Christina: [00:00:00] Welcome to the taking the lead podcast, where we empower people to be unstoppable. I'm Christina Hapner with my cohost, Leslie Hoskins in Timothy Cuneio, Timothy. You just went on vacation and I am so jealous. Tell us more.
Timothy: Well, Christina, I went on a five day cruise [00:00:20] on a cruise ship and, uh, it's a, it was a great break from the, you know, the COVID-19 and being, you know, isolated in your home and finally getting out.
So it was a great time and it was really looking forward to it. So we were excited about going.
Leslie: And did you take glacier with you?
Timothy: No, I did not. Because going to [00:00:40] The Bahamas is a little more difficult to take a guide dog. Uh, they had to be pre-approved by the government over there. And so it's, it was going to be costing me about three to $400 to take glacier.
So I decided that she would be better off staying home and you know what? She had a great time while we were gone. I left her in good care. So, uh, some places you can [00:01:00] do it, but some places I would rather not. And The Bahamas is one of those not.
Christina: Timothy, what is that like for you to travel without Glacier?
Timothy: uh, it's totally different. I've been relying on her for over two, two and a half years now. And, uh, I be, I'll be bad. I'd say [00:01:20] I hadn't used my cane that much, but, uh, I had to get that cane out. And, uh, it was just, I felt a little lost at first, but then my cane skills that I was taught at leader dogs kicked in. And so I picked up where I left off. Uh, it took me a couple of days, but we got.
Leslie: Timothy. Did you just open admit to your [00:01:40] old O and M instructor that you weren't keeping your skills fresh? Oh my goodness.
Timothy: I just tell them Santa Claus is not going to be good to me this year.
I'm just telling you the truth. I do not lie. Yeah. Um, [00:02:00] I think everybody needs to get out there now at least once a month maybe, and not use your dog for the day and see what, and, you know, it's, it's probably a wise thing to do. I wish I did.
Leslie: You brought up some really good points, right? It is important to keep those skills fresh and get out there and practice with the cane, because like you mentioned, there's some good situations.[00:02:20]
It's maybe not appropriate or, uh, maybe not the best decision for whatever reason to take a guide dog someplace. So as you mentioned, the added expense of getting glacier approved to go to The Bahamas, um, another situation might be like a loud concert. Something like that might not be comfortable for a guide dog. So you're right. We should absolutely all get out there and be [00:02:40] practicing with our cane skills. I hope this was a good motivator to get out there and practice.
Timothy: Yes. Yes. My shins would appreciate that. So, uh, yeah, I would suggest everybody go out at least once a month without your dog work for an hour without your.
It is a smart thing to do. So I made my mistakes
Christina: [00:03:00] and Timothy, you learned all those skills at leader dog. And that kind of brings us into what we're going to talk about today is your whole experience at leader dog. Cause you started with Leslie with orientation and mobility or white cane training. So let's just start talking about when you first came to leader dog, [00:03:20] what was that like?
I know you had to be flown in.
Timothy: I was flown in. I left Atlanta. It was a nice balmy, 72 degrees. And when, as we were landing, the pilot says, ladies and gentlemen, it is now snowing. So my head went to the ground. No, I was, um, was not, I was not impressed, [00:03:40] but, I, got the leader dog. Uh, well, they met me right there at the, luggage where you get your luggage and stuff.
Uh, Ms. Mary picked me up and immediately she would made me feel welcomed. Uh, she got us to the vehicle. They took care of my [00:04:00] luggage. I couldn't believe that here on the big strapping guy and I'll take care of your luggage for you and I'm going, oh my Lord. Already starting. So we get in there and our car. She says, she tells me who she is and she throws my lunch sack at me and says, here's your lunch. And I go aleardy started feeding me. And, uh, [00:04:20] I was happy about that cause I haven't eaten all day. So, uh, and then we drove out of the garage and then I could start seeing this white stuff on the ground and it was just, oh my lord going to be a week this week.
