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

Tracy Carcione carcione at access.net
Thu Feb 27 13:35:11 UTC 2014


I wish him luck.  I'd be leery of living somewhere where the staff is so 
pig-ignorant and apparently can't wipe their noses without a "policy".
Tracy

----- 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: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 7:32 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Canada: MVSH officials offer residency for blind senior 
andguide dog


> 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
> -
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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