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‘She was just doing her job’: Homeless vet loses service dog during arrest for panhandling
Yahoo ^ | 10/27/21 | Rachel Nostrant

Posted on 10/29/2021 2:19:18 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd

Joshua Graham Rohrer, a homeless veteran in North Carolina, says he was wrongfully arrested and mistreated by Gastonia police officers, who also tased his service dog Sunshine, sparking support from those who witnessed the incident.

~

Rohrer was standing on a median near a Gastonia shopping center with Sunshine on Oct. 13 when a 911 caller contacted police. While Rohrer wasn’t bothering anybody, having Sunshine with him was his way of using sympathy to get money from people, the caller said, according to a copy of the audio call.

~

Rohrer’s grief over losing Sunshine almost killed him, Dowell said to Military Times. According to Dowell, Rohrer took off into traffic after learning Sunshine was gone, and tried throwing himself in front of any car that he could.

“He absolutely lost his mind,” Dowell said.

Losing Sunshine and facing the allegedly rough and careless treatment of the police left Rohrer feeling hopeless enough that he “just wanted to die,” he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: homelessvet; servicedog
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To: old curmudgeon

“No one should be treated that way other than maybe a mass murderer.”

Last week just had one of these roadway beggars killed by a car.

Diver now has PSTD.


21 posted on 10/29/2021 3:08:42 PM PDT by TexasGator (UF)
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To: TexasGator

It says it in the article and it says the VA gave him the service dog, which would support the idea that he is service connected at a fairly high level. Probably 100% if they’re giving him a dog.


22 posted on 10/29/2021 3:09:30 PM PDT by perfect_rovian_storm
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To: TexasGator

“Out begging with an unleashed dog in traffic also?”

Did I miss the part where they said the dog was unleashed?

L


23 posted on 10/29/2021 3:15:13 PM PDT by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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To: perfect_rovian_storm

he shouldn’t be out begging for money. He should go into treatment or have a custodian


Really? You will give him the money and service that the VA does not provide to hire a “custodian”? How do you know what his disability payment is just by looking at an statistical average? Like many vets who get almost nothing? He’s homeless for a reason, and now a candidate for suicide.

Ever been in combat and suffered from PTSD as a result? Thought not. Lots of guys who served suffer in the silence of PTSD. Try it some time. Read the “The Solitary World of A Vet - When We Came Home” online somewhere for further enlightenment as to what happens to many of those who serve.

In many states and towns, 3K a month barely covers rent, with enough left over for coffee and a donut.


24 posted on 10/29/2021 3:16:06 PM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: Responsibility2nd
Horrible story. Sad.

What kind of scum calls cops on homeless person (much less a Veteran) with dog, not bothering anyone (and who cares if he's panhandling or not)

Do they not think the police had more important things to do than deal with a homeless panhandler?

25 posted on 10/29/2021 3:17:34 PM PDT by Pajamajan ( PRAY FOR OUR NATION. NEVER be a peaceful quiet slave in a new socialist America.)
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To: TexasGator

Read the article. The dog was not an emotional support dog but a service animal provided by the VA in accordance with
military regulations regarding support for veterans with PTSD or other ailments.


26 posted on 10/29/2021 3:21:05 PM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: TexasGator

Here’s the crux of this entire story.

We have mentally ill veterans out begging in the street for whatever reason, mental illness, drug addiction, and the like. In the meantime the Biden Administration is trying to give illegal aliens $450,000 each as a reward for breaking our laws.

Instead of arresting illegals in their jurisdiction they’re slamming a dude with mental problems and a service dog to the ground because he was begging. Then these idiot cops were “threatened” by his dog for doing something they’d praise their own dogs for doing.

That’s how messed up things are right now.

L


27 posted on 10/29/2021 3:22:48 PM PDT by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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To: TexasGator

He is not required to provide or show any such documentation.


28 posted on 10/29/2021 3:23:40 PM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: old curmudgeon

Yeah.


29 posted on 10/29/2021 3:24:19 PM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: lastchance

Can I ask an honest question? What exactly is the difference between an emotional support dog and a service animal?

We see no indication this veteran was physically disabled and in need of a service animal, but every indication that he was mentally and emotionally disabled and in dire need of an emotional support dog.

