[NFBF-Tampa] Animal Court Hearing in Tampa

Wed Oct 23 00:41:42 UTC 2019

Casual!

On 10/22/2019 1:27 PM, Jeanette Torres via NFBF-Tampa wrote:
>
> I am. What time is it over and do we go in a suit or polo?
>
> Jeanette Torres
>
> *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 <nfbf-tampa at nfbnet.org>
> *Cc:* Ineko Gary <rubiigary at gmail.com>
> *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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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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>
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