gatewood@stlvm27.vnet.ibm.com (Sandy Roberts) (05/16/91)
Index Number: 15699 Hi Everyone, I am new to the network. I just got authorization here at IBM to submit items to the BBS even though I have been monitoring all your comments for about a year and a half now! This came at a good time for me because I am having a BIG PROBLEM and need some advice from others who have working dogs. I have Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bones) and use a wheelchair. I have a terrific service dog named Vicky who was certified by CCI. She is a German Shepard/Doberman mix yet is very petite. My husband, Dan, and I were in Albany Oregon the weekend of April 20th attending a state-wide Rabbit and Guinea Pig show. We live in San Jose California but decided to go up there to the show and visit some friends. I of course took my dog with me. We arrived that Saturday morning about 7:15 to get our animals checked in for the show (we breed Guinea Pigs). Everything was going great until about 11:45 am. Dan was taking Vicky out for a potty break (due to accessibility it was safer for him to do it) and was headed out a different door than he had used earlier in the morning (because I had asked him to find out where the raffle table was) when this lady ran up to him and said that he had to take the dog out of the building. He explained that she was a service dog for his wife (I was sitting about 50 feet away) and that she had a legal right to be there. The lady said that she didn't care what the law was that he had to leave with the dog. He again said no and she said if he didn't leave that she would physically throw him and the dog out (she was a decent sized lady). In the meantime, poor Vicky is getting stressed at the yelling. She had instinctively stepped between Dan and the lady for Dan's protection I guess. The lady reached down and grabbed the handle on Vicky's backpack and tried to pick her up by the handle. Since the pack is just hooked around her front legs she didn't succeed but did manage to give Vicky a good jerking. Dan grabbed her arm and told her to let go. A guy ran up and asked Dan to see Vicky's ID. They came over to me and I pulled out my id card and the guy said ok she can stay. He went over and told the lady the dog could stay. Both the lady and the guy were working in an official capacity at the show. I told Dan that I had better escort him to the door since they were making such a stink about it. When I did, we walked by that lady and she looked at me and said... "You think you're smart don't you! Well I don't care what the law says, if you have to have a dog with you then you have to leave too!" I told her that I wasn't going to leave and if she didn't like it, she could call the police. I kept going but she kept yelling. She said that if my dog hurt any of the animals there that she could shoot her on the spot according to the Oregon State Livestock Law and she would! This lady was obviously crazy. Vicky was behaving appropriately. She wasn't paying any attention to the animals. We have guinea pigs and a rabbit at home so she could care less. She also didn't bite, growl, or bark at anyone, not even at the lady that grabbed her. On the way out the door I had 5 or 6 people tell me that I had to leave with my dog. Couldn't I read the signs, it said no dogs. Then another lady who was working at the show said she's right you know. We don't care what the law says, you have to leave. I was getting madder and madder by the second. It was obvious to me that they had a problem with dogs and it would have been any dog that would have been there, it wasn't anything personal against my dog. When Dan asked the lady that grabbed Vicky what would happen if a blind person came in with a guide dog (which is always a possibility right?) she said, "Well, a blind person wouldn't have much to see here now would they?" That made Dan even more upset. Well, needless to say, we took Vicky out of the building and went to lunch to calm down. When we arrived back the head of the show came over to talk to us. He apologized and said that Vicky could stay. He also said to forget getting an apology from the lady and that he would say something about Vicky to the people at the banquet that evening. All the people who were giving us trouble were rabbit exhibitors and it made the guinea pig exhibitors furious. (I think we may have started a feud up there!) He said that we should have let him know that we were coming with Vicky and I said that we did not have to do that and that since the show was open to the public, anyone could attend and the law doesn't say anything about calling before you bring your working dog with you. He then said that they had no way of knowing that she was a working dog. How many dogs wear a blue and yellow backpack that says Canine Companions for Independence and has a picture of a person in a wheelchair and a dog on it? Then he said that it was all because Dan was with the dog and they didn't see me. Well, the building was not that big, we had been there since early in the morning when it was pretty empty and they saw us come in! So then he said that Dan shouldn't be taking the dog out to the bathroom. Well, later I asked CCI about that and they said that there is nothing wrong with that. As long as Dan isn't trying to impersonate me and since I was right there in the room, it is no big deal. Everyone knows when they travel with their dog they never know what they are going to run into as far as places to walk their dog for potty breaks and you have to take your safety and that of your dog's into consideration. Needless to say we didn't bring Vicky back into the building because she was stressed and we didn't know if that lady had a gun and might shoot her for the heck