TRIGGER _ Alcohol and service dogs dont mix!

[responsiblek9]

Philadelphia Inquirer: Man gets prison for killing guide dog


This is a critical thing to consider .  Having a drinking problem, anger problem, or drug problem is not conducive for a good working team between dog and handler. It can result in disaster for the dog.

 It is not a nice story below ....


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http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/2003-May/000128.html story of the case on link.

 Inky the Guide dog(http://hometown.aol.com/carlnylund/graphics/inkyforeverrembered.jpg)
Miller, who was born with sight, but due to detached retinas progressively lost his vision from age 18, allegedly told police that he was walking home from an area bar and Inky just ''stopped" and had to be dragged a short distance home, the affidavit notes.

Miller first denied abusing the dog, but about a week after the dog's death
he confessed to kicking Inky because he was frustrated.

[whitehusky]

Alcohol and any dog don't mix! My dad called us two or three days ago to tell us one of the dogs they have back home bit him and he shot the dog. My dad had been drinking that night and the dog he'd been feeding had smelled the alcohol on my dad. We don't know if my dad made any motions that upset the dog to cause him to bite, but it wound up costing the dog his life.

My dad and the dog were very fond of one another, and the dog had never been a threat to my dad previous to this incident. But since my dad had been drinking that one night and he went out by the dog at the wrong time, the dog wound up losing its life for its reaction to my dad or something my dad did to him.

[magolin]

That's horrible! 

He should have had to pay way more than $100.  Doesn't it cost like $20-30k to train a guide dog?!  Significant ail time would be good too.  No animal deserves that.  ESPECIALLY one who's main purpose in life is to HELP you. 

Maggie

[responsiblek9]

Can you imagine the feelings of the persons who were the foster home for that guide dog when it was a puppy?
Personally I would have liked to have seen them require the guy to have paid to the provider program all the monies it took to raise and provide that guide dog  and a lot more jail time.
 Nora & crew

[Ilghaus]

In some states, such as here in FL, it is a lot more serious to injure or kill a Service Dog. I never thought about if the owner killed the dog since it is so unbelievable that this situation would ever happen. I would hope the court would take the training cost and time into consideration over and above the value of the life of the animal.

Don't some of the guide dog schools retain ownership of the dogs until the dog retires?

[fledchen]

IIRC this guy also tried running for mayor at some point after the incident.