Rosie Was Attacked: Who is Upholding Service Dog Protection Laws?? Anyone??

Rosie was attacked:

Laws Against Attacks on Service Dogs

July 1, 2010

Above: the dog on the leash is the one that stalked and attacked Rosie. I feel horrible that I had her in a down stay, like a sitting duck, but that was safer than stalking playfully in return.

It was supposed to be a good afternoon. I figured the weather had cooled enough that Rosie and I could walk up to Saxl Park next to the state hospital. If they haven’t hayed yet, the birds would be all over the place, bobolinks, Red-wings and sparrows. There would also be lots of wild flowers to take photos of as well. So Rosie and I make our way up State Street and through Cascade Park to get to Saxl Park. Then off the leash comes and Rosie is free to romp and chase her ball.

We had made our way from the far end of the field by the entrance to Cascade Park to the front where there is a parking lot behind an old empty building. I was tossing Rosie’s balls with a Chuck-it and checking out how dry the front vernal pool was and I noticed a man with one dog leashed and another off leash The one off leash began stalking behavior. I don’t normally take this seriously since many dogs we have met do this kind of behavior, as well as Rosie herself, and it always ends in a game of tag. Rosie wanted to return the behavior but the man was yelling for the dog (maybe “Nellie”?) but the dog just kept going. I had Rosie in a down-stay about 5 feet away from my right. To my utter shock, this dog just lunged at Rosie who was luckily turned around to run anyway and the dog would not leave her alone. Sheer panic rose out of my lungs as I yelled at this dog at the top of my lungs… it just happened. There was no forethought. Even when the man finally got to the scene to pull his dog off of Rosie that dog did not want to stop fighting. For all I know, this dog was out for blood and death. At points I tried to get hold of my pepper spray that hangs around my neck with a bright orange rescue whistle, but it just wasn’t happening. The man asked if she was alright, but I wasn’t sure yet. Rosie has a thick double coat that makes it difficult to find wounds on her skin. When she was attacked by a German Shepherd Dog as a pup, I did not feel or see any wounds, but later at the vet, Dr. Ritchie found some puncture wounds right off under the thick hair on her hips.

One thing I noticed is that Rosie was trying to hide somewhere. I thought it was because of the attack. She was acting weird. Later I would realize that she was hiding from ME! I was crushed.

So this guy comes back around to recheck and I said that I couldn’t find anything (wound wise that is). I then stood up and told him I would need his information because this was my service dog. He got all snippy and rude saying “I’m not going to give you my information. Your dog is fine!” and he began to walk away. Rosie at this point figured that this guy was the quietest and didn’t yell and was walking towards them. I am trying to call her back. He goes “See she’s walking right up to us!” And his dog was moving towards her every time. That followed by name calling and something about how I should follow the leash law (?). There is no leash law, and if there was he was violating the law as much as anyone. Yes my dog was off leash as she has been in that field since day one at 9 weeks old. She listens, doesn’t run off and is friendly. My dog is friendly. But this really wasn’t about my dog. It was about him and his dog that had just brutally attacked my dog who is also a medical alert dog. As he walked on and continued to call me names, I took his picture. He didn’t seem to mind, probably because he didn’t feel he was in the wrong here. Arrogance.

Above: The man, in this picture is calling me names and telling me that I should follow the leash laws. What leash laws? And wait, which dog was in down-stay and which dog was stalking and ignoring its human, and which dog attacked another who was in a down-stay and minding her own business?? Before you start blabbing nonsense, make sure you have the facts straight buddy. If any dog had to be leashed, it was YOURS!

Let’s stop here and take a look at Maine State Service Dog Law…

Attack on a Service Animal (Title 7; Part 9; Chapter 729; 3961-A)

A person who owns or keeps a dog that attacks, injures OR kills a service animal while the service animal is in discharge of its duties commit’s a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not more than $1,000 may be adjudged. When a person is adjudicated of a violation of this section, the court shall order the person to make restitution to the owner of the Service Animal for any veterinary bills and necessary retraining costs or replacement costs of the service animal if it is disabled or killed.

