Spare a thought for those vital animals as new year approach

Fireworks put fear into assistance dogs, please think of the consequences of letting them off in urban areas this new year.

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Muslims break taboo to allow guide dog into mosque -Times Online

Interesting article about Guide Dogs for the Blind in the UK planning to place a guide dog with a Muslim teenager. Many different angles here as to what might be right and what might not be so good for the dog, certainly an interesting development.

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It's almost Christmas!

The loss of a great man.

A light, a shining star in the world of assistance dog advocacy has gone out. It was with great sadness that we learned of the untimely and sudden passing of Michael Osborn, a guide dog partner and leading player in the world of advocacy, earlier this month.

Michael was key to the breakthrough in legislation that led to assistance dogs being allowed to travel in the airline cabin from North America to the UK; something which we, as a partnership have benefited directly from.

When I won the IAADP scholarship in January 2006, Michael arranged my flights and that's how I got to know him and gained the courage to travel to California and back with just my assistance dog Caesar as my companion.

At the IAADP conference in San Diego, I was asked to deliver the keynote speech, and to my horror and embarrassment, named Michael as Michael Hastings (the name of his guide dog) instead of Michael Osborn, I need not have worried, I was told afterwards Michael was highly amused and flattered by my faux pas!

It was with great trepidation that I accepted co-option onto the IAADP Board at that conference to fill the space left by Michaels' resignation follwoing his taking up other committments.

Hastings loved the pheasant Caesar had brought him from the UK!

A message from Ed Eames the President of IAADP:

To honor the memory of Michael Osborn, whose advocacy effortsmade it possible for assistance dog partners to travel to theUnited Kingdom accompanied by their guide, hearing and service dogs in the airplane cabin, the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP) will be dedicating its 2008 conference in his name. Michael, a former IAADP Board member, anticipated with relish attending the conference on June 25 at the Renaissance Hotel at Heathrow Airport, London. Those of us travelling from North America to the UK are deeply indebted toMichael for all of his efforts on his and our behalf. His tenacity and persuasiveness paved the way for all of us desiring to travel internationally with our canine assistants. The conference luncheon will provide an opportunity to celebrate his life and achievements. For conference details, check http://www.iaadp.org/.

Imagine the reactions I get ...

... when I phone up a hotel and ask where the nearest grass is! "What sort of grass ma'am"? "Well, the lawn type of grass, it's usually green, or a bush or some shingle or other soft surface ..."

The conversation usually degenerates into laughter when the person on the other end of the phone realises I need somewhere for my assistance dog to relieve himself! During the day it doesn't really matter as I am quite resourceful in finidng a park or somewhere else for him to have a run, but first thing in the morning and last thing at night we need somewhere close.

It surprises me how often the person on the end of the phone can't immediately think of what grass is nearby! I often find myself asking something like, "I can see from Google Earth you have some greenery on the far side of the hotel car park, can you tell me if that is accessible or fenced off please"?

Coincidentally, assistance dog relieving areas came up in at least two of my meetings recently, the whole thing isn't as simple as one might think, soft surface, wheelchair accessible (for pick up), safe so the dog can releieve off lead and so on ...

I suspect increasingly, under the new Disability Equality Duty we shall see dog relieving areas at major venues. Which will only be a good thing :o)

More hotels, more taxis, more problems!

A couple of weeks ago I had a very hectic schedule, four meetings in four days in London, and three separate hotels were booked on my behalf.

First hotel, the bed in the accessible room was against the wall, no recognition that a person needing an accessible room might only be able to transfer to and from the bed one way. Second hotel, wow an electric door opener, saved a lot of faffing around entering and leaving the room, but alas it made such an awful elctronic buzz all night it kept me awake ... shower next morning, something wrong with the accessible shower and it flooded the whole bathroom! Last hotel of the week was the best, even had electric sockets reachable from the bed and access wise was top of the list. Sadly all three had at least one emergency alarm cord tied up "out of the way".

I really do wonder who advises all these places as somehow something goes wrong between having a great idea and it being practical for everday use by people with mobility disabilities.