That's for sure. So I got the leader dog and was met with the nice lady, [00:04:40] uh, who was in the, uh, office there. And they showed me around, gave you a little tour of what's there and what to expect and took me to my room. And, uh, that's, that's, that's the start of it
Leslie: telling us a little bit, what's it like staying on the leader dog campus?
I think that's one thing people get really nervous about, you know, do you have to share a room? What's it? [00:05:00] What's it like staying there?
Timothy: Thank God you don't share. Right. But no, it's, it's a great tell you what, it's like a, it's like a hotel. I mean, it's a great place to be. Uh, the, the hallways are set up for blind people.
There's braille on some of the railings. So you can tell you what's across from you on the other [00:05:20] side of the room. If you're reading. Uh, there's tactiles telling you, you should take a left or right. It shows you the halls and, and all the rooms are braille. Or if you don't need brown, that's there and the rooms are great.
You got your own little refrigerator, your own bathroom, a nice big bed, a chairs, a TV. If you can watch TV [00:05:40] and the, if you get the, if you're getting a guide dog, there's a door that goes out to the back to where your dog parks and, uh, I mean, it's set up great. I felt at home, it felt very warm and it was just yes.
Christina: And Timothy, you said where your dog parks. I just want to explain that. So when you would take your dog to go out to the bathroom, we call it [00:06:00] park at leader dog. But, um, before I came to leader dog, I had no idea that clients come and actually stay on campus. So I think that is such a cool thing. And when we're at work in the office, We get to be with you guys. We get to see what you guys are doing and kind of just interact with you as you guys are, you know, [00:06:20] walking down the hallway or whatever it might be. So Timothy, what was that feeling for you? Like coming? What were you feeling on the plane? And when you first kind of sat in your room and was like, I'm here, let's do this
Timothy: going up originally, just for O&M.
I had no idea of getting a guide dog that was not in the picture. I just wanted to [00:06:40] get the cane. So I was a little apprehensive. I was a little nervous because, uh, I knew that I was going to learn this stuff, but there was this really going to work. Was I going to be able to do the things that, that I wanted to do and only had five or six days to do it.
And was I going to be able to have enough [00:07:00] time? And, uh, apparently I did. And, um, A lot of questions and, and you gotta prepare yourself when you're going up there, because you're going to make mistakes and you gotta learn, gotta be patient. Uh, cause you're not going to do something that might not be right.
And you just gotta learn from the instructors and, [00:07:20] and just don't get down on yourself because you're gonna make mistakes. And you're going to fall down a little bit that literally, but in your eyes and your mind, you're going to fall down and you're just going to brush yourself off and get going. It says one thing, they make you relaxed and they gonna, they're gonna be there for you.
And they're gonna show you what you need to [00:07:40] do and teach you this.
Leslie: Yeah, for those listening, uh, we keep saying O and M and cane skills. What does all that mean? So when we say O and M we mean orientation and mobility, which is basically teaching those white cane skills. So the orientation side of it is kind of knowing where you are, where you're going and how you're going to get there.
And the mobility portion is [00:08:00] actually navigating through the environment safely using that long white cane. So when Timothy talks about his week of O and M that's exactly what we worked on. We worked on his orientation skills. How does he know where he's at? What are some clues or different things in the environment that he can use and rely on other than his vision?
And then also maneuvering safely through the [00:08:20] environment. So finding drop-off such as stairs, navigating doors, doing all of these things without vision. So it's kind of one of those where there's a will, there's a way type thing. Many people always say, oh, I can't imagine. I don't know what I would do.
It'd be terrible if I lost my sight. Of course, but there's a way to do it. It's just kind of thinking outside of the box and working [00:08:40] with somebody who's been trained to do this. So my background as a certified orientation and mobility specialist, what that means is that I went to school, uh, grad school for a year to become what we call a COMS.
Again, that's a certified orientation and mobility specialist. To learn how to teach people who are blind or visually impaired how to travel safely with the cane. [00:09:00] Um, and so I was fortunate enough to work with Timothy during his week of O&M. And we had, first of all, we had a great time because we got along really well, but also Timothy did an amazing job at his skills. So he started off, we worked together Monday through Friday and Timothy I'll let you kind of explain, you know, maybe one of the, some of the highlights are maybe some [00:09:20] things that you didn't expect to learn, but that we covered.
