Posted on 09/19/2004 9:17:59 AM PDT by nuconvert
Court to hear the scoop on dog's poop
Associated Press
INDIO, Calif. - A blind couple is headed to court to resolve a dispute with their homeowner association about droppings left in the street by their guide dogs.
Dennis and Shirley Bartlett are aware of the pooper-scooper rules for their Desert Grove homeowner association, but said they sometimes miss droppings left by their dogs.
"You can't get everything all the time," Dennis Bartlett said.
The Bartletts filed a small claims suit against former association president Delmar Pierce, alleging harassment and prohibiting their guide dogs from doing what they were trained to do - defecate in the street. The case is scheduled to be heard Sept. 22.
Pierce didn't want to discuss the case, noting he's only had one conversation with Bartlett.
"During that private conversation all I said was, 'We need to talk about your dogs and relieving themselves in the streets,'" he said, adding that Bartlett doesn't want to abide by the rules of the gated community.
Association attorney Margaret Wangler said the association never told the couple not to use the streets.
"The association's concern and the reason for getting in touch with the Bartletts was that they don't clean it up all the way and that's a health and safety concern to the board."
Ping.
Doesn't the Americans with Disabilities Act come into play here? Reasonable accommodations, and all that. Scooping a few dog turds for a blind couple doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
Oh how I hate gated communities. My Mom lived in one that required residents to park in their garages, not on their driveways.
"The association's concern and the reason for getting in touch with the Bartletts was that they don't clean it up all the way and that's a health and safety concern to the board."
Uhh, Margaret, are you aware these folks are blind?
Do you think that place is too cheap to have a street sweeper?
Same here. When I was living Santa Maria, there was an ordinance that you couldn't work on your car in your own garage.
CCR Brownshirts were all over any shade tree mechanics like white on rice.
Personally, I can't imagine trying to find and pick up dog poo blindfolded, and I doubt these folks wh are disturbed at the risk associated with it's mere presence in the street would go feeling around for it blind either.
Hmmm.... well. So there it is.
Why, do you think Pierce could qualify?
;-)
Good grief, someone tell the association to give the blind people a break already.
Why do I suspect no self-respecting Republican would do this?
Most wouldn't make an issue of it. My philosophy has always been that you need to maintain good relations with your neighbors, and not pick them to death with petty complaints. If it's only happening once in a while, just deal with it. If it's a constant thing, and it gets to be really annoying, then you can address it on a different level, only in a civilized manner.
Having had a guide dog for three years, it's not unreasonable for blind folks to pick up after their dog. However, crapping in the street is a new one. We were taught to take the dog into the grass or dirt. When he stops circling feel the back for arching and then wait till he's done. Wearing a plastic bag like a mitten it's easy to pick up the poop. In the street this would leave a kerry-like smear though. My dog was given to me by Southeastern Guide Dogs in Palmetto, FL. They survive on donations and make the dogs available free to blind and visually impaired people. If you'd like more info they're at guidedogs.org. I use a screen reader program called JAWS 4.5 to surf, Email, Word, etc.
Very good to know that this is one of the things that can be dealt with, I still think the neighbors are nitpicky curmudgeons!
I am familiar and always admire the work of Guide Dogs for the Blind. A friend helped raise a guide dog puppy once, and it was a real fun and rewarding experience for her. Wonder where that dog is now.
There are businesses that come to your home to clean up after your dog.
They could even pay a neighborhood kid. But they cannot leave the mess out in the street.
I suppose the attorneys will recommend they hire a sighted person to walk their dogs. I don't know what the legalities of that are.
Do they come a couple times a day on demand? What frequency should they have the mess cleaned up.... should they stand and guard it until help arrives to clean it up so the curmudgeons don't inadvertantly step in it and suffer serious emotional and physical harm?
I just think the neighbors worrying about this kind of stuff is ~the~ symptom that life is pretty darn easy in this country.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.