[nagdu] FW: [Seeingeye-l] Pit bull attacks guide dog in Royal Oak, Michigan

Tue May 22 00:49:56 UTC 2012

Hi Steve- 
I hope the dog will be okay and able to work for that gentleman. 
Now on another subject, it concerns me that parents are allowing their
children to have control over a large breed of dog without supervision. That
is really negligent on the part of the parent. it is not fair to the child
and or the dog. 
Tina and Dixie  

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Steven Johnson
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 3:56 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: Re: [nagdu] FW: [Seeingeye-l] Pit bull attacks guide dog in Royal
Oak, Michigan

Tina, thanks for posting this.  This gentleman was in my Leader Dog class
and I was provided this information on Saturday, but did not have the
details.  Unfortunately, the reporters always *screw* up the training
organization names and although they interviewed folks from Leader Dogs for
the Blind, the fail to see the connection and still use Seeing Eye which is
also a trademark name...shame on this journalist.  Regardless, I have not
heard anything else and may not, but wish my Leader Dog peer the best.

Steve & Bennett

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Tina Thomas
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 5:14 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: cagdu at nfbcal.org
Subject: [nagdu] FW: [Seeingeye-l] Pit bull attacks guide dog in Royal Oak,
Michigan

Subject: [Seeingeye-l] Pit bull attacks guide dog in Royal Oak, Michigan

Pit bull attacks guide dog in Royal Oak, Michigan

http://www.dailytribune.com/article/20120521/NEWS01/120529933/pit-bull-attac
ks-seeing-eye-dog-in-royal-oak

By Michael P. McConnell

mike.mcconnell at dailytribune.com

Posted: 05/21/12 02:32 pm

ROYAL OAK -A pit bull broke loose from a 10-year girl and attacked a Leader
Dog for the Blind that was training with an instructor and a blind client on
Main Street. 

The girl's mother, 41, of Jackson left her daughter with the pit bull on the
sidewalk cafe of the Burgrz restaurant, 410 S. Main, shortly before the
attack Saturday afternoon, witnesses said. 

"I heard the girl scream and looked up to see the pit bull scrambling after
a seeing eye dog and a blind man who were passing by," said Lana Louys of
Wyandotte who was dining at the restaurant's outdoor area. "The pit bull
pinned the seeing-eye dog to the ground and had it by the throat." 

People screamed and about 10 men got involved and somehow pried the pit bull
off the 18-month-old golden retriever, Louys said. 

"One of the men held the dog on his leash while others finally found the
girl's mother about five minutes later," she said. Police said Monday that
neither of the dogs needed any medical treatment, though there was a small
spot of blood on the golden retriever's neck. The city's animal control
officer is investigating the case. 

A spokeswoman at Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester Hills said it will
take another week or two before they are able to determine if the incident
will have any lasting effect on the golden retriever and possibly end its
eligibility as a leader dog. 

"Sometimes after certain incidents the dog will have a reaction and they
won't go into harness again," said Rochelle Nissen, a spokeswoman. "The dog
was checked out by our veterinarians after the incident and is in good
health. It didn't have any puncture wounds and the blood on the dog's neck
might have come from the other dog's gums." 

The golden retriever had already completed four months of training and was
in its final fifth month when leader dogs typically work with deaf or blind
clients, Nissen said. 

After the dog's owner was located and brought to the scene witness said she
started slapping the pit bull, saying "bad dog." Several people called
police. 

Royal Oak Police Chief Corrigan O'Donohue said the animal control officer
will decide whether the pit bull's owner will be ticketed. The owner was
allowed to take the dog with her and advised to quarantine the animal for 10
days. 

"What it comes down to is that it is the owner's responsibility to maintain
control of their dog," he said. "I don't think it's a good idea to have a
child (handling) a big dog like that, especially in a town like Royal Oak
where there is a lot of stimulus." 

The heavily traveled downtown with outdoor cafes, restaurants and shops has
been used as a training ground for Leader Dogs for the Blind for years.
Instructors teach the dog to handle a range of distractions, from traffic
and loud noises to the scents of food at sidewalk cafes. 

"Royal Oak's downtown is a great working environment for clients and dogs,"
Nissen said. "We fully anticipate continuing to work there. The community
and the businesses are very welcoming for clients, instructors and the
dogs." 

The Daily Tribune and Macomb Daily asked Facebook readers and Twitter
followers if pit bull owner's should be required to muzzle their pets in
public. These are some of the things they said: "All dogs that are
unpredictable and/or known for biting should be muzzled," said Louis Martin
Cardamone. "Pit bulls should not be singled out. Also, it is irresponsible
to leave any dog of that size and strength under the supervision of a
10-year-old ." 

"So sad," said Mary Adranga. "I think all aggressive breed dogs should have
to be tested for temperament before receiving their license," 

Stacey M. Washington, a defense lawyer in Ann Arbor, said on Twitter: "I've
met some very sweet pit bulls. It's the owners and some breeders who cause
the problems."

_______________________________________________

Seeingeye-l mailing list
To post a message.
Seeingeye-l at list.web.net
For general information about the list or to modify your subscription visit.
http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/seeingeye-l
To unsubscribe, press enter or click on this link.
<a
href="Mailto:seeingeye-l-request at list.web.net"?Subject=unsubscribe
For questions/cncerns/etc please contact one of the list's administrators.
seeingeye-l-owner at list.web.net

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/blinddog3%40charter.net

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/tinadt%40sbcglobal.net