[nagdu] More information on Taco Bell incident

Sun Jun 7 12:19:19 UTC 2009

Linda,

Yes!  I made my own harnesses.

I think it's Norway or maybe Switserland where they use only white 
harnesses.

I'm facinated by the sstrangest things! ROFLOL!
Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Linda Gwizdak" <linda.gwizdak at cox.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 11:48 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] More information on Taco Bell incident

> Hey Julie,
> Harnesses can also be made by the person intending to use it. I have a 
> friend who made a beautiful white leather harness to use on her all black 
> GSD.  Very striking!  But legit - she's a visually impaired guide dog user 
> and she fashened the harness on the design of her guide dog school 
> harness.
>
> BTW, I think our city "pooper scooper" law refers to our dogs as 
> "seeing-eye dogs".  People will call all guide dogs that just like people 
> refer to facial tissues as "Kleenex" even if the brand is Puffs (grin!).
>
> Linda and Landon
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Julie J" <julielj at windstream.net>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 7:07 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] More information on Taco Bell incident
>
>
>> Limiting guide dogs to one or two breeds won't eliminate access issues. 
>> I'd wager that most denial of access situations occur with labs, GSD's 
>> and goldens.   Perhaps the more uncommon breeds get more access issues 
>> individually than the average guide dog handler, but as a group I think 
>> the common breeds will have many more access denials than the uncommon 
>> breeds. It simple math.  Probably 95% of the guide dogs currently working 
>> are one of the three main breeds, labs, goldens and GSD's.
>>
>> Also limiting the breeds of dogs used as guides limits the options 
>> available to blind people.  Allergies is an example that comes to mind. 
>> Poodles, Boxers and Dobermans are breeds used for handlers who have 
>> sensitivities to dog dander.
>>
>> People who want to misrepresent their pet as a service/guide dog don't 
>> have to purchase a harness to do so.  You can purchase a vest or patch 
>> that says "service dog" for under $20. Guide harnesses don't have to be 
>> purchased on the black market.  they can be purchased entirely legally 
>> from several reputable companies.  If you're interested, I can recommend 
>> a really good one!
>>
>> JMHO
>> Julie
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Allison Nastoff" <anastoff at wi.rr.com>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 5:09 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] More information on Taco Bell incident
>>
>>
>>> Reading this article, there should have been no reason for the Taco Bell 
>>> Manager to remove the dog.  If the dog had just been picked up from the 
>>> groomer, he was definitely clean and thus would not pose a health 
>>> hazard, and it sounds like the family was just sitting at the table 
>>> about to eat, and the dog was not misbehaving.  Correct me if I am 
>>> wrong, but I think this is a clear case of harassment of an innocent 
>>> blind ferson on the part of both police and the restaurant.  I hope this 
>>> woman stands her ground until laws are changed or people in Coppera Cove 
>>> are better educated about guide dog access laws.
>>> I do wonder though if guide dog schools should stick with traditional 
>>> breeds like Labs and German Shepherds.  Maybe this would make it easier 
>>> for the public to trust that a dog is, in fact a guide dog. 
>>> Theoretically, someone could get a harness on the black market, and put 
>>> it on their pet poodle and say he's a guide dog.  The same could be true 
>>> for someone's pet Lab of course, but I just think that sticking to a few 
>>> standard breeds might make the guide dog access issue less confusing for 
>>> the public.  Just my opinion.
>>> Allison and Gilbert
>>>
>>>>----- Original Message -----
>>>>From: Wayne Merritt <wcmerritt at gmail.com
>>>>To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
>>> Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>>Date sent: Sat, 6 Jun 2009 14:33:02 -0500
>>>>Subject: [nagdu] More information on Taco Bell incident
>>>
>>>>I did a search on Google for the woman's name and among the
>>> results
>>>>that came back was this series of posts on a forum/newsgroup
>>> site.
>>>>I've cleaned up the posts for better reading, but for more and to
