[nagdu] N.S. woman seeks compensation after guide dog burns paws on hot tar

[Ginger Kutsch]

N.S. woman seeks compensation after guide dog burns paws on hot tar 

Dario Balca, CTVNews.ca 

 Published Friday, January 2, 2015 

Source URL:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/n-s-woman-seeks-compensation-after-guide-dog-bu
rns-paws-on-hot-tar-1.2170757

 

A visually-impaired Nova Scotia woman is asking for financial compensation
after her guide dog was injured at a construction site on her street last
month.

 

Brenda Anderson of Eastern Passage, N.S. said the incident occurred on Dec.
4. Anderson was walking by roadwork on her street with her guide dog Noble
when a flag worker asked her to take a detour around the site.

 

Anderson said the path the worker suggested was covered in hot tar that she
couldn't see. While her feet were protected by her shoes, Noble suffered
severe burns to his paws and hasn't been able to walk properly since.

 

 

 

 

Photos

 

 

 

Nova Scotia guide dog  

Pictured here is Noble, a guide dog for Brenda Anderson of Eastern Passage
N.S. Anderson says Noble was injured when he walked over hot tar at a
construction site on Dec. 4. 

 

"My dog starts to lift his feet, he starts to dance," Anderson said.

 

Jessica Whattam, Anderson's daughter, said the dog's injury is also putting
her mother at risk now that she has to walk alone.

 

"She was almost hit at a crosswalk a couple of days after the accident,"
Whattam said. "She's had issues getting lost in a mall that Noble knows
inside out and backwards."

 

Veterinarians say it could be six months before Noble can work as a guide
dog again.

 

"I've lost 100 per cent of my independence because, when I leave my house,
my eyes have four paws and a tail," Anderson said.

 

Anderson said she has tried contacting the construction firm and the Halifax
Water Commission, for whom the work was being done, but hasn't been able to
connect with either.

 

One lawyer she contacted refused to take on her case.

 

For Noble, a German Shepherd who loves playing fetch, the injuries mean he
can't walk for very long before he starts limping. He can no longer leave
the house with his owner.

 

"It's really hard when I try to take (Anderson) out to do something and to
see (Noble) cry when we leave," said Whattam.

 

While costs for the dog's treatment are piling up, Anderson said she isn't
worried about the vet bills for now. She just wants Noble to get better.

 

Eastern Passage is a community of almost 12,000 people about 15 kilometres
southeast of Halifax.

 

With a report from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw

 

Share this story: