Explain? Blind People driving carts?

[flyinglizard]

Today at EPCOT, I saw a lady driving a cart, holding on to a leash with a "service dog" in tow. He was trotting along with the cart. Both the blind lady and the dog seemed to be doing just fine.

Later, I saw a motorized wheel chair with another dog wearing the harness with the handle. They were moving along faster than us! Does the dog navigate?

I don't remember ever seeing this before, and I was just curious... "what is going on here?" Blind people with "service dogs" driving motorized carts and wheel chairs?

Can someone explain what I saw, that just doesn't seem to make any sense?

Thanks...

 

[Cimorne]

Are you postive that she was blind? I know that service dogs are actually used by people with a number of different disabilities (like hearing problems or detecting seizures). Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[kaytieeldr]

You're right, Cimorne. Service dogs are used in a variety of situations. The OP should ask about this over on the disABILITIES board - I'm positive there are sighted DISers over there who have service animals.

 

[flyinglizard]

No, not sure if she was blind but she was wearing sunnies and the dog was on a true leash, with no handle harness. The dog had a sign that said "Service Dog".

The second sighting was a dog with a "handle harness" that I associate with blind persons.

I wasn't aware of the dogs being used for other disabilities but I would welcome more info.

Thanks...

 

[5disneyfreaks]

There are service dogs for all kinds of needs. For someone in a wheelchair, they help get things. Example, if the person drops something.
I was a bit stunned the first time a saw a service dog for someone other than a blind person.
The idea of a vision impaired person driving a cart kinda makes me smile. Then again, my youngest is legally blind.
By the way, they are amazing dogs!

 

[kaytieeldr]

That's why I'm suggesting asking this question on the disABILITIES board. I'm positive at least one regular contributor has a service (or companion) dog to help with a variety of issues. I think there's at least one other person there who also has one - and this again is just among the regular posters, there could be dozens of lurkers who have them, too.

You could Google "service pet" or "service dog" for more information.

 

[MyGoofy26]

Not all people that are blind are completely blind in the way some people think - they don't just see black. Some people can still for example see foggy shapes of things, enough to function somewhat (better than those with no sight at all) and still be considered legally blind. Plus, like others have mentioned, service dogs aren't just "seeing eye" dogs. They can be used to detect a number of things before the person realizes they're in trouble.

 

[S.Poppins]

This summer I met a woman with epilepsy and she had a service dog that can detect when she is about to have a seizure so she can take medicine. I thought that was amazing!

 

[flyinglizard]

Huh!

I didn't know about any of that. Thank you all for posting!

 

[Matt'sMom]

What you saw are service dogs that assist people with disabilities. It is very common, actually. The owners in the chairs/ECV's are not blind--they simply have a canine companion that has been specially trained to assist them with tasks such as opening doors, turning on lights, picking up items, bringing them the phone, etc.. All things we able bodied people may take for granted, but that can be difficult for someone in a wheel chair. When you see one with the special harness on, they are often the dogs that also help provide physical support (for someone that needs to lean on them for balance when transferring out of the chair), or they may help 'pull'. There are also Hearing ear dogs, seizure alert dogs, etc., but most often the dogs that you will see accompanying a person in a wheel chair are the assistance trained service dogs.

If you want to learn more, please feel free to check out the web site for Canine Companions for Independence... or Susquehanna Service Dogs (both are groups that we've personally supported for many years). Maybe even consider sending a donation to one of these groups this over the holiday season--they never seem to have enough funds to meet the needs of those who could benefit from one of these special canine companions (waiting lists are very long).

 

[tkd lisa]

I met a great DISer on our 10 day cruise in 2004 who has a service dog (Cash the Wonder Dog!) She's in a motorized wheelchair, but isn't blind. Cash handles all the things she can't do, such as picking things off the ground, etc.

By the way, cruising with a service dog has some interesting challenges which I had never thought of. Lynda (Cash's owner) was gracious enough to share some of it, and I was amazed!

 

[welovedis]

There are also dogs that assist those with other issues, like autism or aspergers syndrome. The dog not only helps to calm down the person, but also serves as a way to communicate with others (ie..talk about what their dog does or lets kids ask questions, etc..)

Autism Service Dogs of America , Northstar Foundation , 4 Paws for Ability , and National Service Dogs all provide dogs for those with autism spectrum disorders.

HTH! And thanks for posting this here so that others can also learn about these great animals.

 

[seashoreCM]

What if the blind person does not have enough leg strength to walk and the seeing eye dog does not have enough leg strength to pull him?

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

"The judge walked in with a seeing eye dog. The arresting officer looked at the seeing eye dog. Then he looked at [his evidence consisting of] the 8x10 glossy photographs with circles and arrows and with a paragraph on the back of each. ... case of American blind justice" (Arlo Guthrie)

 

[Mono~rail]

There are service dogs to assist with any need you can imagine!

