[nagdu] My Letter to the Reporter

[Darla J. Rogers via nagdu]

                I understand journalism very well--that is why I seldom
allow myself to be interviewed by one--excuse me Liz and Craig--being
interviewed by you would probably be a wonderful experience, but to rub
someone's nose in a problem  he or she did not make.  I can't abide that.

Dear Mr. Wood

 

 

I have traveled with a Guide Dog for almost 35
years--long-term--coast-to-coast--and shorter flights, and I got stuck in
Detroit, without assistance to find my dog a relief area, in early 2013, and
only once did my dog have an accident--in the terminal at an airport--which
I was ready and had the supplies to clean it up.

 

                However, none of us knows when our dog might suddenly become
ill any more than you would or the passengers who complained; while I am
certain the stench wasn't pleasant, how dare people complain about a sick
animal who provides such a valuable service to its handler.

 

                Do you know when you will be ill?  Are you sure you might's
have diarrhea in a place you'd rather not have it? What in the hell was this
poor handler to do high in the sky, and what does the handler get:  A bunch
of snarky complaints from people who probably vomit in cabs or on airplanes;
who don't bathe; whose children make a flight seem interminable, but do I
complain/  Do I embarrass the person by making such a public display of
disgust. At least, you got one thing right:  interviewing Mr. Kutsch whose
comments are right on.

 

                Now, if I can just find where the complainers are
complaining, I'll give them several pieces of my mind.

 

Darla & Guide Dogs of America guide dog, Huck

 

:

 

 

Darla J. Rogers

 

djrogers0628 at gmail.com

 

Don't compromise yourself; you are all you've got.

 

--Janis Joplin