People's reactions

[wicketsmom]

Just curious...how have people's reaction been to your handicapped pet. Wicket has had a cart since Feb/Mar and we get the weirdest reactions from people. I like to think that people are basically good, but I had had people make some rude comments or even laugh and point. On the flip side, I have had a few people who were just curious and have made positive comments. Unfortunately the negative comments seems to be outweighing the positve.

[CarolC]

I can definitely tell you some stories, but first, what kind of negative reactions have you gotten (and positive ones)?

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Each of us has the opportunity daily to educate! Make that lemonade
I got it too, with a little blind puppy. She should be destroyed. That inspired me more than ANYTHING.

We can help you deal with the world, and try to find the right response to the reactions you get.

Children are infinitely more curious and open than us old-timers. And they are the caretakers of the future.

[wicketsmom]

Most of the negative responses have been people laughing and pointing. I have heard a few people say things like "how stupid". There have been some great people too. One lady that lives near us pokes her head out and asks how the pup is doing. A man in a wheelchair stopped and talked with my husband one day about how Wicket got hurt. Most of the positive comments are from people I know.

The negative comments won't stop me from taking him out. In fact, there is an event called Strut your Mutt - a fundraiser with one of our shelters. I have thought about taking the little guy out. (I am acutally more afraid of him biting someone than what people will think!! He is kind of naughty.)

[CarolC]

Strut Your Mutt! Good one! You know what? That's a great idea. Put some flags on his wheelchair, dress him up in a bandana, and let his strut his stuff in front of the whole town. People will see him, talk about him, and some day when their dog gets old or injured, they'll remember him. And someone in that crowd will buy a wheelchair for their dog. Because they saw that your dog was still himself, enjoying life.

people laughing and pointing. I have heard a few people say things like "how stupid"

Did you ever hear the saying, "Everytime you point your finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at you."

Here are links to some messages posted by other people who got weird reactions from people. I always feel these stories say more about the person who was being negative than about the dog.

http://www.handicappedpet.net/helppets/ ... hp?p=15554 this lady was spat upon walking her wheelchair dog
http://www.handicappedpet.net/helppets/ ... hp?p=19270 this lady was yelled at, and don't miss the replies to the original message--several more stories
http://www.handicappedpet.net/helppets/ ... php?t=8088 People were rude about this amputee dog
http://www.handicappedpet.net/helppets/ ... php?p=9772 This lady was criticized for following the vet's instructions about her dog's foot

Somewhere in the above messages is my own account of getting my head bit off by a 20-something gal while I was walking my dog. My dog had back surgery and I took her out to do PT twice a day. It was 9 months before she could walk even a few feet. So during our walks, I would set her down, let her sniff around, then pick her up and carry her. We'd work on bearing weight, I'd do range of motion, etc. Sometimes I would put a scarf around her waist and let her walk "wheelbarrow style". As I was going past a store and my dog was toddling a few steps, this fine individual looked at us and said really viciously, "Well, it's about time you let that dog walk for a change!" and swished into the store. I stood there in shock, then wanted to shout, "SHE'S PARALYZED!!!". It hurt to think that all those months I'd been taking my dog out for PT/walks twice a day, and people were thinking I was mistreating her. But that's just people. In the end, I think you just have to consider the source. I agree with Gabrieldeafblindpupfamily, it's a chance to educate people.

[Tinker's Mom]

This is an interesting topic.

3 years ago, following his disk injury, surgery, and crate rest, Tinker was in a cart for 6 months before he regained the ability to walk. It was during the warm weather months, so we had him outdoors and in public quite a bit.... to the park, street fairs, etc.

Thankfully, I have to say that nobody within our earshot ever said a mean or unkind word. If anything, I was amused at people trying to make sense of something they didn't understand. We'd wheel by, and people would stare and utter words of amazement, and cheer ("Wow, look at him go!"), although I think most of them had absolutely no idea what they were looking at.

And, my favorite situation (and this happened frequently), was when a parent and a young child would be (what they thought) out of our range of hearing, and the child would ask the parent what they were looking at when they saw a dog in a cart. Invariably, the parent would make something up that had no resemblance whatsoever to the truth to appear all-knowing to their child (rather than simply asking), and while some of the explanations were quite inventive, it would just make me giggle.

We still express Tinker's bladder, since he can't quite completely empty it by himself.... and, sometimes I do feel funny in public as people stare. I'm sure that to an uneducated observer it must look like "What the heck is she doing with that dog?". There are times I feel a wee bit self-conscious about it. But, I've long since passed the point of really caring what anyone thinks.

I agree- you do what you have to do, and tough if someone else doesn't understand. If the situation permits, use it as an opportunity to educate. If someone criticizes what they don't understand, consider the source, and let it go...

[critters]

I agree- you do what you have to do, and tough if someone else doesn't understand. If the situation permits, use it as an opportunity to educate. If someone criticizes what they don't understand, consider the source, and let it go...

I TOTALLY agree. When it's warm, Ari dearly loves to go places, anywhere, with me. To date, we haven't had a single negative comment; even the ones who may be a little dubious manage to say that she looks happy (and she is!). It's just TOO cool running into people with cerebral palsy or other disabilities who just love Ar to death!

