[nagdu] asuming cost my guides life.

Ann Chiappetta dungarees at optonline.net
Tue May 26 00:35:25 UTC 2009


Hi Sue;
Thank you for sharing this very painful experience. My heart goes out to you 
and the enduring spirit of your  buddy, Hart.
Annie & Verona

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stepper" <stepper12 at cableone.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 24, 2009 2:00 PM
Subject: [nagdu] asuming cost my guides life.


> Hello to all    .
> Every time I hear the subject of escape, or assuming the area is safe I 
> feel the pain of more than twenty five years ago.
> I was always very careful with my belovable guide Hart, a yellow Lab Male.
> I was visiting a friend in the country with lots of ground. I was just 
> letting him go to reweave, and to run around a while.
> For several minutes everything was fine. We were all sitting outside 
> talking and eating.
> But Hart must have saw something like a rabbit or something, because he 
> took off like a shot and went out to the road.
> He was hit,  but not enough to even knock him down.
> The car didn't stop, and I believe the driver didn't even see him, or know 
> he had clipped him.
> He had a small lump on his jaw at the back, and that was it. He didn't act 
> like as if it was a problem at all.
> Fast forward several months. One day while visiting some people in there 
> home, Hart jumped up and started running all over the living room crying 
> out with his jaws wide open.
> Hart couldn't close his mouth. It was awful!!!
> We took him to the vet, and the vet gave him a shot that put him to sleep 
> while the vet put the end of a broom handle inside his mouth and he forced 
> his jaws apart enough so they would  open all the way and unhinge.
> This is when he told me that he could see some old damage at the back side 
> of his jaws on the right side, and that's where his lump was when he was 
> clipped that summer.
> This happened three more times, over the next couple of months.
> I than arranged for Hart to go to Aim's Iowa at there famous vet school. 
> They told me they were going to try surgery and basically try to tie his 
> jaw so it couldn't open far enough to open so far that it would come 
> unhinged, but that they didn't know if it would or not work long term.
> It lasted about two months.
> Hart got so that when his jaws would lock open he could undo it himself, 
> but it just kept happening.
> So on Thanksgiving day me and my family couldn't watch this go on any 
> longer.
> My friend took me and Hart to the vet for his last ride.
> I held Hart in my arms when the doctor gave him the shot, and felt the 
> life go out of him.
> This whole process from beginning was about six months.
> What I learned was this, and I hope that others can learn from this 
> painful story.
> By the way I got another dog after Hart, but it was five years before I 
> could try again. I was haunted about this for many years.
> Even if its hard at the moment, or you think my dog will be fine because 
> we are in the country, or the park, or, or, or, and so on. We can not know 
> for sure what is there that can allow our dogs to escape, or we can't know 
> in advance what may kick in all there doggyness, and over rides all there 
> training and so on.
> So please never assume, know that you have control of your dog at all 
> times, inside or out side.
> I remember reading on this list about a young blind lawyer that just 
> opened his door to receive a package I believe or something, and his 
> apartment was on a busy street, and the dog shot out the open door and in 
> seconds was struck and killed.
> It only takes a blink of an eye.
> Please make sure your gates to your yards have locks so others can't by 
> mistake not close them or open them without you knowing for sure those 
> gates are closed.
> I know this was long, but I thought it was a story worth retelling.
> My second dog Bear, I had for thirteen and a half years, and never made 
> that mistake again, and there were many times I had to take a deep breath 
> and tell myself to remember what happened to hart, and slow down and do 
> the careful thing instead of the quick and easy thing.
>
> Thank you, Stepper 12
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