>>> read
>>>>comments from others, go to this link:
>>>
>>>>http://www.topix.com/forum/city/copperas-cove-tx/T52KB3SEVEHKE3KQ
>>> 3
>>>
>>>>This is interesting stuff.  Several times my eyes widened and I
>>>>thought, "Wow." See for yourself.  Also, according to the below,
>>> Ms.
>>>>Ballou, the owner of the Leader Dog, was not using a
>>> "traditional"
>>>>guide dog breed, which might explain some of the manager's
>>> reaction.
>>>>It doesn't explain the behavior of the police though.
>>>>Wayne
>>>
>>>>***
>>>
>>>>new resident in Copperas Cove is considering legal action after
>>> being
>>>>forcefully removed from a local restaurant.
>>>
>>>>Nanette Ballou lost her sight 11 years ago due to multiple eye
>>>>traumas.  She is assisted by Rusty, a white Berger De Picard or
>>> French
>>>>sheepdog, who was trained at Leader Dogs for the Blind in
>>> Rochester,
>>>>Mich.
>>>
>>>>While she does have limited vision in her right eye, similar to
>>>>looking through a straw, she can't process depth of field or see
>>>>anything other than what she is directly looking at.  Also, any
>>> change
>>>>in lighting like moving from indoors to outdoors causes her total
>>>>blindness for five to 10 minutes until her eyes adjust.
>>>
>>>>"He protects me," Ballou said about Rusty.  "He keeps me from
>>> bumping
>>>>into things and from tripping over curbs.  But it's still scary
>>> to walk
>>>>places like parking lots where not everyone is paying attention
>>> and I
>>>>don't have any peripheral vision to rely on."
>>>
>>>>On Thursday, May 7, after picking up Rusty from the dog groomers,
>>>>Ballou and Rusty along with her daughter and two grandchildren
>>> went to
>>>>Taco Bell.  The family placed their order, picked up their food
>>> and was
>>>>about to eat when Cynthia, a night manager, approached their
>>> table and
>>>>asked, "Is that a Seeing Eye," Ballou recalled.
>>>
>>>>"No, he's a guide dog, a Leader Dog," Ballou said to correct the
>>> manager.
>>>
>>>>Ballou said not all guide dogs are Seeing Eye's.  It depends on
>>> what
>>>>school they go to and her dog went to the Leader Dog school.
>>>
>>>>"It's like calling an A&M student a Longhorn," she said.  "I was
>>> trying
>>>>to educate her that there are more kinds of guide dogs, not just
>>>>Seeing Eye.  But she had no part of it."
>>>
>>>>The manager told Ballou the health department would shut them
>>> down if
>>>>they saw the dog in the restaurant and then asked for
>>> identification
>>>>for the dog as a guide dog.
>>>
>>>>Ballou showed her the special harness Rusty wears identifying him
>>> as a
>>>>Leader Dog and stood her ground as she began to feel harassed.
>>>
>>>>The manager said she was going to call the cops and Ballou said,
>>> "Go
>>>>ahead, save me the call."
>>>
>>>>Six Copperas Cove police officers in three patrol cars arrived on
>>> the scene.
>>>>When the police arrived, Ballou said they did not identify
>>> themselves
>>>>and the first officer, whose name she was never given, told her
>>> "Lady,
>>>>you and the dog have to get out."
>>>>She told the officer Rusty is a service dog and Texas law allows
>>> him
>>>>to be with her.  She showed him a law book she carries with her
>>> with
>>>>all the state and federal laws for the blind across the country,
>>> but
>>>>said the officer would not look at it.
>>>>She told the officer she just moved to Copperas Cove and said she
>>>>can't believe they don't know what the law is.  She said the
>>> officer
>>>>told her "Welcome to Copperas Cove, if you don't like our laws,
>>>>leave."
>>>>She said the same officer told her, "You don't look blind"
>>> because she
>>>>was looking at him while he spoke to her.  She said it is common
>>>>courtesy in the visual world to look at someone when they speak
>>> to you
>>>>and you don't have to be sighted to do so.
>>>>A second officer on scene Cpl.  Shane Kieltyka did read her law
>>> book,
>>>>she said, because she believes he understood she was trying to
>>> diffuse
>>>>the situation.
>>>
>>>>"When the first officer approached me, it flustered me," she
>>> said.
>>>>"But I stood my ground."
>>>>Her daughter, Jennifer Warden, said when the police arrived they
>>>>crowded around the table
>>>> enlarge
>>>>making it difficult for them to leave like they were being told.
>>> One
>>>>of the officers also followed Warden to her car, speaking in a
>>>>confrontational voice while blocking her in the corner of her
>>> car's