Usually it starts as some "Wow moment" of not knowing a shoulder-loving kitty, or wishing their own kitty would do that. I then say that she can't walk, explain that she has "cerebral palsy," and it goes from there.

[maryteresa76]

Wow, it is amazingly horrible how you all have been treated. I've never been approached with criticism by a stranger. However, my boss did berate me for spending so much money for medical care on a dog, "when there are starving people in the world." What can I say to that? What I did say is that I have a personal responsibility to my dog and her well-being, and yes there are starving people in the world, which is horribe, but that is a separate issue. (I don't see him foregoing his luxury car in order to donate more to solve word hunger, you know?) The other incident related to my dog's paraplegia has to do with the fact that she has some "psych" issues now, in that she is aggressive. We are currently working with an excellent trainer regarding this issue. it comes down to the fact that she has no effective "flight" response, so she is all about "fight" and feeling vulnerable, so the "fight" comes out pretty easily with strangers, even my friends and neighbors. She barks at people when they are within a certain number of feet of us.

Anyway, I walk her in a big, obnoxious, pink pet stroller when we want to get some fresh air. It's entirely enclosed as most of you probably have seen pet strollers... We were walking around the neighborhood one Saturday afternoon, and typical Sydney began to bark at a guy on the sidewalk as we approached. She's all fenced into this stroller, so she can't reach anyone or get out. And she's a fluffy, white little Bichon, not some huge menacing -looking thing. So this guy says nothing, but I hear this click as we are passing him on the sidewalk. I look down and he is holding a knife about 18 inches from my abdomen and looking from Sydney in the stroller to me. Initially, I was like, "Hey! She's just barking!" and got between her and the guy. So I POWER WALK away, looking over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't following. Then it dawns on me what just happened, and I start to get mildly hysterical. I turned the next corner, got out of his eyesight, and called the police from my cell. They were awesome and got there in less than 60 seconds- 3 squad cars. He was arrested and the charges are still pending against him (aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct). It may go to trial in June. Idiot plead not guilty. He told the police he felt threatened by the barking dog. The police were like, "You were threatened by a tiny dog in a pink stroller?"

[Dianne]

All right! You go Maryteresa!! It's not normal for people to pull a knife. You did the right thing!

My small dog has some aggression issues too, but had them before paralysis. Let us know what the trainer advises.

[critters]

If I were you, I'd take the stroller to court, just so they can see how enclosed it is!

As for the money-thing, I always find it amusing that people always want OTHER PEOPLE to not spend money on whatever they spend money on (cars, motor toys, fancy houses, etc) to save the world, but they won't give anything themselves!!

[maryteresa76]

Critters- I offered to bring the stroller to court, with my dog inside, but the state's attorney just wants pictures... though the real thing would've been more fun, definitely.

Dianne- So far, Sydney has had an initial consultation and one training session with the trainer. IShe had some aggression in her before her back issues started, but it was kind of manageable, you know? Not NEARLY as bad as after. It's not like we're doing any real specific thing with her, it just seems that the trainer understands how to react to Sydney's aggression right away and confronts her back. And believe me, that is good and new for her because my friends certainly don't confront her back. The trainer doesn't have to be physical with her, but he does put a broom or his notebook, or whatever he has, close to her face while she barks or growls and shhhhhs her until she stops. This makes her back away from him, and essentially back down. When she stops growling and stuff, he immediately stops. Most people just completely back away, so it's good for her to finally get challenged. He also brought another dog to our place to get them to socialize, the other dog obviously being very well-trained. Another thing is that I live in a 3 story walk up so I carry her up and down the stairs all the time. When I go in and out of doors, he has me try to turn my body to give the appearance of going out the door first. I'm not good at that one, because sometimes I'm in a hurry and I forget. or it seems like she's not really paying attention. However, one thign he has me do that I do remember is to handle her food and also spit in her food a little. I know, I think I gagged the first couple times, but if she smells ME in her food, the implication to her is that I have eaten out of her bowl first, and thus, I am the packleader. It's all been pretty simple so far, but well worth the money, because my friends and neighbors have already noticed a big difference. They can approach us without her barking and growling (unless someone tries to pet her) and can move kind of slowly around my place without my having to put her behind a closed door.This is a HUGE change. If anyone in the Chicago area needs a trainer, I would HIGHLY recommend this trainer.This weekend, the lesson will focus on dealing with strangers, and then next week, we go to a dog park. Can't wait to see what happens!

[CarolC]

Are you sure he wasn't considering mugging you?

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Wow, marytheresa, that is FASCINATING about the dog food bowl! I am definately not only going to try it, but recommend it (If it works and my stomach isn't giving me fits )!
FASCINATING!

[Dianne]

Wow, I'm not above getting down on the floor to pretend to eat out of the doggie dish, but this is fascinating...

to handle her food and also spit in her food a little.

* It's almost as bad as eating in a restaurant.

[Oopsadaisy]

Most adults, don't understand why we go through all we do for Daisy. They all say they wouldn't do it.....and you know what that means. It's funny but when we're walking Daisy down the street in her wheelchair, all the kids come running out of their houses and yards to pet her and say hi to her. If they notice the wheelchair they don't say anything about it.