[nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws

Wed Jan 14 21:14:39 UTC 2009

Got me! (grin), Rebecca.  Actually, up until a few months ago, we had a 
blind woman, Linda Woodbury, as the Disability Coordinator.  she got canned 
because of some politics, she stepped on toes, and was actually effective in 
her job!  Now, I haven't a clue who has that job now - certainly not a BLIND 
person!  I don't know what they do all day, either.  They don't answer their 
phone and it took them a day and a half to get back to me.  Oh well.

Linda and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M. (TASCSD)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at ngc.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 11:47 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws

> 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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