So I am left there in the field with Rosie who wanted nothing to do with me because when I yelled at the top of my lungs, I had scared her. How was she to know that I wasn’t yelling at her? As a result, her way of alerting me has been to get all wide eyed and leave, which I must say really didn’t help deescalate the situation. She has always checked in on me no matter where we are and what she is doing, and alerts when she feels she needs to. Not any more. I am not sure how to get her to alert properly again. Damage done.

I called animal control and reported the attack. Animal control said that I should stop by the Police Dept. and report it there as well. She said they could probably use that photo I took of him. So I walked back into town immediately. The spirit of the afternoon was gone. The field had already been hayed so Saxl was a rather barren land with no wild flowers or birds (because a number of them nest in the bushes and brush.) The only pictures I took that day at the field was a few of some sweet smelling Milk Weed, and this jerk whose dog had attacked my service dog.

I spoke to Officer Millard at the Bangor P. D. I had a feeling that this would most likely go no where as most things I report do. I left a message with Animal Control today, and have heard nothing. It was a long weekend due to the Fourth of July events and Monday being a holiday mostly for those who need to recover from their hangovers. I had expected someone to call me back, but nothing.

So at this point, my service dog is damaged, and that has affected the work she does for me. She also begins to pull ahead whenever a dog barks at us, or shows any sort of over-exuberance. I have to say I jump too. In the past few months since I have increased my activity, Rosie and I have been charged by 2 pit bulls, one nearly grabbed her hindquarters (Off of his property), one Boxer who seems to go as far as the end of her property, some sort of pit bull/American Bulldog/ Mastiff type dog near the entrance to the City Forest, and a white fluffy thing down the road who’s people made him mean. That dog rushed us on the sidewalk and began going after Rosie. On my way by, I mentioned that there was a $1,000 fine for an attack on a service animal. Now whenever they are out walking, they give us wide berth. This is the same person I am sure, who right out front on the sidewalk at the end of the front yard, a guy walked by with a small dog and seemed to be bragging that the mop would attack my dog if it was off leash. I have seen people in this neighborhood trying to make small dogs mean before, so I can believe that. Not surprisingly, both Rosie and I are very wary of every dog we see and/or hear.

It presently looks like another Maine Law is not being enforced. Most people, even the ones you would expect to know the laws don’t even familiarize themselves with them. Therefore, ignorance means they don’t have to work too hard on this one.

Police Resist Education...I dropped off a pamphlet that Crystal and I had posted on the Internet that put all the Service Dog pertinent laws on one pamphlet JUST THE WAY IT IS WRITTEN. This means that we wrote our pamphlet so that it was not any one person’s assumptions, translations or hypothesis. The officer said that they already had some of those pamphlets. (I was handing him just ONE pamphlet.) I knew that wasn’t true (our link for this online pamphlet is not widely known), and knew he was probably either lying or talking about the Maine Human Rights Commission’s pamphlet. If it was the latter, that meant the officer was not familiar with the pamphlet they were given. Why do people resist education?

Here is what I might know about the man whose dog attacked my service dog in the field. I believe that in order to avoid me on his way back to his vehicle that he cut off the trail in a weird spot (next to Fisheries & Wildlife building, the non parking lot side). Then he walked to his car which was a white SUV type vehicle. If he ever comes back to the field, I will take a picture of the jerk’s license plate too.

This man needs to be held accountable for what his dog did. I am sick of people who are supposed to care and enforce these laws that protect our pets, service dogs, and farm animals not doing anything, unless there is an open wound. My service dog is proof that there is more to damage than the visible ones. (Heck, so am I with an invisible disability!) She is a nervous wreck around other dogs, and before she could do fine with others… would just ignore them. Perhaps the issue with my dog alerting was my fault? But then again I wouldn’t have gone from a 0- 100 sudden panic attack had that man’s dog not attacked my dog. It is vicious dogs like this one, and stupid owners who let these dogs off leash who make it necessary to create leash laws.

I should be able to go places with my service dog without having to worry about some dog charging and attacking us. I just want to feel safe. Do I at least deserve that right?