of it. We had paid money to enter our animals and were not going to withdraw them. Here is where the big problem comes in. Later that day Vicky started having spasms in her right rear leg. They got worse and worse. We thought they were stress related. They weren't continuous and didn't seem to happen at any particular time but when they happened, she was in a lot of pain. To make a long story shorter, the show ended late Sunday afternoon and we got home Monday evening. The rest of the show was kind of awful because we had to listen to people argue about if Vicky should be allowed in the building or not. We also found out that the head of the show never did say anything at the banquet about Vicky - we didn't go (not because of Vicky, but we hadn't planned on going in the first place). We got home late Monday evening and that Tuesday morning I called her vet. Her vet looked at her and discovered that Vicky had a pulled or torn knee tendon and that her kneecap was dislocating. OUCH. She said that could only be caused by a quick tork to the side and not from straight jumping in and out of the van. She said that she was sure it was caused when that lady grabbed Vicky's pack and yanked on it. Two weeks of rest for Vicky and possibly surgery. I called CCI and reported the injury. They said that they have had other dogs attack their dogs but never a person. They didn't know what to tell me to do. I called the head of the show and he said that they would turn her vet bills into their insurance co. and if they wouldn't pay, their club would. Well, two weeks later it still wasn't better and Vicky had to see an orthopedic surgeon for dogs. Last Thursday, she had major surgery. She now has a pin in her knee. The specialist said that he is certain that what this lady did to her caused the injury and he would testify to that. He said that he xrayed both hips and did a thorough exam and it definitely wasn't congenital. He said all the damage done was definitely fresh (he could tell right away when he opened her up). She has to have 8 weeks of rest and it will be 3 to 6 months before we can put her into retraining. The vet said that she will get arthritis in that knee and there will be days that she won't be able to work because of that pin (possibly weather sensitive). He said that it will cut her working career short and that he probably will not allow her to pull my wheelchair at all anymore. He isn't sure yet and will not know for several months what the extent of the damage is and if she will be able to do enough to remain certified. The head of the show in the meantime decided they probably weren't liable and hadn't reported it yet to the insurance. I suggested he do so before I called them myself. I have filed a police report in Albany and they said due to the circumstances of the incident, that it will go before the DA (which could mean nothing with my luck). Their insurance agent called and can't believe the whole thing happened. He said he talked to witnesses who said that yes the lady grabbed the dog and yes that was wrong but she couldn't possibly have hurt the dog. My reply was that they are not veterinarians so how can they make that judgment. Now I am looking for an attorney to handle the case, ideas on what to do, and trying to figure out how to quantify in dollars what it means when you don't have a dog to work with you. This is really tough. Any ideas, suggestions? Vicky is doing some better but is still in a lot of pain. The splint comes off next Tuesday and then we have to start physical therapy. I don't want to let this lady or this group of people get away with this! Besides which, she has about $2,000 in bills already. I would appreciate hearing your thoughts! Thanks, Sandy
cmfaltz@phoenix.princeton.edu (Christine Marie Faltz) (05/22/91)
Index Number: 15757 Sandy, I am so sorry about everything you went through. You don't know how much I wish I was already a lawyer instead of only about to start law school! I'd give this wench and the others a hell of a time--they'd never deny access or assault another dog again when I got finished with them. First of all, try your local Human Rights Division. Make it clear that you want medical costs, punitive damages and the like. Although you do not live in New York, there is a group which can put you into contact with lawyers--inexpensive or pro bono lawyers!--who can help you. The group is called New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. They have been very active in fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities, and they have contacts throughout the country. I believe they have a toll-free number, but it won't be available from your area in all likelihood. Call New York information (212) area code and ask for their number. A last resort--or a simultaneous resort--would be to put an ad in the paper for information or attorneys. Don't give up, and most important, check the statute of limitations on cases such as this--if there are any! They may be trying to stall you. Good luck! Please, PLEASE let us--or at least me--know what hapens. I will try to get more information for you. Christine ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Poor is the person | Christine Faltz | | whose permission | 33 Prospect Ave. | | depends upon the | Princeton, NJ 08540 | | perceptions of others. | "Who is John Galt?" | -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary.Warren@f5.n382.z1.fidonet.org (Gary Warren) (06/05/91)
Index Number: 15979
Another suggestion would be for her to write the US Civil Rights
Commission. It's sorta been "defanged" since the Reagan Daze
(::ahem::), but you never know what may happen.
Also contact the US Dept. of Justice.
glw
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