[nagdu] Home Safe! Was Looking for Lost Guide Dog

Tue Dec 14 18:47:29 UTC 2010

It's sad but true that there are far too many dullards living around each
other who are completely and totally oblivious to each other.  Amazing that
a neighbor across the street had never seen this fellow with his dog--that
one makes me real suspicious

Without re-reading the article, I seem to recall that the man had only had 
the dog for a few weeks.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Doug Parisian" <eggmann at mts.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 9:43 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Home Safe! Was Looking for Lost Guide Dog

> For the sake of continuity, I have left all the replies etc below my 
> observations.
>
> Let's not place total blame on schools for providing such and such a dog; 
> what ever happened to owner responsibility?  Indeed, mistakes and 
> accidents certainly do happen.  I've experienced two or three escapes over 
> 35 years and frankly, they were my own fault for:
>
> 1   not training my dogs to come off leash.  Four out of my five dogs have 
> all been trained to do so, starting with my second after his first great 
> escape,  Fortunately, he had his tags and was found about 6 blocks away, 
> apparently having taken one of several routes we often walked together.  A 
> cab company with whom I had an account picked up the fair, brought him 
> back, and charged just as though he were a human passenger.  But then, 
> what else would you expect from a dog named Iggy--YIKES!!!  Anyone 
> experienced in dog training can help establish this behaviour, there is 
> nothing magical or related to blindness in such training.
>
> 2.  Since I owned my own home; having a dog loose in the yard means having 
> a fence, clear and simple with any entrance gate being spring-loaded so 
> that said gate cannot remain open.  Further, it is extremely rare that I 
> ever allowed any of my dogs to be out in the yard unaccompanied.  Jingling 
> items can help maintain awareness as to where the dog is if necessary.  If 
> one cannot built a fence, either do not let the dog have free run, or 
> provide a tying device of appropriate length.
>
> 3.  Ensuring that my dog is properly tagged at all times.  Further, all my 
> dogs have the chip imbedded in them (I've often thought of getting one for 
> myself in case of accident etc.)
>
> It's sad but true that there are far too many dullards living around each 
> other who are completely and totally oblivious to each other.  Amazing 
> that a neighbour across the street had never seen this fellow with his 
> dog--that one makes me real suspicious
>
> Doug: All tails are happy that end well.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dan Weiner" <dcwein at dcwein.cnc.net>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 11:15 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Home Safe! Was Looking for Lost Guide Dog
>
>
>> Tell me about it, I used to have tat problem with Carter, it can be a
>> nightmare.
>>
>> Dan W.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>> Behalf
>> Of Peter Donahue
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 11:50 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Home Safe! Was Looking for Lost Guide Dog
>>
>> Hello Ginger and everyone,
>>
>>    This is exactly why I was quite angry about receiving a dog who had a
>> tendency to escape. Tim was my first dog from SE and had to be chased 
>> down
>> many times when he was younger. This is something that should have been
>> noted by his puppy raiser and corrected prior to him entering guide
>> training. I'm pleased to say that like my second dog Ogden Johnny is not 
>> an
>> escape artist. All the tags, microchips, Pit Bull round-ups, and service 
>> dog
>> protection legislation in the world won't help if your dog has the urge 
>> to
>> run away and nothing is done to discourage it.
>>
>> Peter Donahue
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Ginger Kutsch" <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
>> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 6:02 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Home Safe! Was Looking for Lost Guide Dog
>>
>>
>> FYI. Good reminder for us all to replace tags ASAP!
>> Missing St. Paul guide dog found by neighbor, reunited with owner
>> Neighbor finds the runaway retriever
>> By Rhoda Fukushima and Tad Vezner
>> Pioneer Press
>> Updated: 12/13/2010 11:53:13 PM CST
>>
>>
>> Service dog Spalding, a 22-month-old male golden retriever,
