[nagdu] Lines in the sand?

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Jenine,

Yeah, kids these days!  /smile/

I horrified myself yesterday while shopping for furniture with the roomie.
Towards the end of our excursion, I suddenly realized that I had just
dropped my leash to examine a piece and that my poodle was on the loose!
OMG!  "She's fine," DD said lazily when I hit the panic button.  "She's
right over there."  Sure enough, she had simply taken herself out of the way
-- of us and anyone else -- and was lying down patiently waiting for us to
get onto something more interesting.  /smile/

Not going to be making a habit of that one!  But it is nice to known that
some the specialized training I've done with her to compensate for me being,
well, me has paid off.  /smile/  I'm not so sure things would go so smoothly
if I pulled a Tami like that in a restaurant.  Or (shudder!) Petco!  Then
those rampaging poodle dreams I have every now and then would come true, I'm
sure.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jenine Stanley
Sent: Sunday, June 07, 2009 9:29 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] Lines in the sand?

Dan makes some good points about us maybe being too judgmental. I'd counter
that with my own personal attitude that I'm not so much being openly
judgmental as trying to set and maintain high standards, but that only
really goes for myself and my dog. 

So, I'll pose this question to everyone, again appreciating the intelligent
discussion here. 

What behavior in a dog who is part of a working team would you deem
unacceptable? What offenses might cause you as a business owner to ask
someone to remove his or her dog? 

I think for me, it's about control. If someone is really trying to control a
dog with undesirable behaviors like barking or scavenging, I'm much more
likely to be lenient, but if the person seems oblivious or is clearly
ignoring the behaviors, it tends to get a bit old. 

One of my big buttons is dogs who are allowed to roam around places of
business. One lady I know has a very bad habit of, once comfortable in a
place, i.e., after walking in the door, of turning her dog loose to roam
around while she looks at things or talks to people. When she used to visit
my office at my last job, I had to ask that the dog stay on leash with her
as he made a beeline for my trash can. The next time I saw him, he was
wearing a basket muzzle and again allowed to roam freely because with said
muzzle he couldn't get into things. <sigh> 

The one thing I am pretty annoyed by in terms of the public's reaction to us
is the whole grooming issue. People don't generally know what a well groomed
dog is and all sorts of accusations come up about dogs not being groomed
well, smelling, being dirty and shedding. 

I'll admit to being a neat freak when it comes to my dogs and a grooming
fanatic. That doesn't mean everyone else is and it doesn't mean that every
dog who isn't ready for the West Minster show ring is filthy and unkempt. 

I've seen a number of guide dogs who could use maybe a good brush or bath or
who could have some skin  issues looked into by their vet, sure, but saying
they rose to the level of denial of access is a bit much. 

I've also heard of one denial case that really brings the grooming point
home. Someone years ago, before the ADA even, was told to leave a fast food
place because her dog was dirty and offensive. She'd just come in from a
pouring rain storm. Everyone else coming in behind her was just as wet. She
fought the denial and won under state law. 

My point? There are some things I think we as handlers can hold each other
to in terms of acceptable public behavior and there are some things
perceived as unacceptable by others that we as handlers can band together to
support and explain. My retort anymore is "Would you rather have my dog or
some of the kids I've seen in here?" 

 Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com


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