Category: Animal House
I want to start off by starting this post with no respect to anyone. It merely seems to me
people don't speak much about their guide dogs. At times I wonder if that bond isn't there
because the dog wasn't raised from eight weeks old. I don't hear honestly any blind
people wearing jewelry symbolizing their guide dogs. My experience with Bear has been
greatly different. He lives anywhere from five to seven miles from me. I call to ask
specifically to know where he is in the house. I got him on Christmas Day in 2008 when
he was eight weeks old. I've worn a sterling silver Poodle necklace I only take off for
procedures such as MRI's or MRV's. I just know he's the most important thing in my life
not because he's doing a job, but because he loves me so much. Also, at the beginning I
meant no disrespect to anyone.
You and I have apparently been dealing with very different blind people. Because most of the guide dog owners I know talk about almost nothing except their guide dogs. This is certainly not true for all dog handlers, but I sometimes wonder if a lot of the ones I see online know how to talk about anything else.
Agree with Poster #2.
Sure they talk about them like they're animals to be placed on pedestals, and some not at
all. I guess it's a topic of opinion. However, for the heart wrenching days after my Poodle
was brutally murdered I dreamed about what he'd be like when I got him. I crate trained
him, started housebreaking him, and he came to want to be with me as much as possible.
He also had his best friend Toby my sister's wiener dog until 2015. I honestly don't think
most people are satisfied by only their animals. It makes it easier for us who want to
study animal Psychology.
I've honestly even heard of some nutjobs who have actually created social media accounts for their guidedogs or other assorted pets. Definitely going a bit too far with their obsessions with their animals, but there we are. So, I'd look a bit harder through the boards. Maybe enter a few terms into that search box. You'll come up with plenty enough posts.
I created a social media profile for my guide dog because he was always with me and he was my partner in crime
and heather, bear is a poodleee, not a guie=de dog
I agree with poster 2. Have never met or talked with a current or former guide-dog owner who doesn't speak of their guide dogs with great respect, gratitude and love. I am no longer a guide dog user, but it was surely one of the best experiences of my life.
I'm quite confused about this topic, but oh well.
I like others have said know people who almost talk about nothing other than their guides.
I talk about Isla, but the thing is, she is a part of my life. Not all of it. And that's healthy. I love her, of course I do. But I am more than just a guide dog handler. I am a person with interests, with ambitions and hobbies. So I talk about all of those things also.
Honestly Heather, your postion sounds like its bordering more on unhealthy
than anything else. Your pet, who doesn't even live with you, shouldn't be the
most important thing in your life. Even my guide dog is not the most important
thing in my life. He's close, but he's not there.
Having a guide dog is not about having a pet, or having a companion. Unfortunately, for lots of guide dog handler, they have that miss perception. The dog cost anywhere between 20,000 to 35,000 to train. They have a purpose, and meant to have a purpose. It is not there to be display, not there to be showcase. That doesn't mean us as guide dog owner/handler does not love our dog, just different love, perhaps a deeper kind of love, the love that does not define by physical symbles or by talking about it, the love that is probably more like a partners love, team love, parent and child kind of love.
Agree with Scarlet and Pina Colada
agree with both as well. I kept in touch with my guide dog's puppy raiser, he was their first pup, and was lucky to retire him back to him when he was diagnosed with an eye condition. He now has 2 black lab sisters, he's a yellow lab who had black lab parents and sister, and was able to see him last nov when I went to see my boyfriend in Connecticut. It wasn't what I expected when I first applied, it's a huge responsibility, but was definatly one of the best experiences
I am on my second dog, and while I may talk about Krieger a lot at first because he is still new, I also know that he is not the most important thing in my life. I will have many guide dogs in my life time, Krieger while special, a good guide, and my friend, is just one of them in the end. I get a little frustrated when all people want to do is talk to me about guide dogs.
Well for sure you will of course have people whom are blind or visually impaired whom has a dog will talk about them to others because they are an important part of their life and i know i did and even still do to people even though i don't have one it was a good experience like others here have mentioned and i wonder that person whom has a social media page for their dog, do they get other dogs posting their messages to your dog? lol grins.
some of us may even think our animals to be as like a family member is so we of course want to talk about them to others, smiles.