[Cagdu] FW: from former "no dogs allowed" people

[Ken Volonte]

  _____  

From: Ken Volonte [mailto:kenvolonte at comcast.net] 
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 8:20 AM
To: 'Shannon L. Dillon'
Subject: from former "no dogs allowed" people

 

Hi cagdu community.  Pursuant to our last meeting, I spoke with several
restaurateurs who used to not allow guide dogs in their establishments.
They couldn't come to our convention because, in many cases, they are family
businesses and can't get away.  Here is what they had to say.

 

            We are new here, and we don't want to get into trouble with the
health department.  When you said that we wouldn't get into trouble, that's
all we needed to hear.  

 

            You're here because we asked a blind man to leave yesterday.  He
just dropped the handle to look at a wall menu board, but he didn't put his
dog under a table or say anything, and so the dog just wandered around and
almost made his way into our kitchen.  You didn't do that.  Your dog was
under control at all times.  

 

            We didn't want people who were allergic to dogs to just walk out
of here and we didn't want to scare people who were afraid of dogs.  When
you asked the man at the next table if he minded that there was a guide dog,
he said, "What dog.  Oh I didn't even see him.  Can I pet him"?  That
changed our minds.  He's really old. got a patch of gray right here around
the muzzle."  

 

            It's like that when ever there's been trouble.  The problem has
always been with unwarranted fear or with not keeping the dog under control.
I was surprised when these people remembered the incident.  In some cases,
they were 15 years ago.  None the less, they talked about their experiences
with me and with other guide dogs freely and in a friendly manner.  "What
happened to your old dog, the big yellow Lab.  I liked him.  So did my
daughter.  He washed her face all the time.  She's your server today."  

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://nfbcal.org/pipermail/cagdu/attachments/20110822/613d6ee3/attachment.html