[nagdu] More information on Taco Bell incident

[Allison Nastoff]

I am very sorry if I upset people who use nontraditional breeds.  
You are right in saying that it is more important to find the 
right dog for you, and the right dog may be from a nontraditional 
breed, and that anyone can legally purchase or make a harness, 
but a harness alone does not make a guide dog.  Come to think of 
it, I do know people with traditional breeds that have had access 
issues.  Don't listen to me.  I guess I don't know what I am 
talking about (smile).  It was just a thought that occurred to me 
and I wanted to get your opinions.
Allison and Gilbert

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Julie J" <julielj at windstream.net
>To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Sat, 6 Jun 2009 21:07:41 -0500
>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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