Yesterday I had a surprise telephone call. A nice surprise that is.
It was from Guide Dogs for the Blind.
The call was my telephone interview. If you are looking to get a guide dog it will be your second step after the initial application too.
The interview is to help the Guide dog people assess your circumstances. I was asked about how the decision to get a guide dog was arrived at. Guide dogs are not a trifle, you have to think about the life change that will take place much as you should when you take on any dog as a pet, but the guide dog will be a working dog not a pet for many years.
Then I was asked about the types of routes I normally walk. Obstacles I encounter, roads and traffic volumes along various rroutes.
Finally I was asked about my general health history. At the end of the call the interviewer asked if they could send me a consent form for Guide Dogs to contact my medical support teams and also the rehgabilitation department to check on my training on mobility aids, a white cane.
If the doctors supply their information in good time, Guide Dogs estimate a home visit could be made by February next year.
That is about on a par with what I was led to expect in my previous conversations with them.
While all this is very exciting it is hard not to get my hopes up too much, these are important steps and at any stage the application can be refused or terminated.
For links to Guide Dogs for the Blind organizations in the USA and United Kingdom click here
It was from Guide Dogs for the Blind.
The call was my telephone interview. If you are looking to get a guide dog it will be your second step after the initial application too.
The interview is to help the Guide dog people assess your circumstances. I was asked about how the decision to get a guide dog was arrived at. Guide dogs are not a trifle, you have to think about the life change that will take place much as you should when you take on any dog as a pet, but the guide dog will be a working dog not a pet for many years.
Then I was asked about the types of routes I normally walk. Obstacles I encounter, roads and traffic volumes along various rroutes.
Finally I was asked about my general health history. At the end of the call the interviewer asked if they could send me a consent form for Guide Dogs to contact my medical support teams and also the rehgabilitation department to check on my training on mobility aids, a white cane.
If the doctors supply their information in good time, Guide Dogs estimate a home visit could be made by February next year.
That is about on a par with what I was led to expect in my previous conversations with them.
While all this is very exciting it is hard not to get my hopes up too much, these are important steps and at any stage the application can be refused or terminated.
For links to Guide Dogs for the Blind organizations in the USA and United Kingdom click here
Best of luck with the guide dog. I'm lucky enough to have my first one, and it's the best thing I've done for years. Teh training is quite exacting for you and the dog, but if it all goes well, you will get around with such confidence, and you will probably lose some weight! I'm exercising more now than I've done for a long time, and that has to be good. Dogs such as German Shepherds and Labradors are very active, of course, and mine is a very lively Lab/Golden Retriever cross, and quite a big lad.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nystagmite, I am certainly in need of the weight loss. :) I love German Shepherds myself, but sadly the Guide Dogs for the Blind here in California only now train Retrievers or Labradors, or mixes of those two breeds. I have more experience with German Shepherds as pets, having just spent my last twenty-four years with three shepherds, two of those reached the grand old ages of 16 and 18 yeears of age but having said that I love most breeds of dog and a Lab. or Retriever will be a great experience to learn about.
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