While on the subject of hotels, what is it that makes folk think that people who need an accessible room wouldn't like a view? Having had the need to use hotels across the UK, Europe and USA I have frequently asked for an accessible room with a view, even at Niagara Falls, this was impossible. The third hotel listed above has rooms overlooking the River Thames and at the back the main rail line into London Waterloo, yes, you've guessed it, their accessible rooms back onto the railway line! One has to then make the decision, a lower floor accessible room for easier evacuation in an emergency but more railway noise, or a higher room, take your chances with evacuation but a quieter environment! A bit of a no brainer really!

By far the biggest disappointment of the week was the number of times I was refused a ride in a London taxi! Grrrrrr, people with disabilities need to get to work as well you know! One morning, I was trying to get a cab for almost half an hour on a main road in Kensington, numerous taxis with their lights on to declare they are for hire, but I guess sitting on the pavement in my wheelchair with my assistance dog beside me makes me invisible! Several taxis literally turned around, turned their lights off or took someone else after I had hailed them. The prize has to go to the two taxis that refused to pick my up right outside the Dept for Transport ... it really is time the Carriage Office got out and about and did some spot checks and filming of such disgraceful behaviour.

Of course there is the option to take the number on the taxi and report them, which I have done on several occasions now, but unless there is clear committment from the legal department of the Carriage Office to prosecute, there is little point, disabled people will remain at the bottom of the heap when it comes to hailing cabs in the street in London.

Just this morning I received notification that a complaint following such an incident late at night in London is not to be taken forward for prosecution, I had a witness and the driver even admitted he was there ... what more does it take to prove discrimination?

It really is tempting to undertake a filming project to prove this point as so many people don't appreciate the problems involved unless they witness it first hand.

It is such a shame as it reflects on all the cabs, and probably 90% are run by decent helpful people.

Our 7th Anniversary!

Today, Caesar and I are celebrating our 7th anniversary together as a partnership ... it doesn't seem like half that time at all!

When I look back now at how we both were the day we met, we've both come a looooooong way!

This afternoon I made dog biscuits and Caesar enjoyed eating them. I tried one, it's still repeating on me now, hours later!

We've had seven fantastic years together and I hope we'll have many, many more.

The Circle of Life

Quite frequently, people stoip me and ask how old Caesar is, and often they'll go on to ask how long will he work for, who will have him when he retires and so on. Sometimes the more blunt ask: "Exactly how long do Golden Retrievers live for"?

Well, in spite of good healthcare, preventative medicine and a good diet, there is no exact science about how long a dog will live, or even work.

This is something that all assistance dog partnerships live and wrestle with. On the one hand so grateful for the new lease of life partnership with their dog has given them, while all the time knowing that anything can happen and that oneday, even the best partnerships will come to an end.

One day this week I was online early in the morning, and saw an online pal who lives in New York, some five hours behind me timewise was already online. Up late or up early, I enquired. Cyndy replied up all night, today was the day her new guide dog was due to arrive and she was so excited ... my mind immediately raced back to the day Caesar was new ... ooooh exciting! Almost two years since her last guide dog had retired, so it was a big day. Cyndy and I spent some time chatting and then parted company to get on with our days on either side of the pond.

Then the postman came, I was delighted to see a Christmas card with a tiny puppy, it was one of Millys', Caesars' niece who is a Brood Bitch for Guide Dogs. News inside said all 11 puppies, born in the summer are now in training to become guide or assistance dogs. Fantastic news. Great Uncle Caesar ... whatever next!

There are actually three and a half pups in this picture, the black ones almost blend in!

Just after lunch on the same day, I opened an email from a fellow Dogs for the Disabled partner. Devastating news, her beloved Golden had passed away ... they were such a perfectly matched couple it seemed so unfair.

And so there it was the circle of life in a day, certainly focussed my mind onto the joys and sadnesses of partnership with an assistance dog. The joy of partnership, the new found freedom and eventually the sadness at the parting.

In my mind, the most fitting tribute anyone can pay to their assistance dog is to cherish the good times and continue with the freedom gained rejoicing in what was gained, but it certainly isn't easy. My big Golden boy absorbed more than a few tears that day :o(

I am trying to decide what I think about days!

November 14th was World Diabetes Day, December 1st was World Aids Day and December 3rd was the UN International Day of Disabled Persons. The first two days were covered very well in the news and it is easy to see how the causes can benefit from the coverage, and really raise awareness, but with the IDDP not many people knew about it ... I didn't see any mention on the news and only when I googled it I learned about events taking place, mostly seminars and so on.
This year for World Diabetes Day, monuments all round the world were lit up in the blue colour associated with the organisation, I was lucky enough to be in London and see the London Eye lit in blue for the event and also to see the awareness messages projected onto The Shell Centre on The South Bank. In my hobby of geocaching there was even a special Diabetes awareness geocoin minted and distributed to geocachers to travel with the message all around the world.

