Broad Ripple Random Ripplings
search menu
The news from Broad Ripple
Brought to you by The Broad Ripple Gazette
(Delivering the news since 2004, every two weeks)
Subscribe to Broad Ripple Random Ripplings
Brought to you by:
VirtualBroadRipple.com Broad Ripple collector pins EverythingBroadRipple.com

Everything Broad Ripple HomearrowRandom Ripplings Homearrow2006 03 24arrowRandom Rippling

back button return to index button next button
Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v03n06)
The Ruiz Report - Our Service Dog-In-Training by Elizabeth Hague
posted: Mar. 24, 2006

Several months ago we introduced you to Ruiz, our service dog in training. He is training with CCI (Canine Companions for Independence) to help someone with a "sighted disability", which means he will NOT be a guide dog for the blind.
In our last report, Ruiz had just started going out in public. He is now 11 months old and weighs 80 pounds. He goes nearly everywhere with me: grocery, Church, restaurants, Lowes, fabric stores, the library, the State Archives (where I volunteer). He has been to doctor appointments, a small hospital, a couple of Universities, a music performance, a courthouse, a fire station, a school, PTA meetings, and the Broad Ripple Town meeting.

Ruiz - CCI Training Puppy
Ruiz - CCI Training Puppy
Quan


Sometimes when acquaintances first saw us out together they would ask, "Are you (in) training?" It didn't take very many public encounters with Ruiz in tow before I realized the answer to that questions was, "Yes, we're all in training." I'm learning how to maneuver Ruiz out in public, the public is learning how to ignore this good-looking, friendly dog, and Ruiz is learning how to react to all of it. I've learned a lot about access issues for service animals and I have answered a fair number of questions about Canine Companions for Independence and the program Ruiz is in.
In general I would say Ruiz has been welcomed into the places we've been. Sometimes he is welcomed enthusiastically and sometimes he is ignored (and that's a good thing) and sometimes people don't realize he's there at all. It's hard to believe an 80 pound dog can be invisible, but it has happened more than once and it is the highest compliment he can receive. I have also learned about the subtle ways a person can let you know they don't want you around.
The biggest lesson I learned started at the Post Office. Ruiz made his second trip to the Post Office and it happened to be the second time a particular clerk waited on us. This time the clerk informed me in a pleasant, business-like manner that if the dog wasn't a guide dog (for the blind), he couldn't be in the Post Office. I explained that Ruiz would be a service dog and they are allowed the same rights as guide dogs for the blind, as there are many other disabilities besides visual impairment. The clerk was not swayed, but I didn't argue. We finished our business and left.
I intended to call downtown to the postmaster to have the situation straightened out. Lesson #1) Each Post Office has its own postmaster and they set the rules for that station. Lesson #2) Bacon Station has no postmaster. Lesson #3) The postal service has no written policy on service animals. Lesson #4) As stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service animals are allowed in government buildings. The post office is definitely a government building. Lesson #5) In Indiana the law says that service dogs in training have the same access rights as working service animals. Lesson #6) Anyone interfering with the service animal laws can be fined $100 or go to jail for three months, or both. Lesson #7) Extra charges can not be applied due to the presence of a service animal. For instance, deposits at a hotel or apartment, or tickets on an airplane. This has nothing to do with the Post Office; it's something that didn't occur to me.
When a person has a permit to park in a handicap space, the reason for the permit is not always obvious as they leave their vehicle. Likewise, when a person relies on a service dog, the type of assistance the dog provides is not always apparent. An epileptic person could have a seizure response dog: when that person has a seizure, the dog has been trained to roll the person on their side to prevent the person from choking. People rarely see this happen; they see a person who is grocery shopping and has a dog with them. (From experience I can tell you that, in fact, people see a dog in the grocery store and go "Awwww" and don't really see the person.)
Ruiz has amazing patience. He can sit quietly under a table for three hours while I work (remember, he's under a year old). He squeezes under restaurant tables and waits in the dark while we eat, occasionally dropping crumbs that he's not allowed to touch. He drops to the floor and waits while I pay for something or have a conversation with someone.
At home Ruiz is a regular dog whose favorite toys are his string bone and his Kong. He doesn't get on the furniture or eat people food, but he's goofy and wacky and he'll tackle our legs as we walk if he wants to play. He sometimes goes to the Broad Ripple Bark Park where he always finds a friend with which to run around.


back button return to index button next button
Brought to you by:
BroadRippleHistory.com Broad Ripple collector pins EverythingBroadRipple.com
Brought to you by:
EverythingBroadRipple.com RandomRipplings.com Broad Ripple collector pins