[nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws

Wed Jan 14 19:47:52 UTC 2009

Linda, 
If the disability council knows nothing about blindness, what is their
purpose? I mean, what do they do all day? 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 12:24 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws

Hi All,
I talked to someone in the City Disability coordinator's office and they
said that they didn't deal with this kind of issue and to talk to a
seargent at the police department.  I told them that I had already done
this and I'll find something else to do.  The person in my City
councilmember's office didn't have much else to offer either.  these
people all mean well but they know so little about blindness or
disability issues.  It is totally outside their radar screen - totally
no clue whatsoever.

I think I'm going to contact Turko Files after all.  He does have a
track record of helping people with disabilities, including blindness
issues.

Cari, if you were here and left the bag of dog crap in the bag outside
the store, the police would would probably try to bust you for that!
(grin!).  I think we are exempt here in San Diego County because of this
very problem of not always finding a trash can.  All the guide dog users
here do pick up and throw it in a trash can as a matter of course even
though we are technically exempt.  It's the times when we can't find
that trash can is when we really need that exemption.

The biggest problem we have around our blind center is other people
letting their pet dogs poop in our dog relief area and they leave it
there - unbagged - and an ususpecting blind person comes along to
relieve their guide dog and they step in crap and track it into the
center.  Hmmmm, where's the cops for that??  These pet owners are
violating the leash laws as well as the pooper scooper law.  They come
up from the canyon with their loose dog, the dog smells the relief area
and then does what dogs do naturally - leave their calling card for our
dogs to read.

I do want to publicize this because the cop didn't know the law as far
as our exemption goes.  He failed to identify himself to me, and he
refused to assist me to comply with the law because of my disability.
And he was a jerk to expect me to become sighted to find the trash can
on my own.  Well, if I had that option, I certainly would have taken it.
I want people to know how insensitive the cops are and how clueless
about blindness they are. 
That isn't right and it should be corrected.

I'll keep you all imformed as to what happens.

Linda and Landon
----- Original Message -----
From: <countrygrl290 at aol.com>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 6:03 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws

>I live in? reiverside county ... i did not know in san diego blind
people 
>were expempt. I always pick up my poop and if i cant find a trash can i

>take it with me? BUT on the same note if im going into? some place i
leave 
>it in the baggie and go back for it on the way out ... if we r exempt i

>would fight the? sitation with an attorney? let me know i have the name
of 
>one? who is in LA and supposed to be good ?
> cari and denver
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com
> Sent: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 1:44 pm
> Subject: [nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws
>
>
>
> Hi All,
> I recently got cited by the police for violating San Diego's "pooper 
> scooper
> law".  Both our county and city laws exempt blind people.  Curious to
know 
> if
> anyone else has had this problem?
>
> I was at a political rally at our County Administration Building last 
> Saturday.
> Landon took a dump on the grass near the street, I picked it up with a

> baggie,
> and put the package under a nearby bush out of the way.  I wasn't able
to 
> find a
> trash can to throw it away in.
>
> I was talking to a lady who is in my Democratic Party club when a man
came 
> up to
> me to tell me I had to throw the poop in a trash can.  I told him that
I 
> was
> blind and can't find a trash can and asked him to show me to one and
I'd 
> be
> happy to do that.  He said that I had to do it myself and that he
wasn't 
> going
> to help me find a can.  He then asked me for my ID.  Then I asked him
who 
> he
> was.  He answered " San Diego Police".  I again told him that I was
blind 
> and
> needed his help to find a trash can to throw the poop into.  Again, he

> said that
> I had to do this myself.  The lady's kid offered to throw it away for
me 
> but the
> police had my ID and they wrote me a citation for "Dog Nuisence" and
that 
> I was
> to appear in Traffic Court (in an inaccessible location) in March.
>
> The lady I was with said that I could have avoided the ticket if I was

> real
> polite and begging for help from him.  I did tell the police officer
that 
> I was
> exempt from the County's law and most likely, the San Diego city law.
So, 
> this
> lady wasn't at all sympathetic to me on this.  She even has a disabled

> son!  I
> was not angry or disrespectful to the cop.  I just stated facts and
didn't
> grovel.
>
> I went home after the event and called the police department to place
a
> complaint against an officer because he was totally insensitive to the

> fact that
> I couldn't find the trash can due to my blindness and for his failure
to
> identify himself - I thought I was talking to just another person at
the 
> rally
> who objected to my putting the dog crap under the bush.
>
> I got a call b
> ack from the seargent and it turned out that the same seargent was
> there!  He didn't identify himself to me either!  The seargent said
that 
> he
> observed me letting Landon defecate, saw me competently pick it up,
and 
> throw it
> under the bush.  He wondered why, if I was really blind, how could I
know 
> where
> the pile was to pick up.  I told him that we are all trained in the
arts 
> of
> picking up dog crap - it was part of the curriculum of the guide dog 
> schools.
> He was surprized that the blind could learn how to find the pile their
dog
> leaves.  So that told me that not only did he not know the law, he
didn't 
> know
> anything about blind people either.
>
> I called the office of our City Disability Coordinator and have not
heard 
> back
> from them yet.  I called my City Council member's office and talked to

> somebody
> there.  They thought that I would still have to go to the inaccessible

> Traffic
> Court, or maybe, they could come to a downtown location that I could
get 
> to.  He
> was going to check on that and get back to me. He also said he knew of

> someone
> at the Police Department who dealt with disability issues.
>
> Some of my friends thought I should go public with this by contacting
a 
> lawyer
> on KSUI-TV named Mike Turko.  He has a segment called"Turko Files" and
he 
> gets
> contacted by lots of people with all kinds of problems and he helps
the 
> problems
> to be solved and goes public with them.  My CCB (ACB) chapter members
went 
> to
> him about SD TRansit refusing to put bus changes and meetings in a
format
> readable by the blind.  The website was also inaccessible as well.
After 
> Turko
> did two seperate segments on KUSI-TV on this, Transit made the needed 
> changes.
> I told my friends that I'd save Turko for later if needed!
>
> Has anyone else had this problem and what did you do about it? Thanks.
>
> Regards,
>
> Linda and Landon
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