On World Aids Day many performers and celebrities on television wore the red ribbons associated with the aids awareness campaign too.

It seems there were quite a number of events worldwide for IDDP, which was set up by the UN in 1992 to raise awareness of the rights of people with disabilities at both national and international levels. Handicap International give a good resume of what the day is all about. It's a sobering thought that The World Health Organisation have stated that about 10% of the worlds population are disabled and of them 80% live in developing countries.

Willkommen in Deutschland ... or are we?

We recently spent alost a fortnight in Germany, the main purpose of the visit was to attend and speak at the annual conference of Assistance Dogs Europe. We flew to Frankfurt with British Airways and once again received excellent service on the way out and back. Caesar always seems to enjoy flying and is very relaxed.

After landing, enjoying the view while we await ground assistance.

Our hosts in Frankfurt were very kind and the conference was excellent; so much to hear and see, so many people to catch up with and so much to learn. We took the opportunity to advertise the IAADP conference which is due to be held in London in June 2008 and got more European members too.

After the conference we spent time with friends in Frankfurt city, and it wasn't too long before we realised that access for people with disabilities and assistance dog partnerships wasn't what we had hoped.

I'd booked us into a four star hotel which had an accessible room, roll in shower, the lot! Unfortunately though, the front entrance looked like this!

Then there was the extremely heavy door to the corridor of our room, it couldn't be opened by a wheelchair user alone, and the roll in shower ... the floor was so slippery it was a danger to use!

As if all that wasn't bad enough, we thought we'd get a few supplies at the local Lidl supermarket. We hadn't gotten beyond the door before being accosted by a couple of members of staff, almost an impasse; they didnt speak English and my German isn't up to much. I did understand "keine hunde" though. Cue, my handy letter of introduction written in German from a local assistance dog training program to explain the very special training and essential role of Caesar ... they went away, they made phone calls, they got a customer who spoke English to ask us to leave! She explained, you do not appear to be blind, I proffered he is an assistance dog, a similar type of thing ... she wasn't listening ... she said it was against the law to allow us in ... we had no choice but to leave.

Later on we checked, and although there is no law to say assistance dogs have rights of access, there is also no law to say they are not allowed ... Lidl should be ashamed of themselves!

Thankfully, McDonalds, Burger King, Woolworths and several other shops allowed us in.

What a mess!

To put all this into perspective, it is widely accepted that the modern guide dog movement was started by Dr Gerhard Stalling, in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany in 1916. 91 years later and an assistance dog partnership still cannot buy a pint of milk!

I guess this illustrates the work ahead of us in Europe to gain pan-European access for all assistance dog partnerships and not just guide dog partnerships.



People cycle far more in Frankfurt than perhaps some other parts of Europe, and there are great cycle lanes; often these are to the edge of the pavement so that the pavement becomes a shared space, marked by white lines. I was very interested to see that on the cycle lane, when there was a junction there were dropped kerbs in place so that cyclists didn;t have to dismount to cross; whereas, almost without exception there was no dropped kerb on the pedestrain bit of the pavement. This means wheelchair users and people pushing baby buggies etc have to cross into the cycle lane to use the dropped kerb ... running the gauntlet of some of the cyclists who have very efficient bells and aren't too keen on slowing down!

Something access wise, which we saw in Germany and have never seen before, was provision within the accessible toilets. Like this one in Frankfurt airport arrivals area.



Not only a multi level monkey pole by the toilet but note the handrails alongside the sink and the adjustable angle mirror. Thumbs up!

So, access and inclusion provision in Germany was very mixed, ranging from the excellent right through to the poor ... I guess the difficulty was that one could never really relax, not knowing whether or not one would be welcome.

More tall people required!

Oh dear! Another hotel, another set of alarm cords tied beyond the reach of any average height wheelchair user. 4 star hotel, £212 a night and they still can't be bothered to make an accessible room accessible!

Unreachable from the bed!

Unreachable from the bath or shower!

Unreachable from the toilet!

Clearly anyone falling on the floor wouldn't be able to summon help, which would be such a shame considering there has been the financial investment in accessibility.

