I was asking another member of my group if there is a chance that she could be placed with one of the dogs that are currently IFT at the Boring campus. While talking about this, we brought up the point that she really wants an active dog, as she loves to hike and be outside.
Another dog owner (not a GDB member), said something I thought very callus. She said..."Why would she want a dog that will go hiking when she could just go on a treadmill?"
People are people, no matter what their ability is, and to think that just because someone could not see that they would not enjoy the sun on their face, or the sound of birds, or the smell of the outdoors is very insensitive!
I just could not understand where she was coming from, but maybe I am being too harsh. I love puppy raising, and being involved with Guide Dogs, but the things that are said sometimes makes me wonder just how compassionate and aware people are.
I have even had people get very upset when they learn that Sterling is not a rescue dog, and that Guide Dogs breeds their own dogs. They ask why would we breed dogs when there are so many in shelters. I think that it comes down to the fact that with guide dogs, we are asking someone to put their life in the 'paws' of these dogs. Don't they deserve to have a dog that is stable and worthy of that trust? Not that rescue dogs can't make good service dogs, but the success rate of programs that use only rescues is much lower than programs like GDB.
Sorry for the rant, I just wish that people would think about what they say before they say it!
No comments:
Post a Comment