So why do you say this was not an emotional support dog?


30 posted on 10/29/2021 3:25:38 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd (I love my country. It's my government that I hate.)
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To: TexasGator

That has nothing to do with this incident.

By the way, only a few weeks ago I came up on a Lincoln Expedition smashed against a tree, burning like you would not believe.

Two dead, two with terrible injuries.

So do you suggest that the cops pull everyone out of their Lincoln Expeditions and beat the crap out of them, shoot their dog and throw them in jail because it might happen again to someone?

Stuff happens and those of us who are fortunate need to know when it is time to intervene and when it is time to mind our own business.

And if you do intervene, so so in a helpful way. This guy’s situation certainly was not helped in any way by the treatment he got.

As for the poor vet’s story, I would bet money the woman in the car set him up. A call from a woman. a cop car right behind a woman....one interesting coincidence.


31 posted on 10/29/2021 3:28:13 PM PDT by old curmudgeon (There is no situation so bad that the federal government can not make worse.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Sigh. I am physically disabled, and I have a service dog. A service dog is simply a dog trained to perform a service that helps with a person’s disability. In order to have a service dog you must be disabled. Disabilities may be physical and/or mental.

An emotional support animal is not necessarily trained in any special way. They help people who have emotional difficulties.

The ADA is very specific about service animals, thank God.

I don’t care what this poor guy was doing. Separating him from his service animal and not giving her back is not only cruel, it violates the ADA. This is a disgrace.


32 posted on 10/29/2021 3:34:11 PM PDT by ModernDayCato
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To: ModernDayCato

I’m sorry to hear of your disabilities, but thank you for the clarification.


33 posted on 10/29/2021 3:35:47 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd (I love my country. It's my government that I hate.)
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To: lastchance

“Read the article. The dog was not an emotional support dog but a service animal provided by the VA in accordance with
military regulations regarding support for veterans with PTSD or other ailments.”

Given that the VA does NOT provide service dogs for PSTD I am assuming you are just making all that up!

In fact, the VA says that a dog may hinder proper recovery


34 posted on 10/29/2021 3:39:54 PM PDT by TexasGator (UF)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Service dogs have been taken advantage of. I’ve been charged extra at hotels (against the law), refused service (against the law), had certificates demanded (against the law).

The person can ask what service the dog performs, but that’s it.

Emotional support animals are not covered by law, and get no special treatment.

Thanks for the kind words. I lost a leg, but have a terrific prosthetic.


35 posted on 10/29/2021 3:39:55 PM PDT by ModernDayCato
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To: Responsibility2nd

Let me find the military’s definition of service dog provided for vets. I know for one thing the dog must be trained to provide a specific service that directly mitigates the disability. From what I can gather PTSD was only recently recognized as a disability that made a veteran eligible to receive a service dog. The VA is tasked with providing such dogs so either Sunshine was recently given to Rohr or he had other problems making him eligible. (I may have gotten his name wrong.)

An emotional support animal does not have to perform specific tasks which mitigate a disability. They are just there for support. Like whisky on legs.


36 posted on 10/29/2021 3:41:04 PM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: monkeyshine

Smart as all get out.


37 posted on 10/29/2021 3:41:45 PM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: old curmudgeon

“So do you suggest that the cops pull everyone out of their Lincoln Expeditions and beat the crap out of them, shoot their dog and throw them in jail because it might happen again to someone?”

Non Sequitur.

And totally stupid!


38 posted on 10/29/2021 3:42:45 PM PDT by TexasGator (UF)
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To: TexasGator

Not making anything up. The law was recently changed to allow dogs for PTSD. If the dog was provided by the VA prior to the law change it simply means Rohr had a disability that allowed for the procurement of a service dog. The process to obtain one is not an easy one. It is unlikely the VA simply handed out the dog without a by or leave.


39 posted on 10/29/2021 3:45:09 PM PDT by lastchance (Credo.)
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To: Flick Lives
"These are the sort of cops that would kill the unvaccinated if ordered to do so."

Yep. Wouldn't it have been normal procedure for Animal Control to take custody of the dog until his owner is processed? I feel sorry for the dude, but I get the feeling that substance abuse is part of his problem.

40 posted on 10/29/2021 3:45:30 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
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