 

[goofyernmost]

No, not sure if she was blind but she was wearing sunnies and the dog was on a true leash, with no handle harness. The dog had a sign that said "Service Dog".

The second sighting was a dog with a "handle harness" that I associate with blind persons.

I wasn't aware of the dogs being used for other disabilities but I would welcome more info.

Thanks...

Which brings us to yet another new abused ADA regulation. People quickly realized that by putting a "Service Dog" cape on their pet, they could bring it anyplace. On public transportation, hotels, restaurants and so on. No one can ask what the dog does as a service, no one can ask for certification. It makes everyone that legitamately has a service dog suspect and exposes the general public to certain degrees of danger. Since untrained "service" animals are sometimes highly protective of their owner they will lash out at innocent people that they perceive to be a threat. Trained service dogs do not do this. Just another example of a situation that was meant to be helpful is used by morally dead people for their own advantage.

It all serves to make me glad that I am getting older and don't have to deal with this society that much longer. It's all very depressing.

 

[welovedis]

Which brings us to yet another new abused ADA regulation. People quickly realized that by putting a "Service Dog" cape on their pet, they could bring it anyplace. On public transportation, hotels, restaurants and so on. No one can ask what the dog does as a service, no one can ask for certification. It makes everyone that legitamately has a service dog suspect and exposes the general public to certain degrees of danger. Since untrained "service" animals are sometimes highly protective of their owner they will lash out at innocent people that they perceive to be a threat. Trained service dogs do not do this. Just another example of a situation that was meant to be helpful is used by morally dead people for their own advantage.

It all serves to make me glad that I am getting older and don't have to deal with this society that much longer. It's all very depressing.

Wow, I've honestly never heard of anyone doing this and really surprises me. I personally know 8-10 families with service dogs and cannot imagine someone buying a cape to put on a regular dog to be able to take them somewhere. That is very sad, and sounds like the kind of person who would stoop to anything to get what they wanted. How very sad for those who have legitimate service animals.

 

[MyGoofy26]

Which brings us to yet another new abused ADA regulation. People quickly realized that by putting a "Service Dog" cape on their pet, they could bring it anyplace.

Wow, I've never heard of someone doing this! I'd have never thought of it! But I suppose for every loophole there is someone to take advantage of it. Too bad these kind of people can't be that creative in productive ways.

 

[SueM in MN]

Which brings us to yet another new abused ADA regulation. People quickly realized that by putting a "Service Dog" cape on their pet, they could bring it anyplace. On public transportation, hotels, restaurants and so on. No one can ask what the dog does as a service, no one can ask for certification.

People can't be asked for certification, but they can be asked what service the dog is providing.
Here's a link to the Department of Justice page for businesses about Service Animals and some quotes about service animals and under what circumstances the owner can be asked to remove their service animal:
Businesses may ask if an animal is a service animal or ask what tasks the animal has been trained to perform, but cannot require special ID cards for the animal or ask about the person's disability.

People with disabilities who use service animals cannot be charged extra fees, isolated from other patrons, or treated less favorably than other patrons. However, if a business such as a hotel normally charges guests for damage that they cause, a customer with a disability may be charged for damage caused by his or her service animal.

A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the animal is out of control and the animal's owner does not take effective action to control it (for example, a dog that barks repeatedly during a movie) or (2) the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.

I work in a rehab hospital and saw a demonstration by a service dog of what he could do for our clients - it was pretty amazing. The organizations basically look at what sorts of tasks that owner will need help with and train the dog to do that skill. The dogs we saw could pick up something as small as a dime and bring it to the master, open doors, act as a 'living bolster' to assist an unsteady person to walk or assist the owner to stand up after falling. If there is a way for a dog to do the task, they can probably be trained to do it.

And, for the question about the kind of leash or harness the dog wears, that would be dependent on the needs of the person teamed with the dog. Some people might be more able to use a harness than a leash or the services the dog is providing might work better with a harness, so their dog might have one of those even though most people think of the harness as for seeing eye dogs.

 

[Earstou]

Which brings us to yet another new abused ADA regulation. People quickly realized that by putting a "Service Dog" cape on their pet, they could bring it anyplace.

I do know of one situation where this happened, but it turned out the person doing it was mentally ill. The dog had a cardboard sign hanging from it's neck! She would walk around an area where many people walked and ate lunch during the work day. I saw her dog snap at people at various times. Finally, the law stepped in and took the dog away from her, since it really was a dangerous animal. Sad, sad situation!

 

[PatriciaH]

We saw a service pony in MGM last year! It was as small as a dog and had a handle harness and sneakers on. Awesome.