Timothy: You showed me, like when we went to the mall, you know, when you walk in the mall, you, what do you smell?
How many fountains do you hear? Why you're walking through? Cause like, if you want to try to find your way back out of them, You know, you walk in, you smell Starbucks. Okay. Well, you know, there's a Starbucks [00:09:40] nearby. Well, that means the door near it, by where you came in at, or you can count the founds you've crossed one or two or three fountains.
And then, you know, going back the last fountain that you count back and you can go left and you can go outside the mall. And I mean, you were just teaching me the things that I needed to do, use my, all my senses, just not my sight, that, you know, whatever set I [00:10:00] had. You, you have to use your other. And it makes you broaden your horizon.
It makes you broaden your senses and makes you concentrate a little bit more. And it just shows you a different avenue of way of traveling independently. And those are the great tools that that's just some of the examples that you've taught me. So that is one of the things that you taught me. It was great.
Yeah.
Christina: I think [00:10:20] that is so awesome that you learned to use other senses for me as a sighted person, I wouldn't even think about having to listen to things like cars driving by. Or smelling Starbucks, like you said, which sounds really good right now. Um, so I wouldn't even think of some of those, but I bet [00:10:40] you people who are listening right now, they hear, okay, you come on campus for a week.
You're flown out there. You're fed. How much does this cost? They're probably thinking, wow, like, I couldn't afford this. Leslie, I'm going to let you tell us all about what this would cost someone
Leslie: Absolutely. So we are incredibly fortunate for all of the [00:11:00] leader dog, donors and volunteers, and everybody who contributes to leader dog to make all of these services completely free.
So all clients who come to leader dog, whether it be for orientation mobility, whether it be for a leader dog, whether it be for our summer experience camp, any of these programs, it's all completely. That includes airfare room and board. So we actually [00:11:20] paid for Timothy's flight from Georgia up to come visit us.
We picked him up, like you mentioned at the airport. We brought them to our campus and where he stayed for a week for the ONM program. And then again, when he came back for a guide dog, all of it is completely free. So never as an expense passed on to our clients. And again, we're incredibly lucky to have all those supporters, donors, and volunteers to make that [00:11:40] happen.
Yeah. So, Timothy, what was
Christina: it like for you when you found out that this service was free for.
Timothy: Well, I couldn't believe it myself, but then I even shared it to my brother. He goes, are you sure this is a scam? I mean, that's what he said. And I said, well, no. I mean, I'm, I'm hearing great things about leader dog, and it's not a scam.
I [00:12:00] mean, he couldn't even believe it. So when something like that is just out there in, first of all, you didn't know it was there that I'll send that the doors have opened, that you can go and then to be told it's all free. It's just, it's mind blowing a bit because of our donors and. Say thank you to all of them, because you've made a difference in my life from here on.
And I just can never [00:12:20] be able to repay that back. But, uh, it's just, I'm glad it's there and it's for everybody. And it's just a great, great program.
Christina: Yes. So Timothy you're there that first week you're working with Leslie. What was that like for you, your first stay? Do you remember at all, when you guys started working together, were you [00:12:40] nervous?
Were you excited?
Timothy: Well, first thing she did is sat me down and then we discussed what we were going to do that week. And then she goes, let me look at your cane. That's all right. Here it is, you know, I bought it off Amazon and, and she goes, you know what, your Cane's too, uh, too, too tall for you by two inches.
I go, really? She goes, I said, what two [00:13:00] inches? Ain't no, no biggie, but she goes, we're going to give you another one. So she gave me a free. Um, and we, we decided to find, you know, a couple of tips that I could use. And she said, try all these tips out, because tips send off noises or the rolling motion or whatever you wanted to do.
So she said you can get, you know, pick two out. So I tried those out and I got the [00:13:20] two that I thought I would use. And. So we started off small. We started as just know, learning how to go down the hallway. Uh, just, she showed me how far out to sweep to the left and the right's you'll go to your full body.
