[nagdu] But so and so lets me pet their dog!

Tamara Smith-Kinney tamara.8024 at comcast.net
Mon Mar 8 00:28:45 UTC 2010


Yeah, I've only had that happen once, but it scared the, well, you know, out
of me.  I believe I uttered that word and a couple of others quite loudly
while wresting the situation back into some sort of control.  It was a
familiar light, one of those that is way too short for the width of the
street, so I didn't feel I had a lot time to hang around being diplomatic.
/smile/

I directed some of the cussing at Mitzi, who knows that tone and got back on
track and across the street double time, so I don't know the person who
interfered with us had a problem with my response or not. /evil grin/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Lora
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 1:15 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] But so and so lets me pet their dog!

I had a person start petting my dog while we were crossing the street.
Talk about scary. I pulled their hand off of my dog and a little
rudely told them that they could have got all of us killed.

On 3/7/10, Allison Nastoff <anastoff at wi.rr.com> wrote:
> I agree with you that this is unacceptable.  Fortunately, where I
> live, most people are well educated about the difference between
> service dogs and pets, and are very respectful about it.  But I
> too will get the occasional person who walks up and pets him
> while he is working, and although my parents are very well-versed
> in how to interact with Gilbert and me, even they will still
> unintentionally I think, give Gilbert directions instead of me
> when I am walking with them.  It is frustrating, but I think the
> best advice I can give you is to continue speaking up like you
> have been.
> My school said it was okay for people to pet the dog when I am
> not holding the harness handle, but I always tell people that
> different programs have different rules, and some blind people
> have different preferences about whether people can pet their
> dog, so they should always ask before petting another guide dog.
> Is there a way you could file a complaint about this particular
> cab driver, or maybe request not to have him in the future when
> you call a cab? Public service people like cab drivers of all
> people, should respect you by not petting your dog without your
> permission.
> Allison and Gilbert
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Chasity Jackson" <chasityvanda at charter.net
>>To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>Date sent: Sun, 7 Mar 2010 08:58:13 -0600
>>Subject: [nagdu] But so and so lets me pet their dog!
>
>>Yesterday, a friend and I were waiting for a cab at the grocery
> store.  Apparently the cabby who showed up had driven for us
> before.  He apparently remembered my dog's name.  So, while she's
> still working, and while she's actually walking and guiding me,
> he sticks his hand out in front of her and says, "Hey Hadley, how
> ya been?" And starts to pet her.  I moved her away from him and
> said, "I'm sorry, but she's working." And he got defensive right
> away and said, "But so and so has no problem letting me pet her
> dog when it's working.  What's the big deal?" And when I
> explained that it interfered with her performance and that it was
> a big distraction, he continued to be defensive, because his
> model guide dog team is so and so and her dog.  Well, I happen to
> know the person he's talking about, and I happen to know that she
> is not at all disciplined in caring for her dog.  She lets her
> dog have table scraps, and tells her dog to speak in public and
> gives it human food treats.  So go figure.  LOL.  But he just
> couldn't figure out why I was being so unfair about the
> situation, after all, if she did it, what was the harm in it.
> And what was even more funny was that he actually tried to pull a
> stupid stunt to get an extra tip.  He said, "Well, so and so tips
> me herself, and then she's cute about it and gives me an
> additional tip from the dog too.  She gave me an extra dollar tip
> yesterday from her dog." And I thought, well, don't hold your
> breath.  LOL.
>
>>A few weeks back, a similar incident happened with another cab
> driver, but it didn't involve petting.  It was the beginning of
> February, and we had some snow and ice on the ground.  I was at
> the top of my porch, about to head down the stairs.  This cab
> driver clapped his hands, whistles to my dog and says, "Come on,"
> and she starts to get excited and go toward him.  Had I not been
> holding onto the rail, I would have easily  fallen down the
> stairs.  So I told him, "Please don't call her.  She shouldn't be
> listening to commands from other people.  She's only supposed to
> follow the directions I give to her.  And again, he got very
> defensive, and said, "I was only trying to show her the way." And
> I said, "You're not supposed to show her the way.  If you insist
> on helping, you can tell me which direction you are in and I will
> give her the command to go in that direction.  What enraged me
> more regarding this incident was that later, I talked to my dad,
> and in frustration, I told him about it.  My parents are not
> exactly the brightest when it comes to guide dogs versus pets,
> and although they understand quite a bit from me, sometimes they
> don't have the brightest things to say.  So my dad says, "Oh
> Well, get over it.  That's life.  Some people are dog lovers and
> you have to expect that." And then when I said, "I could have
> fallen," or, "What if she did that while I was crossing the
> street," my dad just said, that's life, people are dog lovers,
> s**t happens."
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-- 
Lora

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