[nagdu] Article: Scared Publix customer sprays seeing-eye dog

Marsha Drenth marsha.drenth at gmail.com
Thu May 23 17:57:03 UTC 2013


All, 
this is another one of those cases where it should be decided who should be accommendated. Just like Marion posted about a week or so ago, a person who has an allergy to dogs, has to figure it out themselves, its their responsibility. Is a blind persons needs more important than a persons with a mental health issue? or is it the other way around? Its a very sad case. What the store clerk did was horrible, what her punishment should be I am not sure. But if she had any assistance in being placed in that job, whom ever was helping her should have gotten that information that she was afraid of dogs, before placing her in a potential location that would have service animals involved. I mean it could have been a a person who is physically impaired come in with a service animal, the clerk could have done the same thing. The clerk was afraid of dogs, it doesn't matter about the who has the dog, its a dog, no matter what disability. Mental health is now considered a disability. I am not sure there is a right or wrong in this case. 

Marsha drenth  
Sent with my IPhone 

On May 23, 2013, at 11:12 AM, "Criminal Justice Major Extraordinaire" <orleans24 at comcast.net> wrote:

> I hope this owman that did this ends up serving time in jail and has to pay the $5000.00 fine.
> Wht this customer service representative di was unbelievable.
> I don't care if she has a mental illness, but what she did to the guide dog is very unexceptable and unexcusable!!!
> This makes me very angry and mad!!!
> *Disgusted and upset*
> I do hope that the guide dog has not suffered any trauma from this incident.
> Bibi and son Odie
> Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 8:09 PM
> Subject: Article: Scared Publix customer sprays seeing-eye dog
> Scared Publix customer sprays seeing-eye dog with bleach
> Sunrise resident cited for animal cruelty
> A seeing-eye dog had bleach squirted in its eyes at a Publix grocery store when a
> 67-year-old woman intentionally sprayed the animal in an unprovoked attack, a police
> report says.
> The 5-year-old yellow Labrador retriever appeared uninjured, the report said, but
> Patricia Lawler, of Sunrise, was cited for animal cruelty and given a notice to appear
> after the 4:15 p.m. Saturday incident at the store at 10155 W. Oakland Park Blvd.
> 
> 
> 
> Lawler told police she "thought it was a vicious animal" and feared it would be a
> danger to other customers, so she grabbed a spray bottle of Clorox cleaner off a
> shelf and sprayed the animal in the eyes and back.
> "I realize now it was a mistake," Lawler said when reached by telephone Monday. "I
> have a fear of dogs. It was just a big dog with a big head. I was just afraid."
> Lawler said she takes medication for schizoaffective disorder, and paranoia is one
> the symptoms associated with her mental illness.
> The dog's owner, Ronda Carin Shore, 45, also of Sunrise, told police she is
> blind
> and keeps the canine with her at all times. It was wearing a service-dog vest, an
> assist handle and a placard, the report said.
> Shore declined to comment Monday.
> Although the dog wasn't exhibiting aggressive behavior, Lawler said she got scared
> when she saw it and asked Shore to leave the store with the dog. When that didn't
> produce results, she said she resorted to the spray bleach to get rid of the animal.
> "I was afraid the dog would go wild, or some small child would get bitten, or somebody
> would get hurt," Lawler said. "I guess I overreacted. But I still feel like a dog
> doesn't belong in a place like a grocery store."
> If convicted of the first-degree misdemeanor, Lawler faces up to a year in jail and/or
> a $5,000 fine.
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