>> disappeared Sunday in St. Paul s Merriam Park neighborhood.
>> (Courtesy to Pioneer Press: McDevitt family)A blind St. Paul man
>> who lost his guide dog in the freezing cold Sunday - and spent
>> that day and the next wrought with worry - was relieved to
>> discover late Monday that the dog had spent the night in a warm
>> kitchen across the street.
>>
>> About 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Justin McDevitt went to shovel snow in
>> back of his house in the 1700 block of Marshall Avenue in the
>> Merriam Park neighborhood. He believes Spalding, a 22-month-old
>> male golden retriever, followed him outside: When McDevitt went
>> inside an hour later, Spalding was not there.
>>
>> McDevitt called for him, but the dog did not respond.
>>
>> McDevitt immediately contacted the St. Paul location of the
>> Animal Humane Society and the St. Paul Animal Control Center. His
>> wife went outside to scour the neighborhood and alert neighbors.
>> Numerous media outlets picked up the story about the dog, who is
>> McDevitt's fourth and had only been with him and his family a
>> matter of weeks.
>>
>> A resident about a block down saw one of those news reports
>> Monday evening, and noticed the dog looked suspiciously like the
>> one that a next-door neighbor had found at 2:30 p.m. Sunday,
>> running around outside.
>>
>> "He was just all by himself, and there were people at the other
>> end of the block, so I thought he was with them," said neighbor
>> Connie Murphy. "First I told him to go home, and he just looked
>> at me. Then I called and he came running and just sat down. He
>> was just the most awesome dog in the whole world."
>>
>> Murphy, who has two dogs
>>
>>
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>> ---------------
>>
>> Advertisement
>>
>>
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>> ---------------
>> herself, walked the dog around the neighborhood on a leash,
>> asking those shoveling their walks if they knew who his owner
>> might be.
>> Everyone shook their head.
>>
>> "It was cold and getting colder. I took him in to get warmed up,"
>> Murphy said. First she kept the dog in a kennel, but let him out
>> when she saw how well behaved he was. Spalding slept the night on
>> her kitchen floor.
>>
>> He was wearing a black and red nylon collar but no tags. Spalding
>> normally wears tags, but they broke off last week when McDevitt
>> mistakenly hooked the leash into the tag ring.
>>
>> On Monday evening, Murphy heard from a neighbor that the dog
>> might be McDevitt's, who lives across the street and two doors
>> down. She turned on the television, saw a news report and called
>> McDevitt's wife.
>>
>> "I think I have your dog," she said.
>>
>> "I'll be right over," the woman replied.
>>
>> "She was - zoom - right there!" Murphy said.
>>
>> Within minutes Spalding and McDevitt were reunited.
>>
>> "He was real happy. I was real happy," McDevitt said Monday
>> evening.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On Behalf Of David Andrews
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 4:08 AM
>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org; mn-abs at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [nagdu] Looking for Lost Guide Dog
>>
>>
>> From KARE-11 TV:
>>
>>
>> ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Guide Dogs for the Blind is asking for your
>> assistance in locating a lost dog named "Spalding."
>>
>> The 2-year-old male yellow Labrador Retriever/Golden Retriever
>> cross breed has been specially trained to assist his blind
>> partner in safe mobility. The two have been traveling as a team
>> since October.
>>
>> Spalding has been missing from his home since 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
>> He was last seen on the 1700 block of Marshall Avenue (between
>> Fairview and Snelling) in St. Paul.
>>
>> Spalding has tattoos in both ears with his ID number. If you have
>> any information about this lost Guide Dog, please contact
>> Graduate Services at Guide Dogs for the Blind by calling
>> toll-free: 800-295-4050.
>>
>> Established in 1942, Guide Dogs for the Blind provides enhanced
>> mobility and quality of life to people who are blind through
>> lifetime partnerships with Guide Dogs. This non-profit
>> organization, headquartered in San Rafael, Calif. is the largest
>> school of its kind and has produced more than 11,000 partnerships
>> across the United States and Canada. Services are offered
>> entirely free of charge.
>>
>> (Copyright 2010 KARE. All rights reserved)
>>
>>
>>
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