The Following Information is a Bit Repetitive.  Bare with me...
Value of a Service Dog...
If the Police Department and Animal control really knew the value of service dogs to a person with ANY kind of disability maybe they would try a little harder to uphold the laws that are supposed to protect service dogs and their handlers.  To not do anything at all, it is like the police are saying they don't really give a crap about a dog.  That is the problem.  My dog is a Service dog, not just a pet.  It took years of hard work, training, testing, and lots of money to make my dog who she is today.  The injuries to a service dog do not have to be visual to damage the service dog's ability to do it's job.  The guy shown above thought that if my dog had no open wounds that there was nothing else he needed to do.  However, this jerk doesn't realize that the emotional damage is often just as debilitating, sometimes causing a dog to need to retire early.  My dog has been unable to properly alert me since this attack.  When my anxiety begins to rise, she is totally afraid of me and goes off to hide because I freaked out when the dog attacked and Rosie thought I was yelling at her.  I scared her.  It breaks my heart (and doesn't help my anxiety much) to see her do this.

We are not safe...
 Every dog that barks when we walk down the street scares her to death.  And it doesn't matter if Rosie is off leash or on leash.  We have been attacked both on and off.  Actually, we have been attacked more on leash than off.  That throws the whole "Leash law" safety theory right out the window.  The truth is... Rosie and I are NOT safe ever.  Doesn't matter if we are in the forest, field or walking up the road.  And the fact that we have a police department that doesn't seem to give a crap half the time doesn't help at all.  I thought they were to "Serve and Protect".  This service dog has kept me out of police cruisers and out of hospitals, and have saved their wallets valuable taxpayers' money.  Maybe they miss roughing me up when I am having a panic attack or problems with active flashbacks.  Maybe THEY want to cover the cost of raising and training my next service dog who may have to arrive earlier than I had planned.  They cost anywhere from $7,000- $20,000.  Service dog maintenance is an extra few thousand dollars a year extra.  Medicaid and Medicare don't help me cover the costs of my service dog even though she has done far more than any paid professional has ever done for me.  I spend everyday and every hour with my service dog.  We have been a team for almost 6 years now.  Our bond to one another is priceless.  Think they can cover that?

Here is a video someone sent me the link to that urges Police Officers to uphold service dog protection laws (the film talks about guide dogs and their visually impaired handlers, but at the end specifies that the protection is extended to other type service dogs.)  I found it a little traumatizing probably because the dog attack from a few weeks ago has still left me and my dog kind of raw and fragile.

http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/images/movies/gduc_800.wmv

I think I am going to make some wanted posters to hang around town.  Maybe someone will help me identify this jerk whose dog attacked my Rosie.  I think it is about time someone pays for something like this to set an example that if your dog is not friendly and/or doesn't listen, keep it leashed.  Heck, keep it muzzled and keep it home!  I can't afford to lose my girl!

Update...
Oh, I heard from animal control a week later.  She said she had been on vacation so she hadn't gotten back with me.  She said that they can't find the person whose dog attacked Rosie.  How would they expect to find the guy if the only detail I gave the police was "He had really short brown hair and glasses".  The police didn't want my photo.  He didn't even want to look at the photo.  And later on when I came back with the pamphlet with the Maine SD laws in it, the officer tried to tell me that someone from Augusta had already given them pamphlets.  I knew that they didn't have THIS pamphlet because my friend and I created this so that we had the state SD laws as they are written in the law.  MCRC was kind of loose with their translation of the SD laws.  Both Pamphlets are accessible on the side of this blog under Rosie's Favorite Links.  You can make a copy of it for your own use.

8/10/2010
This morning I was supposed to meet with the trainer but her husband was called into work and one of her friend's dogs was having pups so she needed to go over and help.  Great.  Anxiety attack.  My dog runs and hides from me which only makes me feel worse and makes the panic attack get worse and last even longer.  I just don't understand how she can totally love me and then totally fear me in the same second.  I gave her nearly 6 good years of pampering, training and lots of love and praise.  Where is it?  How can one incident totally ruin my service dog?  I just don't get it.  I am so scared that she will have to retire.  If she does, she will not be able to go with me in public and will be totally unhappy.  I wish she understood that.  I wish she knew the importance of alerting me and that I need her to do that.

To see this as a larger image, click on the picture.
Do You Know This Man?