When checking out of this hotel, I flagged up the problem to the front desk staff, "...they are tied up as they get in the way for our other guests" ... errr, HELLO! This is an accessible room, when it is booked as such it should be ready for guests who need the room to be accessible ... anything less is careless and a total waste of the facilities.

Disabled Lift!

I just couldn't pass by this sign seen last week in the Trocadero Centre, just off Picadilly, London.


A disabled lift, does that mean it doesn't actually work properly? Actually, I used it, wasn't bad considering it is disabled!

Emergency Alarm Cord ... only for the very tall!

The good thing about the Physical Features duties of the Disability Discrimination Act (Oct. 2004) becoming law is that service providers have to take reasonable steps to overcome physical barriers which stop, or make it difficult for, people with disabilities using a particular service.

There has been a steady increase in the number of hotels which have rooms suitably adapted for people with disabilities. Of course this has to be appluaded but one thing that really gets my goat is that these rooms are not always ready for use by a person with a disability.

Many hotels pride themselves in having accessible rooms with emergency call systems in them. Usually beside the bed, beside the toilet and in the shower area.

I have lost count of the number of times I visit hotel rooms and have to lower the emergency cords in the bathroom because someone else has tied them up to keep them out of the way!

There seems to be absolutely no point at all in having them if they are out of reach, and certainly they should be reachable from the floor, as if one has a fall that;s pretty much where one is going to end up!

So, if you see and emergency system cord tied up "out of the way" and indeed out of reach, please join me in:

a)bringing this to the attention of the proprietor

and

b) untying the cord and allowing to hang at its full length.

This cord wasn't easily reachable from my wheelchair let alone by someone who had fallen to the floor! The photo was taken in a hotel I stay in regularly, apart from untying the cords, I alerted the staff to this problem, it will be interesting to see what postion the cords are in upon my return!

Thumbs Up for the O2 Arena!

Back in July, I recorded here that the O2 Arena (formerly known as The Millenium Dome) had had a change of thought with regard to charging for the P.A.s / companions of people with disabilities attending shows there.

Finally, on 5th September, we got to attend the show we'd booked up for months ago, Elton John brought his Las Vegas Red Piano Show to London for one night only.

I realised with just a few days to go before the show that I would be in London overnight and of course Caesar, my trusty assistance dog would be with me. There's no question of Caesar not liking Eltons' music, but he doesn't quite like it at the volume it would be offered at during a live concert. So I hastily sent off an email to the O2 Customer Services Dept with a Special Needs request; viz, a dog sitter for during the show. (This type of thing is pretty commonplace in theatres and larger music venues in the UK). My email was sent at 15.20 on Saturday 1st September, and their reply arrived at 15.46!! 26 minutes to get a reply, very impressive! Pleasingly, it was a positive response and they said they'd be happy to look after Caesar in the Customer Services Dept.


When we arrived at the venue, somewhat later than planned (as we had mistakenly thought a riverboat from Westminster was the most efficient way to travel there), we made ourselves known at Customer Sevices and in no time someone was available to take Caesar to be looked after in a quieter area of the venue.


We went off to get something to eat, and then to find our seats, the wheelchair platform had a fantastic view of the stage, so much so it felt like when Elton was looking our way he was singing right to those on the platform. In fact we had such a good view the bouncers had to try and stop a few "normals" poaching places on the platform!


Thankfully the staff were very on the ball and ensured that the accessible toilets (which also usually get encroached upon at events like this) were only used by those who genuinely needed them.


It was a toe tapping, sing-a-long, packed with visual stunts kind of show that was very different to anything I have seen from Elton in the twenty odd shows I have seen before. Great stuff!


After the show we went to collect Caesar and his trusty Teddy from the Customer Services office and found him to be fast asleep ... no better assurance that he was content with his evening I'd say. Of course he was pleased to be reunited with us, and we all headed off back to our hotel, via another awful inaccessible riverboat experience.


Thumbs up and thank you O2 Arena, great customer service, we'll be back, but maybe next time on the tube ;o)

This picture shows the front rail of the wheelchair users platform and of course Elton on stage.

Thumbs up too for Elton as he didn't mind the audience taking photos throughout the show.

Disabled persons parking facilities, why abuse them?

