I work with disabled people, so I see LOTS of service dogs. They are always the most mellow, well-behaved dogs you'd ever want to meet! And it's easy to see how much of a help they are to their owners, no matter what the owner's disability.
Whenever someone tells me how much better cats are than dogs, I ask them to show me where I can get a service cat. :) #spanishblindpeoplesorganization...
So, apparently there's a seeing-eye (sorry, is that what they are called these days?) doggie camp around here. Actually, it might even be in Richmond.
Anyhow, my boyfriend's parents went on a tour recently and said it was super interesting. If a dog fucks up (like pees when it's not supposed to) once it's out, leaving really awesome dogs to adopt. There's a very long waiting list. #spanishblindpeoplesorganization...
@Penny: It's up in San Rafael, if it's the same one I'm thinking of. I used to work in an office building downtown that frequently got visits from volunteers socializing dogs in an office environment. They'd also train the dogs to lead people through traffic intersections... which had some hilarious results. Picture a trainee dog happily plopping down in the middle of an intersection while the "walk" signal was ticking down and all the passersby freaking out. #spanishblindpeoplesorganization...
Sigh...my dream is to train a guide dog. (Actually, my dream is to work for one of those programs that teaches prisoners to train guide dogs.) Some day... #spanishblindpeoplesorganization...
@moramoo: My cousin works with one of the guide dog programs in New York, one of the ones where prisoners train the dogs. Every weekend she gets a new dog and walks him around New York to get him acclimated to people. It's awesome and the dogs are adorable and so well-behaved. #spanishblindpeoplesorganization...
@Ratinski: Gah, I'm so jealous of your cousin! (And you, if you get to hang out with the dogs.) That's such an awesome thing of her to do. #spanishblindpeoplesorganization...
OMG! My poor beloved dog Bella died last week from toad posioning and she looked just like this dog. She was only 6 and I've been in shambles evere since and feeling seriously depressed. This is the worst week ever!
I have so much respect for people who train service dogs. To invest so much time and energy in a gorgeous little pup…and then give it up? I'm not sure I could do it. (But I'd like to try someday.)
@morninggloria: And the conservatives rejoiced, because that's three fewer malingerers mooching off disability. Their claim was almost denied due to allegations that their actions precipitated their injuries, seeing as how they ran after the farmer's wife.
I watched "Ray" and according to that Ray charles would ask his bandmates if a woman was "fine." He'd also stroke a woman's forearm to see if she was thin or not.
However, is there something inherently problematic about treating this group of people as an "other" who need to be observed and understood? Or will such portrayals serve to increase understanding and emphasize the 'we're all people' bottom line that Rose's article does so well?
Yes to the latter.
As a disabled person, I would love to stop assumptions that my sex life must be weird, my husband is automatically a saint for having married me, or that I am "brave" for doing things like going to the grocery store myself. I would also like to balance the gaze so I'm somewhere *between* completely invisible and a horror from which one cannot avert their eyes.
Could Jezebel add a disability/ableism tag? Related articles pop up from time to time and it would be nice to have a more inclusive tag.
@rideon: My bf is disabled and all I can say is: Word. He has been told all his life how brave he is for existing. It's a weird place to be, wanting people to respect and be aware of his disability but not to use it to marginalize him. Most people don't do that well. They hover between pretending he doesn't speak or condescending because they think anyone with a physical disability must obviously have a developmental disability too.
11/04/09
Whenever someone tells me how much better cats are than dogs, I ask them to show me where I can get a service cat. :) #spanishblindpeoplesorganization...
11/04/09
Anyhow, my boyfriend's parents went on a tour recently and said it was super interesting. If a dog fucks up (like pees when it's not supposed to) once it's out, leaving really awesome dogs to adopt. There's a very long waiting list. #spanishblindpeoplesorganization...
11/04/09
11/04/09
That's great entertainment for the workday. #spanishblindpeoplesorganization...
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09/28/09
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(Mine also suffered an untimely passing when I was eight and I still miss her.)
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09/28/09
La jeune fille embrasse le petit chien noir.
07/31/09
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05/27/09
05/27/09
Yes to the latter.
As a disabled person, I would love to stop assumptions that my sex life must be weird, my husband is automatically a saint for having married me, or that I am "brave" for doing things like going to the grocery store myself. I would also like to balance the gaze so I'm somewhere *between* completely invisible and a horror from which one cannot avert their eyes.
Could Jezebel add a disability/ableism tag? Related articles pop up from time to time and it would be nice to have a more inclusive tag.
05/27/09
05/27/09
I've never seen Mask, obviously.
05/27/09