Catch up articles compliments of Johnye

John Christie - Guide Dog Users Fight For Law to Protect Guide Dogs A frightening occurrence is happening to our guide dogs. According to Guide Dog Users, Inc., an increasing amount of guide dogs are being attacked by uncontrolled dogs that are encountered on our city streets and neighborhoods. According to Guide Dog Users, Inc. President, Laurie Mehta of Cincinnati, Ohio, "guide dogs' work has all too frequently been intentionally obstructed. She also explains inadequate and inconsistent laws have prevented local authorities from treating these acts as criminal acts. For this reason, Guide Dogs Users, Inc. wants to seek a National service protection law in 2013 as part of the legislative agenda. Guide Dog Users, Inc. conducted a survey recently of its membership. The survey found that 89 percent of the 119 members that responded reported having experiencing interference with their dogs and 42 percent experienced a full blown attack on their dogs. Of those experiencing interference, 51 percent were interfered with by the same dog more than once. 47 percent of the guide dog users planned alternate routes to avoid known problem dogs. 4 percent of the guide dogs had to retire because of the severity of the attacks. Each guide dog that is trained to work with the blind costs around $50,000. Guide Dog Users, Inc.'s Legislative Committee Chair, Don Brown, wants to have legislation with criminal penalties enacted so that dog owners will exercise additional care when controlling their dogs in public. Guide Dog Users, Inc. is correct to try to pass a law requiring dog owners to control their dogs in public. They should attempt to control the dog so they won't go after service dogs. After all, these dogs cost a lot to be trained and it takes a while to develop chemistry between the dog and the guide dog user. Hopefully, the law will be passed to allow for criminal penalties.