“As I sat on the subway train on the way home last night, I saw a blind man come aboard. He yells “Find seat” while pointing at a certain direction. He was being led by this sad looking, droopy eyed black Labrador. The dog is such a lovely creature and I wondered why he looked so sad and depressed. Then I saw his owner interact with him further.
“The blind man was being abusive! Let me clarify, I don’t mean abusive in terms of him kicking and beating the dog, but he treated the dog very badly. His aggressive, impatient tone, his hostile commands, and the way he kind of pushed and shoved the dog under his legs, it was just really mean and uncalled for.”
Rodriquez ends his blog with this: “If you have access to anyone that uses a seeing-eye dog, or any of these organizations that train the dogs, please encourage them to teach the owners patience and ensure that they do not mistreat the dogs. These dogs cannot speak for themselves, but I could tell from the moment I saw him that something was wrong. I stayed out of it this time, but if our paths ever cross again, next time I may not be able to do so.”
Sam and I once had a neighbor who abused her seeing-eye dog. She spoke gruffly to it and jerked it around. She took dogs back to the organization that had obtained them for her a couple of times complaining that she wanted a new dog. The organization tried to train her how to deal with her dog and told her to get along with her dog or they would stop giving her one (yay!)
In a blog titled simply Dogged, author Christie Keith insists however that, “Dogs aren't like us; they don't sit there hating their dead-end, soul-sucking jobs and hoping for the day they can retire to a condo in Florida and never work again. That's just anthropomorphic nonsense. And it's the whole problem with listening to people who know absolutely nothing about real dogs and only know about the imaginary dogs in their heads, who are amazingly very like them.
“Have you ever heard the word "independence"? That's what assistance dogs give to humans. The dogs get work that they love and for which they were bred or are suited. It gives them a million times more mental stimulation and social interaction and purpose than most pet dogs will ever see, and allows them fulfill the mission that runs in their veins.”
Okay, but, I have learned from Sam that he sometimes is sad or bored, happy or unhappy. I can see it in his face and demeanor. If I were to abuse him on a regular basis I’m sure he would feel hopeless and depressed, like a person caught in a loveless marriage or sentenced to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Don’t try to tell me dogs don’t have feelings. I’m sure some seeing-eye dogs or service dogs are really unhappy and it breaks my heart to see them.
For a different twist on the seeing-eye dog story check out last November’s item on Fox News about a blind man who was put off a US Airways Express Flight because a flight attendant thought his seeing-eye dog was becoming too restless. ww.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/15/passengers-protest-after-blind-man-with-guide-dog-kicked-off-plane/
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