[nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws

Thu Jan 15 00:09:02 UTC 2009

Rebecca,
Tomorrow, when I go to the Humane Society to do our pet visitation, I'll go 
across the courtyard to the Animal Control to get copies of the law.  I just 
happened to think about that police station I pass on my way home.  I'll 
stop in there armed with my copy of the law and the citation and I'll see if 
they'll overturn it and have this over and done with.  I might still go to 
Mike Turko and our CCB chapter to see what can be done to prevent another 
local guide dog user from having this headache.

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 12:38 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws

> Linda Along with the dogs, Landon also got to meet a pig. I'm sorry.
> Do check out the link I sent you.
> My other question is why NFB isn't doing more to educate police
> officers.
> In the two guide dog discrimination cases I was involved with, the
> police were useless and treated it as a civil matter, not an aDA issue.
> The first officer had never heard of the Ada, and the second time, the
> officer responding had maybe heard of it but didn't know "how it applied
> here".
> It seems likeNFB could learn from the gay and lesbian communities, and
> also the transgender community on issues dealing with the police.
> Why can't a course be part of the police academy training?
> This seems to be a problem NFB has no interest in. Why?
> Lastly Linda, have you contacted the police chieff, the mayor, (who I
> think appoints the police chief), and also the sheriff? Both themayor
> and sheriff are elected officials andshould by the nature of their
> position respond to you.
> In my situations, I did everything I suggested with good results, though
> my criteria for "good' is limited in that I haven't had any guide dog
> discrimination issues, or dealings with the police.
> -----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 2:20 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws
>
> Hi Rebecca,
> That was funny about the Democrats and Republicans.  Actually, the rally
> was a bipartisan one - No on Prop 8 Marriage Equality For All Campaign.
> If I can enjoy marriage, so should my gay and lesbian brothers and
> sisters. Landon loves those rallies and marches - lots of nice dogs to
> meet! (smile!)
>
> Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.  That's funny about your dog
> pooping near a Democrat's sign.  Maybe other dogs did the same and he
> smelled it and added his own commentary.  I'm a lifelong Democrat but I
> function more like an Independent.  I have worked for Republicans who
> were more progressive.
> There haven't been many of those because of the neoconservatives and
> other fanatics who have commendeered the Republican Party over the last
> 30 years!
> I did vote for the Republican in this year's City Attorney race because
> I thought the Democratic incumbant was an idiot.  (grin!)
>
> Well, one way or another, I will both fight the citation and educate
> folks.
>
> Regards,
>
> 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 9:22 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws
>
>
>> Linda,
>> Know too that the policeman may indeed be a Democrat, who was upset at
>> your dog's comment on the event.
>> My previous Leader Dog without fail would always take me to a
> Republican
>> sign, and she would poop near Democrat ones.
>> I have no idea how she knew.
>> Maybe your dog is the Rrepublican and was displeased about the rally?
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Marion & Martin
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 9:05 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Pooper Scooper Laws
>>
>> Linda,
>>    First, I would like to say that I don't think blind people should
> be
>> exempt from such laws. On the contrary, I think we need to be more
>> diligent, since we are more likely than the sighted to have our dogs
> in
>> public. That said, it sounds as if the officers didn't know you were
>> blind due to their ignorance, not to mention their insensitivity.
>>    I believe you are taking the correct action by going to the PD and
>> your ADA coordinator's office. It sounds as if you have a just cause
> to
>> fight the citation should you need to take it to court, as
> inaccessible
>> as that may be. Now, this sounds like a story: Blind woman cited for
>> pooper scooper violation can't have her day in court because she can't
>> get there! (smile) I do think, though, that making a media issue of
> the
>> citation in spite of the laws exemption would not serve our mission
>> well, as it would send the message that the blind are incapable of
>> performing this simple task.
>>
>> fraternally,
>> marion
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com>
>> To: "NFBnet NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
>> Users"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 4:44 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 back 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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>> rizon.net
>>
>>
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