Good evening, 919 Gang. Dog bites man is no story, but when
Carl Larsen bites a dog …
PATRICIA DIBSIE
writes:
I have offended several
"friends" and many a potential client who wanted me to certify a
family pet as a service dog with all the privileges and rights afforded these
canine teams. My answer is always the same. Nope.
The canines I train and
place are able to thrive in a variety of settings following two years of hard
training. (Yes, I few puppies have thoroughly embarrassed themselves while
learning public behavior. Me, I just shrug and keep training. Thank you to all
who put up with these pups while they are learning the ropes. One big misstep,
however, and they are removed from the situation and back to more private
training.)
Our latest graduate
team, Jed and Recon, are a miracle to watch. Before the placement, Jed could
never go solo -- including walks -- lest he fall and not be able to get back
up. The Marine lost both legs above the kneecaps.
Now, my rant. People
who selfishly take their "pets" out in public are a nuisance to
others as well as to bona fide service teams. Not unusual for these
"pets" to turn aggressive and charge me while I am out in public with
a trainee. I have seen them jump on restaurant tables and eat off plates, pee
on a chair leg and scare the crap out of little children who reach out to pet
the dog.
The American with
Disabilities Act does not recognize emotional support dogs. Only physical
service, hearing and alert animals are covered by this law. But with so many
returning soldiers with PTSD, a movement is under way to broaden the definition
of service teams. I am not convinced that this is a workable idea. People with
intense anxiety can be helped with pets in their homes but not out in public.
Service teams call attention to themselves, the stares and intrusions frighten
the already anxiety-prone person. Some insist not so; that's when I take them
out for a test drive with a well-trained dog. Good thing I come along, more
often than not the person throws me the leash and runs. Dog teams get a lot of
attention, and I am still surprised by how many people walk up and start
petting my caped canines.
On the other hand, Jed
tells me that the greatest gift Recon has given him is that people no longer
stare at his prosthetic legs because they are so taken with Recon. Recon can be
petted without responding so it's not a problem. I would like to think it was
my superb training but methinks it's Jed's handling that makes the dog 100
percent attentive to him alone. Jed can fall; Recon can help him back to his
feet. Whatever Jed drops, Recon can retrieve and place in his hand (including a
baby bottle cause Recon got a baby sister this summer).
I speak to businesses
about the ADA and how to approach an owner with a "service" pet. You
can ask two questions: Is this a service dog? and what service does this animal
provide? BTW: There is a $10,000 fine for those who abuse the law.
While I have the floor,
we are interviewing potential partners for Jetta. He will be ready for final
training come January. The person must be able to train in San Diego two to
three months before they graduate as a team. This boy is a yellow lab (pure
white in color), with a love for all things human. It's my dream to pair him
with a therapist who works with returning vets (occupational, physical or
family counselor). He's as sweet as he is beautiful -- and he's GORGEOUS.
NOEL OSMENT writes:
For a
very hilarious piece in a recent New Yorker the reporter became certified by a
psychotherapist (in a phone conversation) of her need of an emotional support
animal. She then traveled about the city and environs -- including a train trip
to Boston -- with various animals including I think a vicuna, a turtle, a large
fowl, perhaps a turkey, a pig and maybe a snake. They went to a museum, stores,
fancy restaurants etc.
WELTON JONES
writes:
Speaking of The New
Yorker and service animals, Carl Larsen might check out the issue of Oct. 20,
wherein the magazine's Patricia Marx decided, "... to go undercover as a
person with an anxiety disorder ( not a stretch) ..." and tool around New
York with five different non-cuddly companions for emotional support: a turtle,
a snake, a turkey, an alpaca and a pig. She found little trouble going
anywhere, as long as she had her typed letter from a Los Angeles therapist, one
she chose at random from hundreds on Google. She used the same letter for all
the animals and was never really denied access anywhere. "Why didn't
everybody do the sensible thing and tell me and my turtle to get lost?"
Marx wrote. She found a great gray area. "People are baffled by the
distinction between service animals and emotional-support animals," was
her conclusion.
Now before Patricia
Dibsie or whoever comes at my throat, may I request they read the piece? It's
worth the effort.
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MICHAEL CAVNA writes:
Carl
Larsen pointed to the two most recent New Yorker covers. Both the "First
Thanksgiving" cover artist and the magazine's art director told me last
week that being immigrants gives them a helpful "outsider's"
perspective on both Thanksgiving and the Redskins naming controversy (the
latter's always click-bait here in D.C.). If Carl or anyone else is interested
in the fuller story behind that cover, here's the piece (and artist Bob Staake
and I have been talking about his gateway Arch cover):
Excerpt: "Which raises the question: Does McCall feel
that passionate about the mascot as a slur?
“I don’t really care about it,” says McCall, who began
drawing for The New Yorker in 1979. “I think it’s long overdue that they change
the name,” adds the artist, noting that in his native Canada, many members of
the Inuit tribe consider “Eskimo” a slur. But compared to that, he says,
“Redskins is a little more flamboyantly bad.”
“I lived in St. Louis for 17 years, moving there from Los
Angeles,” the Massachusetts-based Staake tells The Post’s Comic Riffs. “As an
outsider, I think it gives me a unique and uncommon look at the city’s
deep-rooted dynamics. …
“It is a beautiful city, but it didn’t take me long for me
to perceive its ‘ugly’ racial underbelly — which is not uncommon in many other
major American cities,” the illustrator continues. “As an artist/journalist who
experienced the city’s dynamics firsthand, I used that knowledge as a filter
for all the news coverage of Ferguson that I read, heard and saw.”
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REBER:
Tonight we wish Happy Birthday (Nov. 30) to Joe Gandelman and John McCutchen
Jack J. Reber
P.O. Box 2239
Ramona, CA 92065
U.S.A.
