[nagdu] Australia: Horrified owner listens as guide dog mauled

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Poor dog!  Poor handler!  I'm glad she's working to help publicize the issue
of dog attacks down there!

So I've been thinking about this issue for a few years now -- more so since
I started taking my sweet and delicate pup out for walks in the scary big
city.  /smile/  I felt very protective of her, and I had heard enough by
then about the risk of dog attacks to fret more than a little that I was at
a disadvantage when it came to dealing with one.  I started teaching her
downstay in case of an incident, since that is what guide dog programs teach
and I think the reasoning behind it is sound.

Okay, so it only took my wild child a couple of years to master down stay.
/lol/  She knew what it meant, of course; she just couldn't get herself
anchored to the ground for more than a half second before springing up like
a jack in the box.  So I taught her "behind me."  I used minor dog park
frays to teach her to go behind me as a matter of course.  Early on in
Aloha, Daisy dog provided some excellent opportunity to reinforce it.  Mitzi
was pretty unhappy with me about that, but she did the right thing -- except
for a couple of times when they clashed without any inconvenient humans
around.  I'm a little shocked at how well my delicate poodle with her weird
fighting style can take care of herself against a stressed out psycho
coonhound!  We have a lot less of psycho Daisy these days, and their
sisterly squabbles are more formalized for the most part, so that's a
relief.  But the point is that Ms. Daisy provided some good training
opportunities for me and Mitzi to practice for a real vicious dog attack.

I'm the sort of person who likes to strategize ahead of time, and I have
that rancher background to draw from when it comes to dealing with dangerous
animals.  Including a chow and a pair of herding dogs who were have a
serious conflict over territory.  Guess who was ordered to break it up?  And
did, without getting a scratch.  Huh.

So there are self-defense courses tailored to blind students so they can
defend themselves against human predators and psychos.

I find myself wondering if something along those lines for guide dog users
so that they have more of a chance of protecting themselves and their dogs
if they need to.  Hmmm....

That's just a random thought there, but I wonder what anyone else thinks.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Ginger Kutsch
Sent: Sunday, November 08, 2009 2:42 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] Australia: Horrified owner listens as guide dog mauled

Horrified owner listens as guide dog mauled 
By Melanie Maeseele 
 
Ipswich Queensland Times, Australia 
6th November 2009
      A LAIDLEY resident was forced to listen in horror,
helplessly, while her seeing eye dog was attacked in broad
daylight. 
 
Esther Watson went for a stroll down the main street of Laidley
when she heard dogs in the distance growling. 
 
She said she could never imagine what was going to happen next. 
 
Her companion of two-and-a-half years, Ultimate, a $30,000 seeing
eye dog was attacked by two German Shepherds. 
 
Her only saviours were two men who rushed to her aid and
separated the dogs. 
 
"It was just horrible, absolutely horrible," Mrs Watson said. 
 
"I was just scared, scared for myself and scared for my dog."
 
Mrs Watson said the attack had left her worried about returning
on her own to the town centre. 
 
"They (seeing eye dogs) work on trust and it breaks their trust
every time something like this happens," she said. "It can stop
them from working. I'm just lucky that hasn't happened."
 
But this isn't the first time Ultimate has been attacked. Shortly
after Mrs Watson received the labrador, he was lunged at by a
doberman who left teeth marks in his harness.
 
This incident also happened in Laidley's main street. 
 
Mrs Watson, who was blinded by Retinitis Pigmentosa and Glaucoma
about five years ago, relies on Ultimate for her independence. 
 
"He is my eyes, my independence and he allows me to function the
same as everyone else," she said. 
 
Mrs Watson said she wanted to encourage dog owners about seeing
eye dog etiquette to prevent herself and other people in her
situation from the trauma involved in a dog attack. 
 
"Of course people have a right to have their dogs and walk them
down the street and to have them on leads but I'm asking them to
be responsible," she said. 
 
"The majority of people are supportive and do the right thing but
it's the odd few who don't that put us at risk.
 
"When a seeing eye dog's attention is broken, straight away we
are put in danger."
 
Mrs Watson said every time a seeing eye dog was attacked, if they
recover, it takes about six months of re-training to build their
confidence back up. 
 
 
    

 


Ginger Bennett Kutsch
Morristown, NJ


 
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