>>>>open door, Ballou said.
>>>>"We felt closed in," Warden said.  "There was me, a 10 year old
>>> and a
>>>>nine year old and a blind woman with her dog.  How dangerous did
>>> we
>>>>look? They did everything short of calling in the SWAT and
>>> spreading
>>>>us out on the ground like an episode of COPS."
>>>>Her oldest child, age 10, has cerebral palsy and said the
>>> incident has
>>>>had a negative impact on her trust in the police and how disabled
>>>>people are treated.
>>>>Warden, who said the police have been called before because of
>>> her
>>>>mother's guide dog, said this is the first time they were treated
>>> this
>>>>way.  All the other times the police said they were allowed to
>>> stay,
>>>>she said.
>>>>"They didn't do anything but make us the victim," she said about
>>> the police.
>>>>Warden said her husband is being stationed at Fort Hood, but
>>> after
>>>>this incident, said her family will look for a place to live in
>>> Belton
>>>>or Harker Heights.
>>>
>>>>"We weren't impressed at all with the attitude the people in
>>> Copperas
>>>>Cove have, especially the police department," Warden said.  "If
>>> we're
>>>>not living on base we need to know we can rely on the police
>>>>department, and that was a big no."
>>>>Now Ballou, an advocate for the blind, is searching every avenue
>>>>available to her to make sure this does not happen again.  She
>>> said she
>>>>is afraid this incident has labeled her as a troublemaker by
>>> everyone
>>>>who saw the incident.
>>>>"Everyone who drove by and saw me and my very identifiable dog
>>> doesn't
>>>>know what happened," she said.  "In a way, I was slandered across
>>> the
>>>>community as a troublemaker.  I'm very vocal about what happened
>>>>because I want the public to know the laws that protect my civil
>>>>rights were not protected by the police department or Taco Bell."
>>>>Ballou contacted the police department several times to speak
>>> with
>>>>Police Chief Tim Molnes, but said he wouldn't return phone calls.
>>>>Another officer did eventually speak with her and take a report
>>>>filling official charges against the Taco Bell manager for
>>> non-access.
>>>>Ballou said she could have also pressed charges for interfering
>>> with a
>>>>service animal's job and for harassment, but has not.
>>>>She then contacted the district attorney's office where an
>>> assistant
>>>>told her this is a civil manner and they don't handle those
>>> cases.  She
>>>>told them it is not a civil manner and she said he repeated
>>> several
>>>>times "we're not going there" and then hung up.
>>>>She has also called City Attorney Charles Zech and left a
>>> message, but
>>>>has not heard back from him.
>>>>"Everyone at the city has shut me off," she said.  "They are
>>> afraid I
>>>>might sue.  I don't like to fight.  If the police chief had made
>>> them
>>>>apologize, I probably would have dropped all of this."
>>>>She said she just wants to see the laws enforced.  She also said
>>> there
>>>>are grants available through the ADA civil rights section of the
>>>>United States Justice Department for entities to have someone
>>> come in
>>>>and teach them ADA laws.
>>>>City Manager Andrea Gardner said "The City's policy is not to
>>> comment
>>>>on ongoing investigative matters" and would not answer questions
>>> about
>>>>the city's ADA training or this incident.
>>>>Lt.  Danny Austin said the file on this case is still open and
>>> could
>>>>not release information without an open records request.  The
>>> request
>>>>was sent to the Copperas Cove Police Department earlier this
>>> week.  The
>>>>file has not yet been received.  The May 7 police blotter has no
>>> report
>>>>of an incident at Taco Bell.
>>>>Taco Bell representative Don Barton has also been contacted by
>>> the
>>>>Leader-Press office about the incident.  He said he would send a
>>>>prepared statement by e-mail.  The statement was not received by
>>> press
>>>>time.
>>>>Texas law on service animals states any violations of a person's
>>> right
>>>>to use a guide dog is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable
>>> by a
>>>>fine of not less than $300 or more than $1,000.
>>>>"They know they stepped over the line," Ballou said.  "They are
>>> just
>>>>hoping it will go away."
>>>
>>>>_______________________________________________
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>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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