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

Thu May 23 23:38:16 UTC 2013

She was not an employee; she was a customer. I think she used one of the bleach cleaners like shower cleaner. It is truly wrong, but the story is certainly not complete. 

CL

On May 23, 2013, at 5:52 PM, "L Gwizdak" <leg1950 at cox.net> wrote:

> As far as the woman being afraid of dogs or if that was an appropriate job for her to be in, the bottom line is that she has NO RIGHT to spray a dog in the face with chlorine.  That is assault and it can do damage to the corneas.  It souonded like she took a bottle of Clorox - which is NOT mixed or diluted with water - and sprayed the dog in the eyes.  What if she sprayed a person in the eyes with Clorox? An assault on our dogs is an assault on us.
> 
> That woman is still responsible for her actions and needs to be aware of that fact and take the consequences.  I do not advocate jail.  That will teach her nothing.  A more positive thing might be to make sure she is on the correct meds and they work for her.  She also needs to be employed in a job that is approproate for her illness.  Obviously, she felt intense stress when she saw the dog and did what she did.  She also needs to be told in no uncertain terms that service dogs are allowed in any store - grocery or otherwise - and they will be admitted with their disabled or blind patrons. She deals with it appropriately or finds another job where she doesn't have to interact with the general public.
> 
> Lyn and Landon
> "Asking who's the man and who's the woman in an LGBT relationship is like asking which chopstick is the fork" - Unknown
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marsha Drenth" <marsha.drenth at gmail.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2013 10:57 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Article: Scared Publix customer sprays seeing-eye dog
> 
> 
>> 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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