One thing that is really close to the heart of many people with disabilities is the commonplace abuse of parking facilities. There are precious few accessible parking places within close proximity to the shops and banks in Broadstone, Dorset and this vehicle was seen occupying one of them ... there was no Blue Badge displayed on the vehicle and one can only imagine why they are parked there. Notice the clear road marking for the parking bay and also the fact that the parking signs are in clear view of the cab of the vehicle!

This is a classic example of the need for the Baywatch Campaign which is supported by Disability Now, Mobilise, The British Polio Fellowship and Time to Get Equal.

You took the parking place, will you take the disability too?

All's well that ends well ... or is it?

Finally, the right sized replacement wheels arrived on Wednesday ... so back in action and able to use my new wheelchair again. As Elton John sang, "Sorry seems to be the hardest word" not one word of apology that my chair let me down so badly has been uttered!

Aparently the wheels I have now been supplied from Spinergy via my wheelcahir supplier are non faulty types with reinforced hubs ... well see chaps won't we? The average length of life of a wheelchair is meant to be 3 years, so I'll have plenty of time to find out! Forgive me if I seem a tad cynical, but this new chair does seem to be a bit of a lemon, I'm hoping I have had all the teething problems in the first two months and it will be plain sailing from here on in.

The problem is, when a wheelchair fails, especially away from home, one is left up the creek without a paddle, or in this recent case, in the gutter in a dark street, miles from home on a Saturday night!
Pictures of the wheel hub showing where the spokes ripped the hub, and also showing how the wheel buckled under the chair.

The new wheels arrived ... elation turned to despondency!

I was delighted that my replacement, non faulty hub wheels arrived from the wheelchair supplier today, only about 26 hours after I had flagged the problem up to them. Good job, I thought as I eagerly opened the box ... oh dear, they sent the wrong size wheels! Now this is the company that sold me the "just a smidgeon under" £3000 wheelchair only 8 weeks ago, you'd imagine they of all people would know the size wouldn't you?

Several phone calls later, I got a promise of another new wheel delivery tomorrow ...

We ended up in a Police Car!

On Saturday we went to Birmingham to watch Manchester United play Birmingham City, our first away match as United fans. Caesar had the day off as he has told me before football isn't really his cup of tea ;o) There were a few access hiccups en route but nothing major; the trains weren't running on the first part of our journey and were replaced by inaccessible buses, so the rail company had to pay for a taxi the first thirty miles or so! They also had to provide a taxi the last thirty miles on the way home.

We enjoyed the match and had a good vantage point once we had moved, originally we were sat just alongside the goal mouth but it became clear the photographers would block our view as the ground level was actually about eye level for me while sitting in my wheelchair. I always think you can tell a lot about an orgainsation by the way they treat their disabled patrons!

United won 1-0 and and all that was left was a quick stroll the couple of miles from the ground to Birmingham New Street station for our train back to Dorset.

We were making good speed behind the Coppers in riot gear (kind of slipstreaming) when I went down a kerb and CRUNCH ... a wheel on my eight week old, "just a smidgeon under" £3000 wheelchair collapsed beneath me. Utter shock ... apart from realising we'd miss our train, I was now rendered helpless in the gutter. One of the riot gear clad Coppers said "wait right there, I'll get help to you". (Maybe he realised two Utd shirt clad fans in the gutter of a dark sidestreet were sitting ducks)!

In minutes we were rescued by a police car, darn, the wheelchair plus us two wouldn't fit into the car, so they summoned a white police van as well. We were soon on our way in the back of the police car and my wheelchair and trike followed in the van. What a way to arrive at the station! I've never been in a police car before ...

We arrived at the station just as our train was due to leave. Thankfully, there was another train an hour later and the railway staff were very helpful in assisting the police get us to our train in a borrowed station wheelchair. We finally got home around 2am, but at least we, if not the wheelchair were in one piece!

Today I called the w/c company and heck, would you believe it, after some enquiries they discover that Spinergy supplied a duff batch of wheel hubs where the spokes are threaded too close to the edge and they hadn't done a product recall! I can imagine before too long someone is going to get really hurt coming out of a chair due to this. Needless to say the air in my house this morning was blue, but sanity was restored when my supplier promised to deliver 2 new wheels tomorrow with new (non faulty hubs).

So a big thanks is due to the West Midlands Police & Virgin Trains for their quick thinking and sensible help!

