[nagdu] Re Resolution concerning Dog Guides

Wed Jun 30 18:37:17 UTC 2010

Wow, Rox!
The jaguar and your dog lying next to each other with the cage in between. 
Our zoo's cats wanted to eat our dogs! So, we moved on.

Lyn and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "The Pawpower Pack" <pawpower4me at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:26 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Re Resolution concerning Dog Guides

> Lyn, I have also taken my guide to the zoo.  There wasn't any problem at 
> all.  The thing that is most important in this as in any situation, know 
> thy dog.:   when we went to see the jaguires, Gracy lay down in front of 
> the cage.  The jaguire came over and lay in front of Gracy.  It looked 
> like Gracy and the jaguire were touching noses. lol.  The elephants 
> trumpeted when they saw my dog but we just kept on going.   Rox
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On 30 Jun 2010, at 12:15 PM, "Linda Gwizdak" <linda.gwizdak at cox.net> 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Elizabeth,
>> There is no risk of any infections being transmitted between your dog and 
>> the zoo animals - that's just a bunch of hoohy.  If an animal is sick, 
>> the zoo puts it either in the infirmery or in the animal's "bedroom" to 
>> recuperate.  If your dog is ill, you shouldn't bring it to the zoo.
>>
>> Some dogs do well in the zoo envirnment and others don't do so well. 
>> That's a matter of you knowing your own dog.  All my dogs that I've 
>> brought to the zoo did absolutely fine there.  The zoo animals may or may 
>> not react adversly.  If an animal seems to be getting really upset at 
>> your dog's presence, move on.  The one's I've seen being more upset are 
>> some of the big cats and some monkeys. Most animals show curiosity 
>> because the dog is something new to them. I think if more people brought 
>> their service dogs to the zoo, the animals would get a bit more used to 
>> their presence as they had to get used to the human presence that come 
>> and gawk at them!
>>
>> As far as "problem child" dogs, the zoo staff are all very aware when a 
>> service dog is on the premesis. If any dog gets out of control or is 
>> causing any problem, the zoo staff will ask them to leave.   When I go 
>> and take Landon, I have to check in at the customer service desk and sign 
>> a sheet that I can't sue them is something happens.  they then radio the 
>> group of staff that wander the grounds that a service dog is present and 
>> they observe from afar.  they just monitor the situation as they monitor 
>> the actions of all visitors so that everyone has a nice time and the 
>> animals aren't being harassed.
>>
>> If your dog doesn't like the envirment, by all means, don't take your 
>> dog. Many zoos now have a private kennel for service dogs if you want to 
>> do that. I have gone to the zoo and left my dog at home, used the kennel, 
>> or broought him along - all as I felt like doing at the time.  The last 
>> time I went to our zoo, I left Landon in the kennel because I wanted to 
>> visit the aviary where the dog isn't allowed. In the aviaries, the birds 
>> are all free and they are on the ground walking, flying around or perched 
>> nearby.   they could land on you if they chose.  I think they could bring 
>> out the dog's chase instinct - many more birds around than we generally 
>> find on our streets in the city.
>>
>> So, see how your dog react and make your own decision on what you do. 
>> Have fun.
>>
>> Oh, a cute story:  One of the times I went to the zoo with my friend and 
>> I had Landon with me, we stopped at a glass enclosure with a grooup of 
>> macaques.  the big male was besides himself with curiosity over this 
>> strange red hairy thing that didn't look like the kids that were all 
>> gawking at them at the time.  He was sooooo curious! My friend said he 
>> could see the wheels turning in the animal's brain - WTF iis THAT!!!! 
>> He walked around and came up close to the glass and made a funny lip 
>> smacking sound with his mouth. Landon was probably wondering the same 
>> thing - what's THAT!! to the macaque. My friend used to work in the zoo 
>> so he knew that Landon's presence wasn't upsetting the macaque it was 
>> just very curious.   this went on for awhile and then the macaque grew 
>> bored and went off to do something else and we moved on. I got all this 
>> on my video.
>>
>> Anyway, have fun.
>>
>> Lyn and Landon
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elizabeth Rene" 
>> <emrene at earthlink.net>
>> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 8:36 AM
>> Subject: [nagdu] Re Resolution concerning Dog Guides
>>
>>
>>> Does the ADA specifically require that service animals be admitted to 
>>> zoos?
>>>
>>> I have always been taught at guide dog school that it is potentially 
>>> traumatic to a guide dog to be taken inside a zoo, and potentially 
>>> distressing to the captive animals  there, too, because of pheromone 
>>> cues not recognizable by humans, there being too many natural predators 
>>> in one place.
>>>
>>> I don't know where the zoological or veterinary or humane association 
>>> communities  stand on this issue, but I'm surprised that guide dog 
>>> access to zoos found its way into the statutory language of the ADA.
>>>
>>> Is denial of access to zoos specifically prohibited, or is denial of zoo 
>>> access to service animals simply not exempted from the bar against 
>>> discrimination re public accommodations?
>>>
>>> Guide dog schools teach their graduates to use good judgment for the 
>>> protection of their dogs.  But who's to say what other service animal 
>>> training programs do, or whether every service dog handler gives 
>>> priority to his or her dog's well-being?
>>>
>>> I support the scope and intent of the resolution, but I wouldn't want to 
>>> see criminalized a reasonable restriction on service dog access 
>>> grounded on a legitimate interest in the animal's safety.
>>>
>>> Elizabeth
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 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/linda.gwizdak%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/pawpower4me%40gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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/linda.gwizdak%40cox.net 