[nagdu] schools and abuse

[Mardi Hadfield]

Jenine, I am not sure what can be done to screen  applicants better but I
can tell you That I have been told I was cruel for correcting my dog when he
needed it and it was a very mild correction.My dogs respond to verbal
corrections most of the time.I rarely have to use a leash correction.This
time it was warranted. I am always careful as I use a Halti on my dog so I
can tell when he turns his head toward the sound of traffic.I am deaf in my
right ear and can't tell where the sound is coming from and the leash
attached to the halti rather than the collar is better at letting me know
when he turns his head. I also was told I should treat my dog better because
I gave him the command left after getting off a bus to let people get
through as the ramp did not leave a lot of room to the right of me and that
is where people were going. I just ignored these comments but it does really
bother me.Also, many years ago, I was hauled into court and accused of
animal abuse. They wanted to take my dog away and put me in jail! I had been
going to a certain clinic and a doctor had refused to give me my seizure
medication as he did not like me. Ultimately causing me to have seizures. I
went to the office of the person in charge of the clinic to complain about
this doctor.I was treated very rudely and when I dropped my magnifier,I
asked my dog to pick it up for me and she dropped it. I asked again and one
of the secretaries told me that I was cruel to make my dog pick it up when
she could not do it. I told her that the dog was trained to do this and the
secretary grabbed my hand and pushed it away from my dog and picked up the
object. I told her that she was interfering with the dog working.By this
time,others began to gather around and I lost my temper with this secretary.
I called her something I will not repeat here and I know that was the wrong
thing to do but I could not take it back as it was already done.My dog took
this time to rub her face on my leg as she often did when wanted to be
affectionate. Her dog tags hit the side of my chair and clanked. This woman
turned around and accused me of being ruff with my dog for not picking up
the dropped object. She did not even see that the lily was rubbing against
my leg. I left that office in a huff as I knew this woman was just going to
make things worse. About 2 weeks later Animal Control showed up at my door
and when I showed them the dog and tried to explain what actually happened,
they arrested me. They told the judge that lily's spirit was broken from
abuse as when they observed the dog, she sat when I asked and made no
attempt to act like a normal dog wagging her tail and jumping around as a
normal dog would do. Then the secretaries told their version of how I beat
my dog in their office. Then my Layer got to ask me questions about the
incident. I explained that when a guide dog was in harness like the day
Animal Control had observed lily,they don't act like pet dogs. They are
trained to be obedient and follow the command given by their handler, just
as Lily had done that day.I also explained what happened in the clinic
office that day and about my complaint about that doctor.My lawyer
instructed me to wave my hands in front of Lily's face and she never even
flinched.My lawyer asked the judge if she thought that an abused dog would
have reacted in that manner. The judge said nothing.Then lily,as if right on
cue, proceeded to rub her face on my leg and the dog tags clanked against my
wheelchair.After  all was said and done, the judge dismissed the case as she
said she did not see any animal abuse here.Lily licked my hand and wagged
her tail and we left the court house very happy.I learned a week later that
the reason they did this to me was because my complaints would have
prevented them from getting their Grant for their clinic. I would never beat
a dog  and I certainly would not do it in public! A school screening me for
their program might see the court records and think that I might be an
animal abuser and deny me. But there is nothing I can do about this. I live
in Tucson Arizona and this state is just so very weird. Mardi and Shaman and
Nala retired.

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