[nagdu] Accommodations specific to guide dog teams

Tue Mar 30 01:40:57 UTC 2010

Offer them a seat?

Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
CEO/Founder
My Blind Spot, Inc.
90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
New York, New York  10004
www.myblindspot.org
PH: 917-553-0347
Fax: 212-858-5759
"The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
doing it."

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-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jewel S.
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:30 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Accommodations specific to guide dog teams

What an interesting story about a bus ride! The buses around Raleigh,
I have noticed, do not have much underspace. I have tried putting my
backpack under there, with no success, so I imagine a guide dog would
not fit under there, either. What to do when they have no where to go
under?

~Jewel

On 3/29/10, Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net> wrote:
> Albert,
>
> The buses on the routes in my old neighborhood and in the routes I would
> take downtown or in the surrounds had space to put the dog under right up
> front, so I would just find the closest seat in the honored citizen
section
> and sit down and tell her to go under, which she would do with a great
> display of being put upon and inconvenienced.
>
> So out here, the first time I took the bus from the MAX (light rail)
> station, I got on the bus, sat down in the first available seat in the
front
> section, reminded Mitzi to go under and then started checking to make sure
> all my stuff was with me and where it should be, that nothing unexpected
was
> in the seat or that I hadn't accidentally sat on someone...  Why I check
for
> that, I do not know, but I did once come close to sitting on a tiny, tiny
> child in a movie theater thinking she must be a stray purse...  So now for
> some reason, I guess I check to make sure I have not sat down on top of a
> tiny child.  /smile/
>
> I noticed that Mitzi was not going under but was standing in the middle of
> the aisle kinda of dancing and giving me an odd grin, not like the one she
> does when she's mocking me, but I couldn't be sure.  "Under," told her
> irritably, still feeling around absent-mindedly, having now become aware
of
> a high pitched whine beside me that caused new concern I had sat down on a
> small child.  A woman's voice answered calmly from the other side of the
> child, so I gave another under command and grabbed my dog's stubborn butt
to
> shove it under the seat since she was being so obstinate...
>
> Oh.  Guees what?  There *was* no under.  I noticed that the whining had
> increased and that it had something to do with a doggy.  The mother
remained
> calm, explaining quietly to her child about the doggy, so I realized the
> tiny child was, in fact, sitting right beside me and was terrifed of my
> doggy, in particular.  The one I couldn't put under the seat and who was
> stuck in the middle what seemed to be an extra-narrow aisle.  /lol/
That's
> what I get for assuming the bus I get on is the same model as the ones I
am
> used to, I guess.  We were coming home from a very long day's trip, and I
> wasn't feeling particularly in the mood for all this sudden confusing and
> need for problem solving.  The bus was rolling now, so I didn't want to do
a
> lot of romping around in the process of finding a better place to sit, and
> the bus was fairly deserted, so the only person I could ask for
information
> was busy calming her child about the doggy.  OMG!
>
> So I decided to move to the other side of the narrow aisle and a couple of
> seats down in case I found a place to put the dog there where she would
not
> be so terrifying.  /lol/  No luck, naturally, and my long, narrow dog was
> still stuck in the middle of the aisle right in front of the kid.
>
> I was still considering my next move, when the kid gasped so loudly I
looked
> to make sure the terrifying doggy had not, in fact, attacked him.
"MOMMY!"
> he shrieked at the top of his lungs.  "The doggy has EYES!"  /rotfl/
"Yes,"
> she replied calmly.  "The doggy does have eyes."  I have a feeling she
spent
> a lot of time with the tiny one saying things calmly.
>
> "She's *soft*!" he exclaimed excitedly.
>
> I looked at my dog, whom I could even see a little better because of the
> change of light as the bus turned a corner.  I remembered that she was
> definitely due for a trim and that, in fact, it was impossible for anyone
to
> see her nearly black poodle eyes in their nest of curly black poodle hair.
> Which is, I admit, very soft.  I guess she had brushed his leg in passing
> with a curl.  So now he loved her and had to pet her and, well, anyway, I
> gave up trying to find a proper place where she could under the seat,
since
> we were the only ones on the bus anyway.
>
> I'm not sure if any of that counts as "educating" about guide dogs to
allay
> fears, but it was really funny!  The kid was no less piping and loud when
he
> was excited in love as he has been in the grips of terror.  Apparently, he
> was just naturally excitable.  /lol/
>
> I now make it a practice to always sit at least several seats back from
the
> front of any TriMet bus, just in case it's one of the ones with no "under"
> and with a shrieking child nearby.
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Albert J Rizzi
> Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 4:41 AM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Accommodations specific to guide dog teams
>
> In new york city our seats at the very front of the bus have a great
hiding
> space for my dog. I always ask for that so he is out of the way and not at
> risk of getting stepped  on. if there is a dseat for me fine, if not tthen
I
> ask the person sitting if my dog could crawl under and then I stand and
> enjoy the ride. I only had one instance where a child became fearful and
the
> mother simply moved to the back of the bus.
>
> Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
> CEO/Founder
> My Blind Spot, Inc.
> 90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
> New York, New York  10004
> www.myblindspot.org
> PH: 917-553-0347
> Fax: 212-858-5759
> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
> doing it."
>
>
> Visit us on Facebook LinkedIn
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Jewel S.
> Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 10:19 PM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: [nagdu] Accommodations specific to guide dog teams
>
> We have talked about APPS, quiet cars, and the white cane laws. All of
> these are important for blind people in general. I am curious now,
> what sorts of accommodations do guide dog teams specifically feel are
> important?
>
> I have seen the need for a "relief area" in airports, at hotels, and
> the like. What other accommodations do guide dog teams use
> specifically? Do you have any trouble walking in certain areas with
> your guide dog? What about using the restroom (do you use the large
> stall so your dog can come in, too?) On the bus, do you ever need to
> ask for an accommodation because there is no under-space? If someone
> on the bus doesn't like your dog being there, do you require the
> accommodation of being allowed to remain on, or do you just get off if
> they go crazy about it?
>
> I know this a broad topic, but I would love to see people's thoughts.
> What would you like to see? It doesn't have to be something already in
> place or already being fought for. What do *you* want/need?
>
> Hoping for a better conversation (and some education),
> Jewel
>
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