Detroit Zoo

While in the vicinity, we decided to visit Detroit Zoo with a couple of friends. One has a Labrador Retriever assistance dog for mobility assistance, and the other has a Yorkshire Terrier psychiatric assistance dog.

So, we cut quite a sight, four women with three dogs wanting to visit the zoo. (Not something too unusual, we'd done the same together in San Diego some 18 months previously). Entry was straightforward, we were informed that staff would be informed of our party and know that the dogs were bona fide assistance dogs. Fair enough.

Not twenty yards into the zoo we were challenged by another member of staff, asking if the dogs were all assistance dogs. We gave suitable assurances and were allowed on our way. Sometime later, we were aware that we were being followed and after exiting one of the reptile houses were challenged again ... and again when the member of staff following us joined in.

They made disparaging remarks about the size of the Yorkshire Terrier suggesting anyone could put an assistance dog vest on a dog and claim it was such. No such challeneged were made of the Labrador or of my dog, Caesar.

This set the tone for the whole visit and we were constantly followed and watched, so much so that we decided to split up in the end so the staff would have to decide who to follow.

Staff seemed to want to see certification of the Yorkshire Terrier, which in USA under the Americans with Disabilities Act is illegal. Not once did they ask for certification of the Labrador or my own Golden Retriever ... it was a salutory lesson in the harassment of people who have non standard breeds for their assistance dogs.

I wish I could say there was a positive outcome when we complained before leaving, but alas, no.

Customer Service? Or a promise not to sue?

While in USA we had occasion to fly, with NorthWest Airlines from Chicago to Detroit, and quick hop, no biggie, or so we thought!

Having booked months ahead and having requested assistance to board we arrived at the gate early and I presented myself to the apropriate member of staff and requested pre-boarding (as is usual for anyone with an assistance dog or disability). I was asked if I had someone with me, which I was happy to confirm. We waited and were beckoned forward to pre-board. At the end of the jet bridge there was the aisle chair which I need to transfer, but no member of staff. My companion boarded with Caesar and I sat and waited ... and waited ... and waited. I was in tears.

Unbeknown to me, the staff on the plane were asking Karen was I actually travelling or not! Eventually, the other passengers arrived and I was still sat there after they'd all boarded.

My heart sank, even the cabin crew and captain couldn't explain what was going on. Eventually, 10 minutes before take off the special assistance arrived. I was boarded, but in a rather humiliating way, being lifted in front of all the other passengers!

During the flight, I enquired of a member of the cabin crew if there would be assistance at the other end to disembark; "Oh they knoooow" he said in a rather loud and patronising way, so much so that several other passengers turned to look who he was talking to.

Thankfully, assistance was available upon our arrival in Detroit, and after we had cleared baggage reclaim, I decided to let Customer Services know of my disatisfaction. Almost immediately after the arrival of the CRO (Conflict Resolution Officer) I was offered a $200 voucher for furture travel, on condition that I sign a waiver stating this was my only claim against the company in repect of that flight.

An interesting state of affairs, I was so shocked (having never been offered such a deal with nmore appalling treatment in the UK) that I accepted, I still can't decide if it was excellent customer service or a pay off not to sue for the distress that had been caused!

Kerb Cuts / Dropped Kerbs

Obviously for a wheelchair user in an urban environment, dropped kerbs are an absolute must if one is to be able to cross the road safely.

I have on occasion been in places where there is one on one side of the road and you get across only to discover there isn't one the other side (puzzling as to why this is done), and more frequently, and infuriatingly you find a car oparked right across the dropped kerb preventing wheelchair users crossing.

In some places in Michigan I saw that the dropped kerbs were clearly marked so as to deter drivers from parking across them.

Here's an example from the car park of Wal-Mart in Troy, Michigan.

Thumbs up!

Leash Laws

One of the most striking things about being visitors in Chicago with a dog was the leash law. It seemed that a dog had to be on a leash (of less than six feet) at all times in a public place. It was very hot and so we researched taking Caesar to the beach, two dog beaches in Chicago but neither allows a dog off the leash unless it has a permit from the city! So, no opportunities for a visiting assistance dog there!

Living on the edge of the second largest natural harbour in the world, we are able to take Caesar to the beach year round and allow him to free run and swim in the sea. Of course the main tourist beaches have dog bans in the height of the season, usually Easter to the end of September, but there remain places where dog owners can exercise their charges year round.

