[NFBF-Tampa] [FLAGDU] Court Ruling Affirms Ownership of Guide Dog by Blind Handler

[Jody ianuzzi]

Good morning Marion,

Congratulations! This is wonderful news! Hopefully the final ruling will end at all!  It is wonderful to have the legal president to fall back on in the future when other people have problems

JODY

To Boldly Go  🖖🏻 


thunderwalker321 at gmail.com 

"What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS  Erik Weihenmayer

> On Jun 8, 2021, at 8:18 PM, Marion Gwizdala via FLAGDU <flagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Please distribute the following message as widely as appropriate. If you
> follow us at <Facebook.com/asap411>. You will be among the first to receive
> these announcements.
> 
> 
> 
> COURT RULING AFFIRMS RIGHT OF GUIDE DOG HANDLER'S OWNERSHIP
> 
> 
> 
> June 7, 2021
> 
> 
> 
>                On March 4, 2021, without warning, without cause, and
> without authority to do so, Southeastern guide Dogs cruelly and forcibly
> removed the guide dog of Rev. Susan Blake, an Episcopal priest for the
> diocese of Orlando. Deanna Miller, a guide dog mobility instructor from
> Southeastern showed up at Rev. Blake's home unannounced and demanded to see
> Rev. Blake's guide dog, Didi. Ms. Miller told Rev. Blake that Didi appeared
> to be about four pounds overweight, a violation of their contract and a
> cause for repossession. Ms. Miller literally pulled the harnessed guide dog
> from Rev. Blake's arms as she pleaded with Deanna Miller to not take Didi
> away.
> 
> 
> 
>                On May 20, a Columbia County Sheriff's Office deputy, acting
> upon a court order known as a writ of replevin, retrieved Didi from the
> puppy-raiser's home where Southeastern had placed Didi. Representatives of
> Advocates for Service Animal Partners traveled to Columbia County, retrieved
> Didi, and returned her to Rev. Blake seventy-seven days after she was
> snatched away. 
> 
> 
> 
>                On June 7, 2021, the Honorable Sara Carter held a
> preliminary hearing in Columbia County Civil Court to determine whether Rev.
> Susan Blake or the puppy-raiser is Didi's rightful owner. The judge's
> preliminary ruling is that Southeastern Guide Dogs had no legal right to
> repossess Rev. Blake's dog without an injunction for specific action as
> provided for in their "Transfer of Ownership" agreement. Judge Carter
> affirmed Rev. Blake owns Didi and she should remain with Rev. Blake until
> the final hearing. A final hearing will be held in the near future in which
> the puppy-raisers will be afforded the opportunity to contest these findings
> of fact. 
> 
> 
> 
>                "This is a major victory for guide dog users across the
> country explains Marion Gwizdala, president of Advocates for Service Animal
> Partners which supported and guided Rev. Blake through this process. "The
> judge has ruled that Southeastern Guide Dogs cannot interfere with our right
> to own our guide dogs without a court order."
> 
> 
> 
>                Gwizdala contends Southeastern Guide Dogs is not the only
> guide dog training program that treats their consumers with such cruelty and
> disregard for their fundamental right of due process by employing
> intimidating heavy-handed authoritarian practices. This ruling puts those
> training programs on notice that their blind consumers will not stand for
> this Draconian maltreatment.
> 
> 
> 
>                "This case has created a lot of buzz within the guide dog
> training industry," asserts Gwizdala. "It is causing them to review their
> policies and practices to ensure they are treating their blind consumers
> with dignity and respect." Says Gwizdala. 
> 
> 
> 
> About ASAP
> 
>                Advocates for Service Animal Partners (ASAP) is a network of
> volunteer service animal advocates. Our goal is to encourage, educate, and
> support service animal handlers through printed and electronic publications,
> Informational webinars, recorded educational materials, and direct advocacy
> support, intervention, and mediation. In support of this mission, we also
> work to educate employers, governmental entities, private companies, housing
> accommodations, and the airline industry about the rights, responsibilities,
> and limitations of access under state and federal law. For more information,
> please contact
> 
> 
> 
> Marion Gwizdala, President
> 
> Advocates for Service Animal Partners Inc.
> 
> <mailto:Advocacy411 at gmail.com> Advocacy411 at gmail.com
> 
> 386-2727411 (386-ASAP411)
> 
> Facebook.com/asap411/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> FLAGDU mailing list
> FLAGDU at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/flagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for FLAGDU:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/flagdu_nfbnet.org/thunderwalker321%40gmail.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbf-tampa_nfbnet.org/attachments/20210609/a84e77b4/attachment.html>