Not, not way out, but you know, the length of your body, your width of your. And we just started off small and then we just started working our [00:13:40] way down and we want to learn how to go down the stairs properly. And then, and then the next day we kind of went outside on the track. That's behind the facilities and we just worked our, we just worked our way out and I felt like I was getting somewhere because every day we were going, getting out a little bit further and a little bit further.
And that, that said I'm [00:14:00] doing a pretty good job at this. So that was great. There was positive. Signs that I was advancing and that was a great.
Leslie: Absolutely. And just to clarify tips, right? Uh, we talk about all this stuff cause we know it so well, but with the long white cane Timothy's using, you can actually change out the tip, which is that bottom portion of the cane.
So sometimes you might see [00:14:20] an individual using a big kind of ball at the end of the cane or smaller ones, and they all have different purposes. As Timothy mentioned, oftentimes we refer to them as. Right. You might use a different, uh, you might use flip flops when you go to the beach and heels. When you go to an event or tennis shoes, when you go to the gym and cane tips are kind of that same thing, you can change them as it's appropriate or [00:14:40] in different environments.
So Timothy, you did a wonderful job that week. We had so much fun. You learned a lot, you progressed very quickly throughout the week, and we spent those five days together working on the O&M skills. Do you mind telling us a little bit, how did those skills transition when you came back for a guide dog?
Timothy: Even though I was getting a guide dog. You still use [00:15:00] your O&M instructions. Like when you're crossing the road, you, you learn to know what, uh, your, your, uh, card that you needed. I forget that your blocker car, that's the name of it. You still use all those things. They both men together when it all comes together.
Uh, I always told them, uh, Meredith, [00:15:20] when I was working with glacier, I said, well, I can still hear Leslie talking to me on my right shoulder Because that's what I use my cane on. And then on my left, I've got the guide dog and you're telling me what to do. So I got one person on my right shoulder telling me what to do with somebody on the left side.
And she says, well, who's the angel. And I said the one in the middle[00:15:40]
Christina: Meredith was your guide dog mobility instructor. When you came, so you Leslie for your orientation and mobility and Meredith for your guide dog. So, what was that difference? Like I know you're, we're only here [00:16:00] for a week for orientation and mobility and then three weeks for your, to get your guide dog.
So what was that like? I guess, what was it like first meeting your guide dog. I'm going to jump right to that because I want to hear.
Timothy: Going to jump right into the pool. You know, we went through the, uh, I, I came up, you know, the first day we did the, uh, Juno [00:16:20] Juno walk is when the, uh, the guide dog mobility instructors hanging on to the harness and she's acting like she's misbehaving.
And you couldn't kind of look kind of weird when you're doing that downtown Rochester Hills in the strange thing, going. But they're used to it. So they act like a dog. So you get the [00:16:40] kind of a feel of it. And I think they're also judging you for the last decision of which dog to give you.
And, um, so we did Juno and the next day we all wake up and, and we do one more Juno. And then for some reason we have hot dogs on dog day that they're giving you the dog. I don't know.[00:17:00]
Christina: funny. I did not know that.
Timothy: Yeah. Yes. Yes. Well, so we all go to our rooms and we're all excited, you know, because we're anticipating this thing because this is going to change our lives. And [00:17:20] so when glacier, when Meredith came in and got my harness, she said, okay, I'm going to go get the dog. She will not tell me if it was a girl or a boy yet, or you know, what breed.
And so she said, I will tell you, her name is glacier. So I'm going, okay, this is going to be a white dog because you know, it's, it's a glacier, you know, everybody's seen what [00:17:40] glaciers look like and I'll go, okay, this is exciting. And so then she opens up the door and all of a sudden this dog just rushes through my room and comes up and immediately comes up and gives me a kiss.
