[nagdu] Palm wasn't the first Guide Dog for the Blind to betrappedby SkyTrain

Thu Oct 14 21:07:32 UTC 2010

Well stated.  I agree.

Danni

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:47:56 -0700
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Palm wasn't the first Guide Dog for the 
Blind to betrappedby SkyTrain

Frightening!  I would really like to know more about the legal 
ramifications
of this incident to SkyTrain, especially given that they were 
warned of the
danger and apparently chose to do nothing.

For the woman to be having to deal with this all without an 
advocate (is
that Canadian for attorney in this case or just someone to work 
on her
behalf?) is even more horrifying to me.  Been there, done that, 
after major
physical trauma and the attendant psychological trouble.  Dealing 
with a
system that is all about the big piles of paper with print on it 
is a big
enough problem, and seems to be a bar to getting assistance 
since, well, you
can't fill out the forms and collect the paperwork, etc., and 
verify that it
is the right paperwork, especially when it comes to the paperwork 
it seems
to be up to you to collect from the people who caused the trauma, 
which is,
well, you know...  That's bad enough.  Much extra time, energy, 
etc.,  Then
redoing it all over, then...  Well, I hate to see someone else 
having to
tackle that sort of thing solo while caring for a desperately 
injured dog
while also carrying what can only be an unimaginably huge 
emotional
overload...  Well, I hope she is able to find an advocate both of 
the
attorney variety and the moral support/help with paperwork 
variety.

Is it just me, or does anyone else catch themselves worrying 
about how many
times this woman is going to be subjected to the "blame the 
victim" routine,
especially if/when she takes on the legal challenges?  Or even 
during the
investigation?  Whether it's her people want to blame or her dog 
(which
would be worse, at least for me!), that seems to be the 
inevitable
consequence of seeking recourse or assistance, especially when 
you're a
minority deemed to be "less than" the norm...

Okay, not being helpful.  The most I can do from this distance is 
to donate
a bit when my check arrives in the mail...  And 
hope/pray/empathize/worry
for the near future for both Palm and his handler.  I am glad 
Palm will
recover his physical health and that so far he shows signs of 
weathering the
emotional trauma well.  I hope that both of them continue the 
recovery
together and that they receive the support they need.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
On Behalf
Of Ginger Kutsch
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 6:48 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users'
Subject: [nagdu] Palm wasn't the first Guide Dog for the Blind to 
be
trappedby SkyTrain

Palm wasn't the first Guide Dog for the Blind to be trapped by
SkyTrain
 By Kim Pemberton 13 Oct 2010
http://communities.canada.com/VANCOUVERSUN/blogs/puppylove/archiv
e/2010/10/13/palm-wasn-t-the-first-guide-dog-for-the-blind-to-be-
trapped-by-skytrain.aspx
Two weeks ago a horrific accident happened at the Lougheed
SkyTrain station in Burnaby when Iris Thompson, who is blind, was
separated from her guide dog Palm, a five-year-old yellow
Labrador, who was trapped by her leash outside the SkyTrain then
dragged along the moving vehicle until she hit a metal pole and
fell onto the tracks suffering serious injuries.  SkyTrain
officials told the media this was the first incident of its kind
in the 24-year history of SkyTrain.  But it turns out that  isn't
quite correct.

Another service dog for the blind, named Arden, was separated
from his owner Bruce Gilmour,  and trapped outside a train at the
Broadway SkyTrain station.  Like Thompson Gilmour, who is blind,
was left helplessly holding his dog's leash on the other side of
the automatic sliding doors.  Luckily for Arden,  a Golden
Retriever, fellow passengers responded to Gilmour's request for
help and somehow managed to pry the doors open in time before the
train took off saving Arden from a similar fate to Palm or worse.

"It was only because of members of the public my dog wasn't
destroyed.  It happened so fast.  The dog walked in and stopped.  
I
said hop up and it wouldn't go because it couldn't move anywhere.
There were people on the train and the entrance was clogged with
luggage.  The door cycled closed and opened again then closed.  
He
backed off on the platform and the leash is stuck in the doorway.
The door didn't open again.

"I was in shock.  Frightened, telling people I needed help and by
this point the luggage was moved out of the way and somehow the
doors were opened," he said.

Gilmour said he was so shaken about the incident, which happend
in 2006,  he contacted TransLink officials requesting they
investigate the incident to ensure all that could be done was
done so this would never happen to another passenger.  A
representative from the California-based Guide Dogs For the
Blind, where Arden came from, flew up for a meeting with Gilmour
and TransLink officials.  The group visited the station, and went
through a number of scenarios on what could happen to someone
with a disability.  Gilmour pointed out at that meeting they
discovered the SkyTrain door sensors wouldn't open if a blind
person's white cane was stuck in the door, for instance.

"One of our proposals was they increase the sensitivity of the
door.  I was concerned it was going to happen again," he said.

Now that Gilmour's fears that another guide dog would be  injured
on SkyTrain has happened, he questions how much has the
technology been adapted for special interest commuter groups,
such as people with disabilities? He also poses a very valid
concern about what is  happening "for improving awareness and
improvements for safety of disabled passengers with a service
dog" and whether an automated transit system fully respond to
passengers with disabilities?

Gilmour, by the way, is a friend of Thompson who spoke with her
earlier this week about her hope Palm will be able to return to
an active guiding career.

"I sense her frustration right now for she does not have an
'advocate.' Guide Dogs for the Blind, Palm and my dog's school,
are in touch with Iris about how she is feeling and how Palm is
doing and looking ahead in terms of getting Iris back with a
working dog - ideally, Palm.  However, her accident is two weeks
old this Thursday and as of this date, SkyTrain has not contacted
her about determining the facts as much as they can be, about
what happened (and) improving awareness and improvements for the
safety of disabled passengers with a service dog,"he said.

My next post will be TransLink's response.  An interview with the
chair of the Access Users Transit Advisory Committee, Rob Sleath,
who is blind himself and a dog guide user for the past 14 years.

 The photos here are of Gilmour and his dog Arden, who
unfortunately passed away a year after the incident from a tumor.
Gilmour is now with guide dog Aurora, also a guide dog from Guide
Dogs for the Blind.

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