[nagdu] Blind man says paramedics prevented guide dog fromtraveling with him

[Natalie]

This is just so wrong, no matter which way you cut it.  Fortunately, I've 
never had to be transported by ambulance in all the times I've worked a 
guide dog, but if I did, I'd inform the dispatcher I'm totally blind and I 
have a guide dog on scene.
Best,
Nat and Liam Joshua

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ginger Kutsch" <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 4:29 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Blind man says paramedics prevented guide dog fromtraveling 
with him


> Blind man says paramedics prevented guide dog from traveling with him
>
> Veteran, 62, had been traveling to parade when struck by car
>
> By Julie Scharper, The Baltimore Sun
>
> http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-ambulance-
> service-dog-20111121,0,4352653,print.story
>
> 11:53 p.m. EST, November 21, 2011
>
>
>
> A 62-year-old blind man has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of
> Justice claiming Baltimore paramedics refused to allow his service dog to
> accompany him in an ambulance after he was struck by a car.
>
>
>
> Curtis Graham Jr., a Marine who served in Vietnam, was on his way to the
> city's Veterans Day parade on Nov. 11 when he was hit by a car near his 
> West
> Baltimore home. Paramedics would not allow Indo, his 2-year-old golden
> Labrador retriever, into the ambulance, Graham said.
>
>
>
> "They refused to take a service animal who I need very much," said Graham,
> who suffered minor injuries. "He is my eyes."
>
>
>
> Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright said the 
> incident
> was under investigation. He confirmed that a blind man was struck by a car
> and taken to a hospital by ambulance, and said he believed the victim's
> guide dog had not been transported.
>
>
>
> Cartwright said that to his knowledge, the department did not have a 
> policy
> on service animals.
>
>
>
> A spokesman for the National Federation for the Blind said first 
> responders
> are "legally obligated to transport the service animal" under Maryland 
> law.
>
>
>
> "You're basically taking the blind person's way of understanding his
> environment away from him," said federation spokesman Chris Danielsen. "I
> have no idea what sort of irrational thought process was behind not 
> letting
> the dog in the ambulance, but that is an act of discrimination," he said.
>
>
>
> Graham said he had planned to take the subway to join in the city's 
> Veterans
> Day parade, then head to the National Aquarium, where he volunteers at the
> information desk. Graham, a retired bus driver, has relied on a guide dog
> since 2006, when he lost his sight to glaucoma.
>
>
>
> Graham said he and Indo were crossing Cold Spring Lane near Dolfield 
> Avenue
> when a car making a left turn plowed into them.
>
>
>
> "My dog took the blow because he was trying to protect me," he said. "By 
> the
> grace of God, he wasn't hurt."
>
>
>
> Graham said he was flung onto the hood of the car and carried about 10 
> feet
> before he rolled off. Paramedics quickly arrived and strapped Graham to a
> board to stabilize him, but balked when he said Indo needed to accompany
> him.
>
>
>
> "They were going to leave my dog on the pavement, and I wasn't going to 
> have
> it," he said. "I said, 'The hell you ain't. He's a service dog.' I said, 
> 'If
> you don't take my dog, I ain't going.'"
>
>
>
> Graham eventually called the apartment complex where he lives, and a
> maintenance worker came to retrieve Indo.
>
>
>
> "He was upset and I was upset," Graham said of the dog. "He didn't want to
> go as they were taking me away in the ambulance."
>
>
>
> Danielsen said guide dogs are highly trained and would not cause problems 
> in
> an ambulance or a hospital. And, he said, it's a misdemeanor to separate a
> guide dog from a blind person.
>
>
>
> Graham was taken to Sinai Hospital, where doctors determined he had 
> bruises
> and swelling. He was treated and released. Graham said it was disorienting
> to be in the hospital without his guide dog.
>
>
>
> "As far as I'm concerned, they violated my civil rights," he said. "We're
> partners, and it's against [the] law for them to separate the team."
>
>
>
> julie.scharper at baltsun.com
>
>
>
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