I'm my Lord. It was just the greatest moment in my life. And, uh, she was a black lab, a beautiful black lab. [00:18:00] And from that minute on it was just, she's changed me so much and taking care of me, but the. The the, the three weeks, or if I will tell you it's a little stressful, because you just don't know at first, how's this going to, how is this dog?[00:18:20]
How am I going to feel when this dog is going gone, left, how am I going to feel this dog and maneuver in me? And I had doubts in it. I had to had some doubts at the beginning of it, but it just took a day or two. And I will. I see how this works and you can actually feel the dog moving you here, moving to the left, moving to the.
And, you know, we made some [00:18:40] mistakes. We've had some falls, but we brushed ourselves off. We literally had falls, but we brought, cause we're trying to learn to, become a team. And I had to put my trust into that dog and that dog had to put the trust in the me too, because she's feeding off of me and I'm feeding off for her.
And just to feel the difference between a [00:19:00] cane and a dog cane is not for everybody in that. Dog's not for everyone. But it's amazing how your cane skills and your guide dog, it all melds together because what works for the cane, you still have to take those skills and work it with the dog. So it's a great base.
It's a great foundation. And with Leslie, she gave me a great [00:19:20] foundation and that's why me and glacier success, because we had a great family.
Leslie: Timothy, you do such a great job of explaining that whole process and the bond. You can hear it in your voice, uh, between the you and glacier. What would you say is maybe one of the biggest differences between traveling with a cane and traveling with a guide dog
Timothy: cane?
You [00:19:40] don't have to pick up.
Leslie: Yeah, no, you nailed it. That's it.
Timothy: You may have to, you know, like glacier and I are going to travel, going to the airport. I have to figure. When to stop feeding her when to stop watering her. Um, there it's a little bit more to do. Uh, [00:20:00] cane is totally different. It's just like, like I say, if I'm going to the doctor and I get out of the Uber or Lyft ride, you know, with a cane, I have to ask, uh, Uber or Lyft driver, where's the door and he'll say to your left.
So I have to go up and find the curb. I have to go out and find the wall. Then I had to go to my left and find. [00:20:20] When I get out with glacier, I tell her glacier forward and left. She takes me to the curve, shows me the curve then takes me immediately to the door. So there's just a lot of people I've know people who do want, not want a dog.
And they think the Cane's the greatest thing, and I'm not discounting the cane, but for me, I like having a guide dog. And [00:20:40] so it's just a little bit easier for me. And there's a lot of responsibilities with the. You should never get a dog unless you're able and willing to take on that responsibility. And not a lot of people can.
So that's why the canes work for great for them, their living situation, their financial situation may be different. So you really have to sit [00:21:00] down and figure, can I, do I want a dog? Will I be responsible enough for a dog? And if you cannot, then the cane will be great for you. And there's there's, I'm not downplaying a cane, please don't think I'm downplaying it.
Cane is just for me. It's better than. Yes,
Christina: Timothy. How long have you had glacier than
Timothy: [00:21:20] two years? This past August. I met her in 2000 and 19th of August.
Christina: What was it like when you got home from leader, dog? How did your family and your friends react to glacier?
Timothy: Well, it's, uh, it's, it's a mixed bag. Uh, I've got a node.
My family won't listen to this podcast, so I'll be honest. [00:21:40] Um, two-thirds of my family. And have one third of my family who, uh, did not like her at all. And it's been difficult in some situations. Um, I haven't seen my father for two years because of glacier. He does not like her. I took her [00:22:00] to took her to his house one day, first time.
And, uh, he told me, never bring my dog back to his house again, because he was, did not like that. And we got into a fight to beat two years, this Thanksgiving actually. And, uh, so I have family, I have other family that just [00:22:20] doesn't really care for her that much. They look at her as just a hairy dog. They don't see what she is to me.
And she's a part of me. She's like my left arm. She is my left side of my body, but then I've got other family that accepts her. They love. They're excited to be around her. They see what she does for [00:22:40] me, and they're happy for us. So there's, it's a mixed bag and that can happen to anybody. So, you know what, it's my life, it's my decision.
And if I decide to do this and you don't accept it, then that's on you now.
