[nagdu] Canada: MVSH officials offer residency for blind senior and guide dog

[Ginger Kutsch]

Canada: MVSH officials offer residency for blind senior and guide dog 

Tuesday, Feb 25, 2014 06:00 am | BY PATRICIA RILEY 

Source:
http://www.sundreroundup.ca/article/20140225/SUN0801/302259977/-1/sun08/mvsh
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officials-offer-residency-for-blind-senior-and-guide-dog 

 

an unexpected about-face, Mountain View Seniors' Housing (MVSH) officials
are granting residency to a blind man and his guide dog at the Foothills
Lodge, after initially saying the dog could not live there.

 

Jack Mortimer had applied to rent a unit at the lodge in recent weeks and
received a letter stating he was accepted, but his Seeing Eye dog Rufus, was
not.

 

At age 82, Mortimer is in need of assistance, but doesn't go anywhere
without Rufus, whom he has owned for 10 years. Rufus is a certified Seeing
Eye dog trained through the International Guide Dog Federation.

 

After receiving the letter from Michele Langmead, admissions counsellor at
Foothills Lodge, Mortimer said he wouldn't live at the lodge for "one
million dollars".

 

But after meeting personally with MVSH officials on Feb. 20, including Sam
Smalldon, chief administrative officer, Mortimer said he would be moving in
to the lodge within the next two to three months.

 

"Everything is fine. The dog is accepted," said Mortimer.

 

The Sundre senior said he changed his mind on living at the lodge because he
"calmed down a little bit".

 

"He (Smalldon) said that he wasn't quite aware of guide dogs and all this
nonsense, which is kind of stupid of him to say all that, but he did. And
anyhow now he is aware what the dog does," he explained.

 

"He said they never, ever had to deal with that type of a situation before
and they didn't know how to handle it."

 

Smalldon said MVSH initially decided Rufus could not reside at the lodge
because there is currently no policy in place to allow guide dogs to reside
in any of their buildings. However, he said the MVSH board of directors is
currently working on putting a policy in place.

 

"We have addressed the situation with him (Mortimer). He has been
accommodated. But there is a process," said Smalldon.

 

"He is currently on our wait-list for both himself and his guide dog."

 

Mortimer spoke before Sundre council at the meeting on Feb. 18 about the
situation. At that time, he said he would like to see the ruling changed for
blind residents who wish to reside at the lodge with their guide dogs in the
future. He was not seeking approval for he and Rufus to reside there, he
said.

 

Mayor Terry Leslie said he would be discussing the issue at a meeting with
the MVSH board of directors, as he sits on the board himself.

 

According to Cheryl Chichak, public affairs officer with Alberta Human
Services, as long as the guide dog is trained by a school that is certified
by the International Guide Dog Federation, the dog should be able to reside
anywhere. She said a person who violates the Alberta Blind Persons' Rights
Act could be fined up to $3,000.