[NFBF-Tampa] Animal Court Hearing in Tampa

Tue Oct 22 17:41:58 UTC 2019

Hi Ineko,

I will definitely be there. Since I’m coming by paratransit, naturally I can’t say exactly when I can meet you, but I’ll be at the courtroom by 8:45 for sure. I’m hoping to arrive earlier to meet Marion and Merry at Debbie Hietala’s Crystal Bay Café, but we’ll see.

We’ll see you and Frisco tomorrow morning!

Sherrill

From: NFBF-Tampa [mailto:nfbf-tampa-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ineko Gary via NFBF-Tampa
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2019 12:56 PM
To: NFB of Florida Tampa Chapter List
Cc: Ineko Gary
Subject: Re: [NFBF-Tampa] Animal Court Hearing in Tampa

Question is anybody going tomorrow to support MARION? If anyone’s going I would like to try to meet you there whoever is going to support our dear sweet friend MARION tomorrow.

Always 

Ineko 

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 21, 2019, at 11:26 AM, Marion Gwizdala via NFBF-Tampa <nfbf-tampa at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Dear NFB Family,

                On March 26, my guide dog, Trooper, was jumped by a pair of off-leash dogs as we walked along the sidewalk at a neighborhood park. The owner of the dogs removed them, put them on leash, and then returned and allow his dogs to bark, lunge, and growl at my dog The full narrative of this incident is below my signature.

                On Wednesday, October 23 at 9:00 a.m. a final hearing will be held on this case at 800 E. Twiggs Street in Courtroom 300. We will meet at Crystal Bay Café prior to the hearing for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write to the list or give me a call. My contact information is below my signature prior to my narrative.

With warm regards,

Marion Gwizdala

Marion.Gwizdala at verizon.net

(813) 626-2789

                My name is Marion Gwizdala. I reside at 1003 Papaya Drive, Tampa, Florida 33619. I am blind and use a guide dog for travel. My guide dog is a 2-1/2-year-old Blue Merle Smooth Coat Collie trained by Freedom Guide Dogs in Cassville, New York.

                On Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at approximately 4:20 p.m., I was walking along the sidewalk adjoining Winston Park on Destin Road with my harnessed guide dog. As we walked along the sidewalk, I heard what seemed to be two dogs running toward us barking and male and female voices calling out to them. The two dogs ran up to my guide dog and began barking and snarling in his face. I yelled to the voices calling the dog to get their dogs under control. When the male grabb the dogs, I told him, “Please get your dogs away from my guide dog!” I then told him, “Your dogs need to be on a leash!” He replied they did not need to be on a leash because they were in a public park. I again reiterated that his dogs need to be on a leash and he told me I didn’t know what I was talking about. He took his dogs away and I continued walking along the sidewalk.

                About two minutes later, the man returned with his dogs on a leash and said, “Now my dogs are on a leash. What are you goind to do about it, blind man?” His dogs continued to bark and lunge at my guide dog and my dog took a defensive posture. I did my best to control my dog but his dogs continued barking and lunging at my dog. The man laughed and said, “That’s really some trained guide dog! You don’t have him under very good control, blind man!” I asked him to get his dogs away from my dog and he laughed at me again, attempting to taunt me again with the “blind man” phrase and stating his dogs were on a leash so there was nothing I could do about it! I told him once again to get his dogs away from us or I would call the police. He said, “What are they going to do, blind man?”

                Feeling threatened by his demeanor, I called 9-1-1 and asked a deputy be dispatched immediately. A deputy happened to be in the park and arrived in less than five minutes. I asked the deputy if there was a man and woman with two dogs in the park and he stated there was. I told him what happened and advised the deputy that there was a Florida statute – 413.081 – which provided for criminal penalties to any person or the animal under a person’s control to distract, harass, attack,  or otherwise interfere with a working service animal. The deputy walked away from me refusing to listen to what I was saying. He turned to me and said, “I have been doing this for more than twenty years; don’t tell me how to do my job!”  

The deputy went to talk to the man. The man admitted his dogs were off-leash and I overheard him telling the deputy I was “letting my dog play with his dogs”. 

                When the deputy returned to where I was, I again attempted to give him the statute number and he refused to listen to what I was saying. He told me this was not under his jurisdiction, I would need to contact animal control, and walked away from me again. I called dispatch and asked to speak to someone in the district office, telling them what the deputy was stating and my frustration with the lack of courtesy. I was told another deputy was being dispatched, since the deputy present was a community resource officer.

                About five minutes later, Deputy Doerr arrived and I advised him of the incident and my frustration that law enforcement repeatedly discounts these incidents, refers them to animal control, and animal control tells us they are unable to enforce the criminal statutes, referring us to law enforcement. Deputy Doerr asked for the statute number and returned to his vehicle to research it.

                When Deputy Doerr returned, he stated that there was indeed a statute but it required that the person act with reckless disregard which he stated meant the person had to intentionally and recklessly do something to put one’s safety at risk. I asked him if intentionally allowing his dogs to menacingly bark, snarl, and jump at my dog in a manner that distracted him from his work to defend himself put us at risk and Deputy Doerr said it did not!

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