[nagdu] Blind man says paramedics prevented guidedog fromtraveling with him

Mon Nov 28 23:51:59 UTC 2011

Yikes! All things considered, this was a best-outcome scenario. /smile/ 
I am glad for you and your dog, too!

When Mitzi and I are traveling about and I am having an off day,  I 
motivate myself to pay attention to my dog and everything else by 
envisioning the hit-and-miss aspect of paramedics and/or ambulance 
drivers when it comes to my guide dog... My own little version of scared 
straight, I guess. /smile/

I think my current worst fear in life is that I will screw up andend up 
down for the count, leaving my guide on her own in the middle of a crowd 
of morons... I wish I could count that as a silly fear, but I guess I've 
learned to well that the people who are suposed to know what to do in 
such a situation are the most likely to make things really horrible if 
they don't, if they are more interested in exerting so-called expertise 
and thus control than in actually having either. /shudder/

I have learned that others in my little neck of the woods have done a 
good job of educating about these things and contiue to do that. Whew! 
For now, I can concentrate on other areas of my own life while learning 
bits and pieces from their prior work. Still, I'm pretty motivated to be 
more careful when I remember that my guide dog depends on me to keep 
myself safe so I can keep her safe... And so on. /smile/

Tami

On 11/28/2011 06:51 AM, Robert Stigile wrote:
> Hello All,
> When I was working my first guide dog many years ago, we were hit and
> drug ten feet down the street.
> I was not able to call the paramedics, but someone did, and when they
> arrived, they were expecting a person down and a dog killed.
> Fortunately, this was not the case, it was a blind person down with a
> very frightened guide dog.
> The only question the Paramedics asked me, was how do you want us to to
> handle your guide dog but by the time they asked this he was already in
> the ambulance so they did not have to do anything.
> When we arrived at the hospital they just walked him with the leash and
> he was fine.
> So, there are Paramedics who know what they are doing and unfortunately
> some who do not.
> Have a great day!
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com
>> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide
> Dog Users'"<nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> Date sent: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:01:49 +0000
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man says paramedics prevented guidedog
> fromtraveling with him
>
>> Not always possible if you are in shock or panicked. Or if you
> can't speak.
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Natalie
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 8:51 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog
> Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind man says paramedics prevented guide
> dog fromtraveling with him
>
>> 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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