Something else I noticed in Chicago was that the local dogs, presumably not allowed off lead unless they have a city permit for the beach or are taken to a dog park were not that well socialised. The number of smaller dogs straining at the end of the lead as we walked by was far more than normal, I am guessing their lack of mixing with other dogs off the lead has led to this nervousness and agression when they encounter other dogs in the street.

It's difficult for assistance dogs, I happen to believe if they work hard, they should be allowed to play hard and have a daily opportunity to free run. Caesar will also not toilet while on the lead unless he is absolutely desperate, so that leaves me in a dilemma, wait until he is desperate or find an out of the way place and allow him off the lead for a few minutes, under strict voice control to toilet. I usually try the latter and on one occasion we were in a grassy park on the outskirts of Chicago, not a manicured lawn or anything, in fact the grass was longer and left to grow a bit, it also had some tyre tracks in in from maintenance vehicles. So, at the edge of the park we let Caesar off the lead to toilet, (pick up bags in hand). Would you believe it, a police car appeared form nowhere! "Put the dog on the leash ma'am" came ringing out over the police car loud haler. Caught, well and truly, and poor Caesar hadn't even had the chance to relieve himself!

I certainly hope that the Dog Control Orders we are seeing increasingly implemented by councils here in the U.K. don't lead to a similar situation where a dog can't relieve itself off a lead for fear of the police showing up, and that the socialisation of the dog community suffers as a result.

Rats!

Travelling around quite a bit as we do, we get to see quite a variety of dog associated signs, nearly always the prohibitive ones of course!

I was surprised to see this one in a park in Chicago, it had never occurred to me that rats would thrive on dog mess that wasn't picked up. I really don't know why I hadn't thought of it, they do live in sewers after all!

It's been a good summer!

It really has been a great summer, we spent almost all of August in the American mid-west.

We loved Chicago, and had a great time there. We took a "ganster tour" to learn about the checkered history of the city ... well we were oin holiday after all! After our tour we realised that the Roman Catholic Cathedral of The Holy Name was just along from our hotel and took a walk there to take a closer look at the bullet hole in the cornerstone. It dates from the days of Al Capone et al and is still there (top right of the photo below).

Afterwards we went inside the cathedral for a look around. Inside this unpretentious cathedral, built in the Gothic revival style we were in for an even more interesting sight. I was fascinated to see that not only was the altar / sancuary area wheelchair accessible but also they have a wheelchair accessible confessional. Brilliant!

Glasgow Airport becomes PETS registered

Unitl last week, anyone with an assistance dog living in Scotland or the north of England who wished to take their assistance dog abroad had to return to the UK via either Heathrow, Gatwick, Doncaster or Manchester Airports and then continue their journey further north. Not only was this a great inconvenience but meant additional costs.

Glasgow Airport has now joined the list of airports registered with the PETS scheme. Whilst this is great news for all assistance dog partnerships registered with Assistance Dogs UK, both the press articles I have come across appear to be indicating it is for guide dog partnerships only.

The language is confusing ... guide dogs are simply a sub group within the assistance dog movement, so by mentioning them and not mentioning hearing dogs, mobility assistance dogs or medical alert dogs, it rather gives a false picture of the status quo.

It really makes me wonder just how the press get it so consistently wrong ...

Take a look at the articles on the Just The Flight and Cheapflights websites and decide for yourself!

Paper talk!

A friend of mine was featured in a newspaper this week with her wonderful assistance dog. It's an inspiring story of how a dog and a person can work together in partnership.

I just wish I could get my head around some of the phraseology though, it always seems to be the same, and rather detracts from the story.

Take the headline for example, the assistance dog is called a pet, which as he is a working dog is rather an insult. Pets, by and large can curl up at home while everything goes on around them, assistance dogs really earn their living. Also, the fact that the reporter used the word tricks to describe Ajs very special and highly trained tasks is rather tacky. The references to Aj as a mutt and pooch are plainly insulting.

What a shame this wonderful dog has been sold short!

I have seen this happen before and have asked a couple of reporters why they do it ... "it's what sells" or some close variation is usually the answer. Are the newspaper reading public really that out of touch that they cannot understand "working dog" instead of mutt and pooch?

Today's the Day!

