A guide dog can cheer you up when you're feeling down.

- - A guide dog can let you know when your spouse comes home.

These were just off the top of my head.  I'm sure others can come
up with more.

Darin McGrew			mcgrew@Eng.Sun.COM
Affiliation stated for identification purposes only.