Several years ago at a cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the city, in a very forward-thinking move, allocated a space next to Centennial Pool as a park for service dogs. It is a an area where these dogs may run off leash in safety, which is normally hard to do when the dog owner is blind.
In the past few years a number of local dog owners have taken it upon themselves to say, well fuck the blind, we’re gonna use their park. Every day on my way to or home from work I drive past these self-serving owners, exhibiting the same mentality as the people who park in handicap parking spots, as they “blindly” walk past the signs stating “service dogs only,” and claim the space as their own. In fact since they have taken it over I have never since seen a service dog owner in there and I can’t blame them for not mixing in—that’s why the park was set up in the first place.
Shame on all of you, if you really feel the park should belong to you, then why don’t you start a petition to take this unique park away from the blind community. And just as bad is that the cops sit 20 metres away in the parking lot while all this is going on. —Service Bitch
This article appears in Oct 11-17, 2012.
It takes. Long time to train a service dog, at great expense.
The dogs who use that park are for the blind, the physically disabled- whoever could benefit from one of these amazing dogs.
The fact is the intense training can be undone by not respecting the boundries meant to keep the dog and owner safe. If I was relying on my service animal to keep me from danger, and someone else’s actions lead to my life being in danger, I would be mighty pissed.
Take your everyday dog to somewhere else, assholes.
P
That is too bad. I honestly thought that park was for the Police Dogs, I got confused with the ‘Service’ dogs…
http://msp145.photobucket.com/albums/r215/…
two words – Park Patrol.
Call 490-4000 and report their ass. Or put on your big girl/boy panties and ask the police to talk to them about it since they were so close by….or even mention it the people yourself. They may not realize what the sign means, people are inherently stupid after all.
As “stupid” as some people inherently are, many who park in blue spots or take their dog in this park rely on the fact that most people aren’t going to confront them, or that the police don’t do much to enforce the bylaw.
Though I think occassionally people make a sincere mistake, the sign on the entrance to that park and the blue handicapped parking signs are completely conspicuous, and many people just don’t care how their actions affect others.
P
“But officer, he is a service dog.
He services me with little more motivation than a dollop of peanut butter.”
Dogb owners use this park BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY COMPLETLY FENCED IN PARK IN HRM!!!!!!!! Ok there is Africville which has a bloody huige gap in the fence at one end and i have an agresssive dog i cant take there and its a three hour round trip for me to walk there as i don’t have a car. If a service dog actually comes to the park ( i have not seen one in there ever) then i will gladly leash my dogs and leave. If HRM would provide a dog park with a fence that EVERYONE can use then i will use it. Its not a case of fuck the blind its a case of fuck dogs and dogs owners because dog parks don’t make money and are therefore do not matter in the eyes of HRM. so if we don’t have a choice we are going to resort to the only thing we can do.
Kimi, you do have a choice:
a) screw those *annoying* rules and use the “service-dog only” off-leash dog park; or
b) actually abide by those bylaws and don’t. Leave it for the service dogs & their owners who it was originally intended for.
It’s that simple.
Clearly, you’ve chosen option a) ‘fuck it, I only care about me and my dog’. Good luck to you with that one.
PS – if you really care that much about the issue, contact your MLA and/or start a petition. Clearly there is a demand for more off-leash dog parks.
If people with service dogs were allowed on buses they might actually be able to get to the service dog park to be able to use it.
I see service dogs on the bus all the time, OC.
So do I SFO. I also see news reports where some people with service dogs have been denied bus access.
Why don’t you keep your aggressive dog on a leash and run with it, Kimi?
…Because if you let it go without a leash it would immediately bolt as far away from your ass… train your damn dog before letting it out in a public space.
Sorry to finish your though there Mel.
They’re not there because you’re already there with your Brindikin, kimi. If you can’t train your dog properly, you shouldn’t have it in any dog park, you fucking moron.
Weird that a cop would pass up a chance to give someone a ticket. Maybe they’re scared of the dogs.
The bylaw needs to be enforced. It would only take a couple days of cops or whoever to give warnings and hand out tickets for the word to get out.
kimi:
These are things you probably should have considered before you got a dog and decided to live where you live, knowing that you would be carless. Or as some say go to a city council meeting or something. There are plenty of places you can let your dog run around in HRM if the he or she is trained properly.
You’ll be glad to hear that while I was stuck in gridlock tonight, a gentleman, his blind companion and guide dog scolded an owner trying to walk her dog in the park and closed the gate on her. RIGHT FUCKING ON!
it one of the things that just piss you off o.p.
OMG – kimi with the aggressive dog- WTF is wrong with you? If you have an aggressive dog, don’t take it to a dog park, let along a park for service animals!!! Jesus H! How can you expect a visually impaired person to know that they should wait for you to leash your dog before entering the park that was created specifically for THEM? How would it even be reasonable to expect them to do so?! I know other people have already called you out for your blatant stupidity and ignorance, but I felt compelled to comment as well in the hopes that it might cause you to think twice about your behavior in the future. It is not up to HRM to provide a fully fenced area for you and your dog to exercise. Even if there was a beautiful, large, fully enclosed property outside your door, it would be used by multiple dogs, so what good would that be? I’m speaking from experience, that when you own an aggressive dog, you lose a lot of the privileges and options available to “social” dogs. Get a clue, or it will be your dog that suffers.
Kimi, you dumb bitch.
Bringing your fucked up aggressive dog to a park for service animals can undo years of training, and lead to someone with a visual or mobility impairment being killed or injured.
Just because you are a dipschitt.
And it’s illegal to deny access to a service animal in a cab, a bus, anywhere. The dog is not considered an animal while on duty. It is considered a mobility device, like a wheelchair or white cane.
P
P: I’m sure it’s discriminatory to deny a service animal and their person public access,
just wondering where to confirm that. Any ideas?
we’re close to the cnib so i see lots of service dogs and they go everywhere. i also see therapy pets and folks with mobility issues, remember they are special animals and other than “what a sweet baby” they should be left alone. i mean the canines of course^^
Kimi, of course you and other ‘seeing’ people can use the special park, just poke your eyes out with a stick first.
and don’t bring your aggressive dog anywhere else that other dogs may be. of course you love him, but that doesn’t mean you should put other dogs in danger from him. galloping along behind him waving a leash and shrieking as he races for another dog is not.good.enough.
true story, woof
hey! what a pretty dog in your new pic. looks like a skinny Molly. love the ruff.
back from cape breton and glued to mls.ca now. so many places ‘i could live there!’ gorgeous place, just gorgeous.
dogs could barely jump into the back seat by the end of days.
tired dogs, the best kind. that’s a groenendael, a belgian shepherd dog. i’ve never met one in real life but they have this werewolfy look to them