On the news tonight there was a lady named Helen McFadyen and her service dog Opal. A couple months ago I found her blog, which she's called "Wise Advice
Wise Advice from Helen McFadyen aka LabLady" - which I assumed was her talking about her life as a blind person living with her service dog in Halifax. But what it is actually is one long rant about how everybody in the world is really horrible to her because she is blind and nothing in life is fair because she is blind, and no one makes any concessions to her because she is blind, and no one understands her because she's blind. I was rather blown away actually how one person could hold that much self-absorbtion. I would have felt bad if I wasn't so repulsed. So I didn't do my usual thing of letting other people know that I had found a local blog - I just clicked out of it, and let it go.
But tonight she was on CTV news actually saying - that HRM should provide her and her dog - and other people with service dogs with sole access to off-leash space. What she actually says in the below video is that - if there are "normal sighted dog owners" at the dog park - they MUST LEAVE - so that the blind person and their service dog - can have some off leash exercise - because she doesn't trust other people's dogs with her dog.
What has every other service dog and their owner been doing up until now? When I am at Point Pleasant Park - I have seen tons of service dogs there off leash with their owners having a hell of a time off leash - with no problems whatsoever.
She says it's because her dog cost $35,000 - well, do you know what? My dogs are PRICELESS. I don't know if I've heard quite so ridiculous a proposition in a long, long time. I really hope the City does not continue pretending to enable her quest, because if it does - I want MY OWN DOG PARK TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clearly this woman is not coping well with being blind - like you Joan I have met numerous folk who are blind with their service dogs at PPPark.
ReplyDeleteIs she really saying that her dog can only play with service dogs? I presume if this is the case then she herself does not socialize with sighted humans as they would not fit into her world! I cannot believe that the CNIB would endorse this stance nor do I believe that restricting my use of a park with my well socialized dogs so SHE can have a park to herself and her dog is DEMOCRATIC or SANE on any level.
Just totally floored here.
Janet and the Canine Casbah Crew