Well today is the day when new European legislation comes into force concerning people with disabilities who wish to travel by air. No longer will it be possible for an airline with Europe to turn someone away by reason of their disability ...

Just recently there have been several well publicised instances where airlines have been very high handed in their treatment of people with disabilities, and for that reason, I welcome this legislation.

Full details can be seen here.

Only articles three and four of the regulation come into force today (26th July 2007) with the entire directive due to be in force in one year on 26th July 2008. There is a fuller explanation of the directive on the website of the European Disability Forum.

Thankfully, I have had a refusal once at the airport but have had some experience of discrimination from a well known holiday firm refusing to carry my assistance dog. Their reason? "Dogs aren't meant to fly!" Yeh, right, tell that to my dog who has accumulated over 50,000 miles in flight!

Assistance Dogs need to go to the toilet too you know!

Ok so it is raining. In fact it has been raining for days. So much so that many towns and villages in England are flooded. Thankfully our area isn't too bad and hasn't suffered badly.
Nevertheless it took a few minutes to get garbed up in waterproofs to walk the dog today, and off we went. Practically had the heath to ourselves though, that is until we bumped into a somewhat infrequent visitor there with their dog. "I didn't expect to see you today!" they offered.
"Why ever not?" "I asked,
"Well it's very wet and I thought you would be indoors this weather"
I was stiffling back my laughter and replied "Well assistance dogs do need to go to the toilet too you know, no matter what the weather".
She clarified, "Yes I know that, but what about you in the rain? You'll get wet and you might sink!"
Aaaah, now I was starting to understand where she was coming from but then realised that if she walked her dog in the rain a little more often she would already know that I walk my dog come rain or shine! Thanks to my trusty all terrain Tramper buggy I haven't been caught out yet!

The O2 have seen the light!

Background: Many public entertainment venues offer reduced price or free tickets to essential companions of people with disabilities. This often helps offset poorer seating for the companion or a reduced view, or simply recognition that they will assist the person they are accompanying in case of emergency evacuation and so on. In short it benefits both the venue and the disabled person (who oftentimes ends up paying for the companion ticket as well as their own).

When the O2 phone company bought the Millenium Dome and renamed it as The O2 Arena, I was quite excited. That excitement somewhat waned when I tried to book tickets for a Barbra Streisand concert and learned that not only do they charge wheelchair users full price but also charge full price for essential companions and additionally charge £20 for Blue Badge parking! After learning it would be £250 each and that the wheelchair area was right at the back, it didn't take much thought before we turned down the Streisand tickets. I also phoned customer services and told them that they had priced themselves out of my market and that many people wit disabilities could not afford to pay for a carer / companion and pay for their ticket too. (We subsequently saw Streisand in Manchester for much less)!

A couple of weeks later I booked tickets to see Elton Johns' Red Piano Show also at the O2. Again, full price tickets for wheelchair user and companion. I reluctantly paid up but couldn't help thinking that a company as large as AEG who own O2 doesn't really need to be squeezing people with disabilities like htis, totally out of step with many other major London venues. I've seen one or two similar comments in the disability press recently too.

Earlier today I got a phone call from Ticketmaster, the company that sells the tickets on behalf of the O2. I was surprised and delighted to hear that they have had a policy turnaround and that the money I paid for my companion for the Elton John concert is to be refunded.

Presumably the groundswell of opinion changed their minds somehow, I guess I should have asked about the parking too but was just so excited to be told to expect £110 to be credited to my card I completely forgot!

The Millenium Dome, as seen from the offices of the Olympic Delivery Agency, 23rd floor, One Churchill Square.

What does it look like?

Here in the U.K. there is a thing called the National Key Scheme . Accessible toilets for people with disabilities are often locked with an NKS key (otherwise known as a R.A.D.A.R. key). Havng recently, albeit temporarily mislaid my key I thought I could do with a spare.

I went to the Welcome Centre in my home town to buy a spare. What should have been really straightforward with me signing a declaration about being disabled turned into a really hilarious conversation when the young guy behind the counter asked me "are you disabled?"

So, there I am sitting in my wheelchair, accompanied by Caesar, my assistance dog and the guy wants proof! "I can assure you I am not a fake" I offered, he reddened a bit, qualified his statement and then several other people joined in, "How disabled do you have to be to go to the toilet?" one asked!

The guy was getting more embarrassed by the moment, I was laughing so much I could hardly write my name on the form!