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

Thu Oct 14 22:15:16 UTC 2010

I may not know how things work.  I have only been in nagdu for a short
while, but is there anything we can do for this woman and her dog?  I
can't imagine what she is going through and would like to help.  Is
there anything at all we can do?  Just wondering.

On 10/14/10, Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net> wrote:
> 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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-- 
Julie McG
 Lindbergh High School class of 2009, participating member in Opera
Theater's Artist in Training Program, and proud graduate of Guiding
Eyes for the Blind

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life."
John 3:16