[NFBF-L] Animal Court Hearing in Tampa

[Marion Gwizdala]

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!