[nagdu] Bad Dogs And The Law

[Debby Phillips]

Hi Steve, I have seen police intervene.  When I belonged to ACB, 
I was at a convention in Jacksonville, Florida.  The Guide Dog 
User affiliate had a "breakfast club".  The idea was that it 
would give folks who wanted to get out of the hotel and walk with 
their dqs, a place to go, and also a time of socialization for us 
all, too.  They had picked out a nice café.  When we got there, a 
man said very loudly, "Those dogs will have to be outside while 
you all eat." We were all shocked.  Some heated words went back 
and forth.  Then the GDUI President at the time, Sheila Styron 
called the cops.  They came, and after consulting the law (which 
they were carrying with them, by the way) they told the 
restaurant owner that he had to allow us in.  My husband wouldn't 
go in because he said he was afraid they'd spit in our food and 
stuff.  He was afraid to eat there after all the kerfuffle.  I 
guess everything turned out okay, and the owner (who also 
happened to be blind) agreed that we were a pretty decent bunch 
and that our dogs were okay, too.  Maybe the cops thought it 
better to deal with it with thirty of us standing outside this 
rightestaurant, I don't know.     Peace,    Debby with Neena