[nagdu] Blind Woman Says Law Enforcement Offered No Help to Her Dying Service Dog

[Sherry Gomes]

I don't know that it's the job of the police to take someone to the vet for their service animal, anymore than it would be their responsibility to take a person somewhere to get their wheel chair or hearing aids fixed. I don't mean to sound unfeeling, just thinking of the actual legalities. It's hard to believe a restaurant full of people and nobody offered to help, but I wouldn't have been waiting around. I'd have called a cab and gotten there, called the vet, something.

Sherry


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Barb breuer via nagdu
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2014 4:03 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users; Timothy J. Meloy
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Woman Says Law Enforcement Offered No Help to Her Dying Service Dog

First let the police department look into it,  maybe things can be salved without a lawsuit.  
Is it their responsibility to take a service animal to the vet,  way didn't the restaurant call a cab and take the dog.  
I don't know what is the right thing. 
Barb

Sent from Xfinity Connect Mobile App


------ Original Message ------

From: Timothy J. Meloy via nagdu
To: Ginger Kutsch, NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Sent: July 10, 2014 at 4:11 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Woman Says Law Enforcement Offered No Help to Her Dying Service Dog

Wow unbelievable. I'm conscionable actually. Had guides are extensions of us. Has to be grounds for a lawsuit in there somewhere.
T.J.

> On Jul 10, 2014, at 2:44 PM, Ginger Kutsch via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Blind Woman Says Law Enforcement Offered No Help to Her Dying Service Dog 
> 
> NBC 6 South Florida
> 
> http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Blind-Woman-Says-Law-Enforcement-Offered-
> No-Help-to-Her-Dying-Service-Dog-266498871.html
> 
> 
> 
> A blind South Florida woman said in her time of need, Miami-Dade Police and
> 911 turned their back on her and because of that, the service animal who
> took her everywhere is dead.
> 
> 
> 
> Nancy Alfonso said she was dining at a restaurant in Doral with another
> woman who also had her dog, when Alfonso's dog became violently ill. Nancy
> said the dog, named Kiroo, was in good health until he started vomiting
> inside the restaurant.
> 
> 
> 
> Alfonso said she was begging for help to rush the dog to the vet, which was
> about a mile away. However, the women said a police officer who was at the
> scene and a 911 operator didn't lift a finger to help.
> 
> 
> 
> "He (Kiroo) needed help and inside the restaurant was the police," Alfonso
> said. "He (officer) came out at the door and he said, "Ah, it's a dog" and
> he went inside too. Nobody helped us."
> 
> 
> 
> The manager at the restaurant told NBC 6 the dog was lying on the pavement
> and a uniformed Miami-Dade Police officer was eating inside.
> 
> 
> 
> "Luz asked the police, 'You don't have a service dog with you too? What if
> this happened to your dog," Nancy said. "And he said we'll take to our car.
> And you cannot take this animal who is a guide dog for a blind person? You
> don't care about a blind person?"
> 
> 
> 
> The manager said he called 911 and told them it was a service dog in
> trouble.
> 
> 
> 
> "They were no help at all," Nancy said.
> 
> 
> 
> Nancy and her friend estimated that 45 minutes passed before a Good
> Samaritan drove Kiroo to the Doral Centre Animal Hospital. Unfortunately for
> Kiroo, it was too late.
> 
> 
> 
> Miami-Dade Police said there is nothing in their policy that directs an
> officer to transport an animal. A disability expert NBC 6 spoke to said the
> situation falls into a gray area and a law enforcement officer may have more
> of a duty to take action than the 911 operator.
> 
> 
> 
> MDPD said before they can even investigate the incident further, they need
> to confirm that it was a MDPD officer on the scene and an official complaint
> about what happened would need to be filed and none of that has happened.
> 
> 
> 
> Nancy said she hopes her story will help prevent the incident from happening
> again.
> 
> 
> 
> "To bring people more conscious that the dog is of course not a human being,
> but the dog is a service animal and we are human. We are human. Blind, but
> we are human," Nancy said. "And the police department also has service
> animals."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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