Leslie: You're absolutely right. Thank you for sharing that. Uh, you, you brought up another really good [00:23:00] point and that it's a personal decision and there's so many things, so many pros, so many cons to really weigh out when considering getting a guide dog, it's a huge commitment.
Um, you know, on average, our guide dogs work for about eight years and that's just their working life after that, you know, they tend to live a little longer and you're really taking on that long-term responsibility of having a guide dog [00:23:20] and other interesting thing is that it goes the other way too many times. We have clients who they themselves don't really want a guide dog, but family or doctors or other people are kind of pushing them to get a guide dog because there's so many misconceptions out there about, oh, You know, got to fix everything.
And as you've explained, it's still really important that you have a lot of those [00:23:40] orientation, mobility skills you're cleaning up after the dog, the financial responsibility, you brought up all of those really good points of having glacier. Do you mind telling us, are there any funny stories, has glacier gotten into any situations?
And you're like, oh my goodness. Or maybe on the reverse, right. Glacier has saved you from a few experiences. [00:24:00] Well,
Timothy: I mean, the first week I got back from leader dogs with glacier, um, I wanted to explore part of my city. I've never been down before them, the city, the city walks. So I said glacier let's let's like, instead of hanging, all right, today is hang a left.
So we started hanging a left and we walked about half a block to a block [00:24:20] and all of a sudden glacier just stopped. I go, okay, why don't you going forward? And I told her, go forward. She didn't, she just stopped. And uh, with my blind, that my, my vision, I can, the sidewalks blend it, melds in with the grass and everything.
So there's, the details are not there. I couldn't tell what it was, why [00:24:40] she was stopped. So I got my cane out because you're always supposed to carry your cane with you, even though you're using a guide dog, because you want that case something's going on and glacier, so you can figure out what's going on.
So I got my cane out and she, I figured out what she did. I, I. I put my foot out and there was this [00:25:00] huge drop-off. And so I got my cane and I live in an old town and it's not some of the sidewalks in the steps are not code. And if I had kept on going, uh, I would have fell down three or four steps and those steps are like 28 inches high.
I mean, they're very, very steep [00:25:20] and I knew there. And then if I used the techniques and the skills that leader dog had taught. And with glacier, am I cane skills? I'm going to be okay from now on. And sure enough, she's kept me out of potholes and I mean, huge potholes in parking lots. It's uh, she has saved me more than one occasion from getting hurt, [00:25:40] uh, running at the polls.
She doesn't, she leads me around all that stuff and she is my site that I don't have anymore. She's in those, she takes care of me. Absolutely. 100. And, uh, I just cannot imagine my life without, or now I just going on a cruise. I missed her so [00:26:00] much, but you know, I had my cane skills with me still. I bet it was going to be okay, but we got that bond.
We are bonded together. And when you're separated like that, you do.
Christina: Timothy. It just blows my mind what these dogs are able to do. Um, you know, you said that she kept you [00:26:20] from going into a pothole or into a pole. So it's so mind blowing to me that these dogs are able to do that. And I get to watch them train sometimes while I'm at work.
Um, which is super awesome just to see how smart they are and how fast they can pick up on things. Timothy, you came for two programs at leader dog. [00:26:40] Are more. And, um, lastly, I'm going to ask you this because I'm curious, you know, how old do you have to be? What programs are there out there for people because they're all free.
So, you know, if somebody out there is wondering, how do I get involved? How can I come to leader dog what's available? What do we have.
Leslie: Yeah, [00:27:00] absolutely. So we've got that orientation mobility program, that cane training that we talked about, and we have the guide dog program, which are the two, uh, programs that Timothy came for.
However, we also have a summer experience camp and Timothy was just a tad, too old to come for. This program is this program is for 16 and 17 year olds who are legally blind from all over the U [00:27:20] S and Canada. And during this camp, we have so much fun. We go Rockwell climbing, we go zip lining. We play beep kickball.
But most importantly, we talk about leadership skills and how these kids can absolutely be leaders in their school and their sports programs and all of those things. We also spend a full day with a guide dog. So Timothy was talking about in our first episode, how he [00:27:40] didn't even know these services existed, um, or that he was even interested in a guide dog.
