[nagdu] Accommodations specific to guide dog teams

Tue Mar 30 14:29:26 UTC 2010

Would the seat be folded up to give the guide dog more room? If not,
then those seats, with the seat belts for the wheelchair, would have
little to no room for a guide dog. And of course, I would give that
seat up to someone in a wheelchair in a heartbeat. Have aned would
again.

~Jewel

On 3/30/10, Steve Johnson <stevencjohnson at centurytel.net> wrote:
> Jewel,
>
> If you have a guide or any service animal, you  can request the accessible
> seating where the seat folds up.  If an individual who needs this seating
> boards, then they have first priority for this, and one would need to move
> to an alternative location on the bus.
>
> HTH
>
> Steve
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Albert J Rizzi
> Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 8:41 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Accommodations specific to guide dog teams
>
> 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."
>
>
> 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: 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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