Spring Update

This spring has been an unusual one here in Maine.  It is only the tail end of May and the weather has been unlike our usual spring weather.  Instead of mud, right now we have grass.  Instead of frost, we are presently having temps in the 80's.  Today I put in my second air conditioner (which I planned on not having to put back in this window at all.  I was supposed to be in Oregon).  Rosie and I would normally take the bus to walk in the City Forest all afternoon, coming home around supper, but I took the day off to run errands and pick up stuff to put the AC in correctly.  Tomorrow will also be very hot, but I plan on taking the bus out to the forest to give Rosie and I some run time for a few hours before hiking out.  The downfall is that tomorrow is supposed to be hotter, and we may be getting some thunder showers... some severe.  These storms usually hit when we are on our way out to catch the bus which means that we will be out of the forest (more than likely) and on Kittridge Road somewhere.  There is no protection there.

The joys of spring are all ours when we are walking in the forest.  With my camera, I catch each stage of new growth and flowers opening, and Rosie's first swim in the beaver pond.  My Lupine at home is far ahead of the Lupine in the Forest.  It is very unusual to have Lupine in bloom like this in May, but here we are!  The Lady's Slippers are out in huge numbers, and the fields are growing very fast this year.  The birds have already established nests in the long grass and low shrubs.  My best friend and confidant is Rosie, my service dog.  For the most part, she is not super judgemental of me.  She loves to walk in the woods with me though she'd prefer I focus all my attention on her and not photographing everything else BUT her (she has her fair number of photos).  She doesn't understand why I won't let her play and leap off the rough trails (because of the delicate flowers like Lady's Slippers in bloom right now.  The grass in the field hides bird nests and also her expensive Chuck-it balls so I am not throwing them in the fields anymore.  I do make sure she hits the pond as we come in and on our way out.  We have seen no beavers unfortunately, no frogs yet, but there are those monster blood suckers in there!

Because of the stress of being apart from my husband who is in Oregon trying to get the money to come back to Maine and move us all west, financial stress and second dog stress, I must be wound quite tightly.  It takes very little for Rosie to be on the alert, looking over to me to see if I am okay.  I don't have to be in tears, she looks over and just knows.  I can't wait until this move is over even though it will bring with it new stresses, like finding new providers, switching over my checks and medical care... and finally I will be able to parent Blizzard my "puppy".  He is now one, but is no where close to being an adult dog.  He is my project dog.  Rosie is my psychotherapy.

I have begun attending church and though she really hates it, Rosie quietly lays by my feet for the 3 hours we are there for Sacrament and the 2 classes afterwards. Then afterwards she pulls me towards the door like she is saying "Let's get out of here!"  However, if she gathers her fan club, she will slow down until they all disperse.

Right now the temp has gone down to 79 so I will get Rosie ready to go play down by the river for a little bit.

Fun With My Service Dog: Combining Training and Play

Rosie helps me pick up trash on the lawn.

My service dog, Rosie never ceases to amaze me with her intelligence and ability to grasp onto a newly taught skill. Last week I decided to see how she would do picking things up and handing it to me. We have tried in the past, but if she thinks it is a goofy game, she has a tendency to chew on the object in her mouth. I knew there was a chance she would do the same today too. I sat at my desk and dropped things onto the floor. Then I would ask her to pick it up. The tricky part was getting her to actually give it to me and not drop it on the floor in front of me. After all, she is not a retriever. It didn’t take too long before I had her putting the object in my lap. I started with big objects, an old cell phone, an old camera, an article of clothing… and then upped the challenge. I moved on to check sized paper, a plastic medicine bottle, and even a tiny charm that was rounded and a bit thicker than a coin. Before I dropped this object on the floor for Rosie to pick up, I looked at it, inspected its rounded edges and fairly compact size and decided it was safe for her even if she happened to swallow it (which I was really hoping she wouldn’t do.) So I flicked the little object onto the floor, telling Rosie to pick it up and give it to me. She barely hesitated, picked the thing up in her teeth and brought it to me. WooHoo! She got lots of praises. The second time she dropped it on the floor and I thought she had swallowed it. I freaked, pulled her jaws open and swept the back of her throat before I looked down and saw the charm laying there at Rosie’s feet. The only thing I swept from Rosie’s throat was the treat I had given her. I apologized and gave her praise and another treat. She realized I was wound a bit tight that day, so she wasn’t bothered by my upset at all (plus, I have shoved and placed plenty of supplements in the back of her throat for many years, so it was nothing alien to her.)