And we know that's still the case for many teams out there. So we offer this camp where the kids get to spend a full day with a guide dog and a guide dog mobility instructor. And start to understand some of those realistic expectations of having to clean up after the dog and the grooming and the [00:28:00] commitment, uh, all those things that Timothy has mentioned.
So that camp and all programs are for 16 and up specifically the campus for 16 and 17 year olds. All leader dog programs are for individuals who are 16 years or older and legally blind. Um, and we'll talk about legal blindness a little bit more in the next episode and kind of dive into what [00:28:20] that exactly means because that's a big topic and people don't fully understand legal blindness, but again, all of the programs are completely free at leader dog, including room board and airfare for all three of those programs.
Christina: Yes. And we just have to thank our donors again so much for making that possible for all of our clients. I didn't even know before I [00:28:40] started that everything was completely free. So I think that's just such an amazing thing that we can provide to our clients. Um, but there are different ways that people can get a guide dog from us.
Is that correct? Leslie?
Leslie: Absolutely. So Timothy came for our on-campus training, which is around three weeks in time. But if that's not a good option for clients, we know that people have [00:29:00] work responsibilities, family responsibilities, health concerns. So we also offer an in-home delivery. And this is exactly what it says, it delivery.
So a guide dog mobility instructor would actually bring the guide dog to the client's home and work with them. There typically that training's around 10 days long and it's one-on-one instruction in their home area. [00:29:20] If that's not a good fit, we also have our flex program. This is a great combination of that on-campus and in-home delivery.
Maybe a client would come to campus for a week or two week or two, and then get some in-home followup support. And then lastly, we have a deaf blind program, which is really unique for individuals who are both deaf or hard of hearing and blind or visually impaired. And that's a really [00:29:40] unique, small, intense program where we spend a lot of time.
One-on-one instruction. Typically the clients communicate with American sign language, either visual or tactile for that program. So you can certainly get a guide dog in whatever way or fashion is going to work best for you. We try to keep it all individualized based on the client's needs.
Christina: Yes. So, so many options.
[00:30:00] Timothy, is there anything else that you want to add about your time at leader dog?
Timothy: I'm going to add about my commitment with glacier. Um, you know, I get her out at least three or four times a week in my neighborhood. We walked. Neighborhood cause we have curbless streets and I keep her trained up. I always tell her, but I keep her trained up, cause you never know.
I might get a phone call. I have to go somewhere in the country. [00:30:20] Um, and I take her downtown on my town and walk her at least once every two weeks to keep her crossing the streets. And it's good for me too. It's practice, you know, uh, professional ballplayers. We have to get out and practice all the time, uh, to keep up your skills.
So the same thing you got to do with the guide dog and now with the cane as apparently I need to do more, but. Uh, once [00:30:40] every two weeks I get glacier, we walked the streets downtown and, uh, you know, keeping her curves and keeping her trained up. So that's another commitment that you need to figure out if you want to do with a guide dog, but the leader dogs is great.
Um, when you're there, you got all these other clients you can talk to and you all can feed off of [00:31:00] each other, give ideas each other's great to go. When you got people's have guide dogs before. For me. That was great. When I was there, there was many people that were coming for the third or fourth guide dog was amazing.
And, uh, you just can't pick a better, uh, organization to go to, to get a guide dog. And, um, that's why I went [00:31:20] and I'm glad that.
Leslie: Thank you, Timothy. We appreciate you, uh, your commitment to glacier and to leader dog, and sharing all of your experiences. So thank you so much, everyone for listening to the taking the lead podcast.
I'm your host, Leslie Hoskins with cohost Timothy Cuneio and Christina Hepner. We hope you enjoyed our deep dive into Timothy's [00:31:40] experience with leader dog. Please join us next time to learn about the myths and stereotypes of being. Yes.
Christina: And if you liked today's podcast, make sure to hit subscribe and check us out.
Wherever podcast stream.[00:32:00] .