[nagdu] Guide dog dragged from SkyTrain sufferedserious injuries

[Mark J. Cadigan]

It is probably just one of those fluke occurrences. Something that will 
never happen again or that no one could have predicted. I am not a small 
person, and I have gotten almost shoved off the train by a large crowd 
exiting. The dog could have been forced off and there is nothing the handler 
could have dun to prevent it.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Johnson" <stevencjohnson at centurytel.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 8:21 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide dog dragged from SkyTrain sufferedserious 
injuries


> Mark, good point..  If this individual is experienced in using this 
> system,
> they should have known.  When in a crowded situation like this, I 
> generally
> to short leash and keep my guide by my side.  Sounds that there is a
> possibility that the handler was not fully aware of her dog's 
> where-abouts.
> Indeed though as Cheryl pointed, it is too bad, but the underlying 
> question
> is whose responsibility did it fall back on; SkyTrain or the handler?
> Probably not enough information to make that call as we can only make
> assumptions based on the little information we have.
> Steve
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Mark J. Cadigan
> Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 7:13 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Guide dog dragged from SkyTrain suffered serious
> injuries
>
> My question is, why did the dog get off? If that train system is anything
> like the T it is probably extremely crowded and, people push and shuv to 
> try
> to get off. The dog very well could have gotten pushed off the train by
> mistake.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ginger Kutsch" <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'"
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 7:00 AM
> Subject: [nagdu] Guide dog dragged from SkyTrain suffered serious injuries
>
>
>> Guide dog dragged from SkyTrain suffered 'serious injuries'
>> Passengers on the platform jumped into the track to rescue the
>> dog
>> By Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun October 3, 2010
>> http://tinyurl.com/277d3uj
>>
>>
>> Iris Thompson's guide dog, Palm, in recovery. The 5-year-old
>> labrador had a shattered nose, cracked ribs, and a punctured lung
>> after being dragged by a moving SkyTrain at Lougheed Station on
>> Thursday. People on the platform watched in horror after the
>> doors closed on the dog's leash, and the dog was dragged into a
>> pole at the end of the platform. Palm then fell into the tracks.
>>
>> Photograph by: Screengrab, Global BCA blind woman's guide dog who
>> was seriously injured after being dragged by the SkyTrain will
>> recover but likely will not be able to work with the blind again,
>> a TransLink spokesman said on Sunday.
>>
>> Ken Hardie said the incident happened around 10:30 a.m. Thursday
>> when the SkyTrain stopped at the Lougheed Station platform and
>> for some unknown reason the dog disembarked the train while the
>> woman did not.
>>
>> Riders watched in horror as the door closed and the dog started
>> running along the platform to keep up with the train before she
>> fell and was dragged along the platform.
>> "It was terribly traumatic," said Hardie. "The poor dog was
>> pulled off the platform and onto the track. In the process the
>> dog struck a post."
>> The leash was thin, he said, and it snapped just as the train
>> left the station.
>> Hardie said there are automatic sensors that cause the train to
>> stop if someone or something is on the tracks at the station but
>> because the dog didn't hit the tracks until just beyond the
>> platform, they didn't go off.
>> People immediately called SkyTrain security and the train was
>> stopped, said Hardie, adding that concerned citizens then jumped
>> onto the tracks to fetch the badly injured dog.
>> They heaved the dog off the tracks and sat comforting her while
>> they waited for help to arrive.
>> The dog's owner got off at the next stop and was helped home by
>> SkyTrain employees. Staff also took the dog to the veterinarian.
>> Hardie said the dog suffered a broken nose among other "serious
>> injuries" but said he is expected to survive.
>> "It may not work again as a guide dog but we don't know if that's
>> due to its actions of leaving the train too early or because of
>> the injuries."
>> The woman has filed an incident report, but Hardie could not say
>> whether she was seeking compensation from TransLink.
>> He said a full review will be conducted, which may include an
>> additional investigation with a provincial safety regulator to
>> see whether the system worked properly.
>> ticrawford at vancouversun.com
>> - - -
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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