[nagdu] More information on Taco Bell incident

JULIE PHILLIPSON jbrew48 at verizon.net
Tue Jun 9 19:33:39 UTC 2009


well said

Julie Phillipson
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Garry and Joy Relton" <relton30857 at cox.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 07, 2009 2:31 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] More information on Taco Bell incident


> HI folks,
>
> My two cents worth here. I agree with much of what has been said regarding
> the type of equipment or the breed of the dog not being the determining
> factor. I also cherish my rights of access in public places. however, 
> having
> read the newspaper articles and thought about it a bit, I have this to 
> say,
> which may stir up some controversy. With every right comes responsibility.
> That includes proper care and training of your particular service animal.
> These are highly trained animals guiding us out here folks. We have an
> obligation to respect that training and to respect those animals by 
> keeping
> them trained and expecting them to behave in a particular manner. We, too,
> have a responsibility to conduct ourselves appropriately giving respect to
> the public, the proprietors of the places of business and to the bus 
> drivers
> etc. There's a huge difference between being assertive and being 
> aggressive.
> The difference is subtle in it's approach to the person, but huge in its
> impact. Remember folks, we all have bad days, including the proprietors of 
> a
> business. I have been told that I have learned to be more diplomatic in my
> approach with people as I have aged and it has made a huge difference in
> other's attitudes toward me. I know that I have a right to be there. I 
> know
> that my dog is properly groomed and I work to ensure that she behaves
> appropriately. I don't need to take it personally when a comment is made 
> or
> a question raised. That doesn't mean that I lay down on the floor and kiss
> their feet and apologize for having arrived with my dog to eat, shop,
> receive medical attention or whatever in their establishment. If I walk in
> with confidence and use diplomacy I am received and treated differently 
> than
> when I arrive in a huff ready to take on the world. It's easy to see a
> situation and side with one party over the other, but things are seldom
> black or white.
>
> Sorry folks, that more like a quarter's worth. I'm sure that I'll get
> change.
>
> In friendship,
>
> Joy with yellow lab Belle who thinks that it's all too much work to worry
> about on a hot sunny day.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Buddy Brannan
> Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 9:46 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] More information on Taco Bell incident
>
>
>
> On Jun 6, 2009, at 6:09 PM, Allison Nastoff wrote:
>
>> 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.
>
> I couldn't disagree with you more. For one thing, if we stuck to
> "traditional breeds" and started doing so at the beginning, we'd all
> have shepherds. But more to the point, well, actually, there are
> several points.
>
> 1) There are many kinds of service dogs, not just guide dogs, and if
> they are task trained (etc. etc. etc.), they have the protection of
> Federal law. Many of these dogs are non-traditional breeds, even mixed
> breeds. Would you deny access to handlers of such dogs only to make
> the issue easier for the public?
>
> 2. I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is absolutely no
> magic in guide dog equipment. Moreover, there is no law that
> stipulates what constitutes proper working equipment for guide or, for
> that matter, any other service animal. Someone could as easily take
> his pet dog somewhere and as easily claim it to be a service dog. This
> is a sticky issue, but the issue of working equipment just clouds the
> issue further. A harness does not a guide dog make, nor does it prove
> legitimacy. This issue of "harnesses falling into the wrong hands" has
> always, frankly, puzzled me. A harness proves nothing, nor does it
> give one service animal more legal weight than another who might
> require different equipment. Whether or what equipment a dog wears
> does not define it as a service animal, and propagating statements to
> the contrary can't help the larger community of service dog owners,
> especially those who don't require specific equipment. (Besides,
> anyone with the requisite skill set can make a harness, this really
> isn't any sort of arcane knowledge jealously guarded by the guide dog
> schools.)
>
> 3. None of this about sticking to "traditional breeds" takes into
> account the needs or desires of owner trainers. Julie? Rox'e? Marti?
> Let's say one of you found a dog of just the right temperament but it
> wasn't a "traditional breed". Would you not find it a supreme waste
> that you couldn't use such a dog on the basis of its not conforming to
> someone else's idea of the "right" kind of dog?
>
> Don't forget that Jenine was just talking about some access trouble
> she had when she brought her (very traditional) Golden into a store
> and someone thought this couldn't possibly be a guide dog, because it
> wasn't a GSD. Would you like to so narrowly define what constitutes a
> working service animal? OK, consider this. Right now, the most common
> breed of service dog (especially guide dog) is the Labrador Retriever.
> Several decades ago, it was the German Shepherd dog. In several more
> decades, let's suppose this changes again. If we rigidly define that
> only labs, Goldens, GSD's, and lab/golden crosses are legitimate
> service dogs and in 30 years the labradoodle becomes dominant, how
> would this affect such a law? What do we do about people who,for one
> reason or another, need to use a boxer, or a poodle, or a Doberman?
> Shall we deny them use of a guide dog for which they may in all other
> respects be suitable?
>
> Buddy
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/relton30857%40cox.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/jbrew48%40verizon.net


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.54/2159 - Release Date: 06/06/09 
18:04:00





More information about the NAGDU mailing list