Rosie hands me the trash that was on the lawn.

I got the idea to try this activity again because last time I did laundry at the laundry mat, I knew she was bored and we wouldn’t have much time or energy left for playtime afterwards. I was dropping loose socks and squatting down to pick up the articles of clothing was just plain painful. Achy. I began to have Rosie pick up the clothes and hand them to me. The delivery of items to my lap or to my hand has always been the biggest challenge when we have tried these retrieve activities before, but I feel she caught on pretty well today. I began dropping stuff on the floor on purpose for her to pick up and hand to me. This was a great activity for her (and me). It was a little bit of training to break the monotony of the task I had at hand. It also gave her brain and body something to do other than just stand there looking truly pitiful.

Oops! I dropped something!... Rosie hands me the article of clothing that fell on the floor.

A couple days ago, she had her long dog and was playing with it. I asked her to bring it to me… which of course she did. Then I was telling her to bring it to Solace (“her” kitten, a 4 year old Siamese mix with an attitude.) This confused her at first, but then the light bulb went on and she brought her long dog over and put it on the office chair right in front of where Solace was laying (on the office chair). I gave Rosie lots of praise for carrying through this activity. What she had done was something we have only done before with another person, and not for a very long time. It was a command that she carried through from a distance of me. More on that later.

Today it was very cold (compared to yesterday’s 60. It was actually seasonable for March for a change today) Wanting to do something different, I set up a game with some of Rosie’s tennis balls, a bucket and a Chuck-it Ball launcher. To warm up for the game, I stood at the bucket of tennis balls. I would throw one and Rosie would go get it. I would tell her to “put the ball in the bucket”. Once she had the hang of that (didn’t take too long as we have played this game before).

Then I decided to work on having her do the same command with me standing far away from the bucket. She often has a hard time doing a command far away from me, and I think it is because I teach her these commands right there at my feet. If I tell her to roll over and she is 20 feet away, she feels like she has to keep moving until she reaches me and then drop to do her roll over. After I teach her something, I need to train her to do the same task at a distance as well.

Rosie delivers a tennis ball to me... Rosie puts the tennis ball in the bucket.

Anyway, back to the tennis ball and bucket activity: The game rules were, I would stand about ten feet away from the bucket of tennis balls. I would send Rosie over to the bucket to get a ball out and “bring it to me”. Then I would send her back to get another tennis ball from the bucket. When she returns to me, I have her sit and I step back, and throw the ball to her so she can catch it in her mouth. Then I tell her to “take the ball and put it in the bucket”. The extra ball I have is kind of a distraction because she will want me to throw her that ball instead of carrying through with “putting the ball in the bucket”. Once she drops the ball in the bucket, she can return for the last ball which I throw to her and we do the whole process all over again. What drives me nuts about Rosie is that she really thinks she can pull the wool over my eyes so to speak. She knows how to do this activity, but if she is for some reason distracted or just being plain obstinate, she will just throw the ball around even though previously she put it in the bucket several times in a row. If she throws the ball around even though I am giving her the command to “put it in the bucket” and then eventually puts the ball in the bucket, I definitely do NOT treat her. I know she knows that task. She’s not getting an easy treat from me! I too can be obstinate!

All in all, even after five years, Rosie and I are still learning and teaching each other things. Things that she hadn’t been able to take seriously when she was younger, she was now able to understand and not goof off while doing the activity

It is hard to explain to others how to teach some of the things Rosie does to their dogs. I have learned that not all dogs or dog breeds learn the same or at the same speed or ease as border collies do and Rosie is my first dog. “How did you teach her not to bark?” I would grab her snout firmly and say “No! No barking!” and she would stop. “What if your dog sees a squirrel and starts after it?” I yell “Rowena, No!” and she stops. Do you see my dilemma? I cannot easily spread my knowledge, because sometimes Rosie learns with out my trying to teach.

Anyway, I love Rosie and enjoy having her be my service dog.

Rosie and her "long dog" toy.